Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison; May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed Duke, was an American actor and filmmaker. An Academy Award-winner for True Grit (1969), Wayne was among the top box office draws for three decades. Born in Winterset, Iowa, Wayne grew up in Southern California. He was president of Glendale High class of 1925. He found work at local film studios when he lost his football scholarship to the University of Southern California as a result of a bodysurfing accident. Initially working for the Fox Film Corporation, he appeared mostly in small bit parts. His first leading role came in Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail (1930), which led to leading roles in numerous B movies throughout the 1930s, many of them in the Western genre. Wayne's career took off in 1939, with John Ford's Stagecoach making him an instant star. He went on to star in 142 pictures. Biographer Ronald Davis said, "John Wayne personified for millions the nation's frontier heritage. Eighty-three of his movies were Westerns, and in them, he played cowboys, cavalrymen, and unconquerable loners extracted from the Republic's central creation myth." Wayne's other well-known Western roles include a cattleman driving his herd north on the Chisholm Trail in Red River (1948), a Civil War veteran whose young niece is abducted by a tribe of Comanches in The Searchers (1956), and a troubled rancher competing with a lawyer for a woman's hand in marriage in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He is also remembered for his roles in The Quiet Man (1952), Rio Bravo (1959), and The Longest Day (1962). In his final screen performance, he starred as an aging gunfighter battling cancer in The Shootist (1976). He appeared with many important Hollywood stars of his era, and his last public appearance was at the Academy Awards ceremony on April 9, 1979.
Movie | Sly | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 2023-09-16 |
Movie | I Am Not Your Negro | Various Roles (archive footage) | 2017-02-03 |
Movie | John Wayne on Film | Himself | 2016-09-16 |
Movie | And the Oscar Goes To... | Self (archive footage) | 2014-02-01 |
Series | Talking Pictures | Himself - Archive footage | 2013-01-05 |
Movie | John Ford & Monument Valley | Self (archive footage) | 2013-03-05 |
Movie | Dictator: One Crazy Job | Self (archive footage) | 2013-06-12 |
Movie | Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff | Self (archive footage) | 2010-05-05 |
Movie | 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year | Self (archive footage) | 2009-07-02 |
Movie | The Duke at Fox | Self (archive footage) | 2001-05-17 |
Movie | John Wayne - Ein Leben für den Film | Himself | 2000-01-01 |
Movie | JOHN WAYNE - AMERICAN LEGEND | Himself | 1998-03-14 |
Movie | The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender | Self (archive footage) | 1997-11-01 |
Movie | The Making of 'Rio Grande' | Self (archive footage) | 1993-01-01 |
Movie | The John Wayne Story - The Later Years | Himself | 1993-05-15 |
Movie | La Classe américaine | George Abitbol (archive footage) | 1993-12-31 |
Movie | Young Duke: Making Of A Movie Star | Himself | 1993-07-14 |
Movie | John Wayne - Eine amerikanische Legende | (archive footage) | 1991-01-31 |
Movie | Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire | Self (archive footage) | 1991-07-15 |
Movie | John Wayne: American Hero Of The Movies | 1990-01-01 | |
Movie | House II: The Second Story | Cowboy (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1987-05-14 |
Movie | That's Action | self | 1977-01-01 |
Movie | Star Wars | Garindan ezz Zavor (uncredited) | 1977-05-25 |
Movie | It's Showtime | Self (archive footage) | 1976-03-31 |
Movie | The Shootist | J.B. Books | 1976-07-21 |
Movie | Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend | Himself/Narrator | 1976-04-04 |
Movie | Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch | Jerry Mason | 1976-05-01 |
Movie | Brannigan | Lt. Jim Brannigan | 1975-03-21 |
Movie | Rooster Cogburn | Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn | 1975-11-01 |
Movie | Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) | 1975-08-06 |
Movie | McQ | McQ | 1974-01-04 |
Movie | The Train Robbers | Lane | 1973-02-07 |
Movie | The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks | Self (archive footage) | 1973-01-01 |
Movie | Wayne Train | Self | 1973-02-07 |
Series | The American Film Institute Salute to ... | Unknown | 1973-04-02 |
Movie | Cahill: United States Marshall | J.D. Cahill | 1973-07-11 |
Movie | The Cowboys | Wil Andersen | 1972-01-13 |
Movie | Letter to Jane | Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1972-10-10 |
Movie | Cancel My Reservation | 1972-09-21 | |
Movie | The Selling of the Pentagon | Self (archive footage) | 1971-02-23 |
Movie | Big Jake | Jacob McCandles | 1971-05-26 |
Movie | Directed by John Ford | Self (1969) | 1971-09-06 |
Movie | The American West of John Ford | Self - Narrator | 1971-12-05 |
Movie | No Substitute for Victory | Himself | 1970-01-01 |
Movie | Rio Lobo | Colonel Cord McNally | 1970-04-01 |
Movie | Swing Out, Sweet Land | Self - Host | 1970-01-01 |
Movie | Raquel! | Self | 1970-04-26 |
Movie | Chisum | John Simpson Chisum | 1970-07-23 |
Movie | True Grit | Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn | 1969-06-11 |
Series | The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour | Unknown | 1969-01-22 |
Movie | The Undefeated | Colonel John Henry Thomas | 1969-10-04 |
Movie | The Movie Orgy | Self (archive footage) | 1968-01-01 |
Movie | The Green Berets | Colonel Mike Kirby | 1968-07-04 |
Movie | Hellfighters | Chance Buckman | 1968-11-27 |
Movie | The War Wagon | Taw Jackson | 1967-05-26 |
Series | Dateline: Hollywood | 1967-04-03 | |
Series | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | Unknown | 1967-09-09 |
Movie | Cast a Giant Shadow | Gen. Mike Randolph | 1966-03-30 |
Movie | El Dorado | Cole Thornton | 1966-12-17 |
Movie | In Harm's Way | Capt. Rockwell Torrey | 1965-04-06 |
Movie | The Sons of Katie Elder | John Elder | 1965-06-23 |
Movie | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Centurion at crucifixion | 1965-04-09 |
Movie | Circus World | Matt Masters | 1964-06-25 |
Movie | McLintock! | George Washington McLintock | 1963-11-12 |
Movie | Donovan's Reef | Michael "Guns" Donovan | 1963-06-12 |
Movie | Hollywood Without Make-Up | Self (archive footage) | 1963-07-01 |
Movie | Hatari! | Sean Mercer | 1962-06-19 |
Movie | The Longest Day | Col. Benjamin Vandervoort | 1962-09-25 |
Movie | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | Tom Doniphon | 1962-04-13 |
Series | The Beverly Hillbillies | Unknown | 1962-09-26 |
Movie | How the West Was Won | Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman | 1962-11-02 |
Movie | Flashing Spikes | Marine Sergeant | 1962-10-04 |
Series | The Lucy Show | Unknown | 1962-10-01 |
Movie | The 10 from Texas | (archive footage) | 1961-01-01 |
Movie | The Comancheros | Jake Cutter | 1961-12-22 |
Series | Alcoa Premiere | Unknown | 1961-10-10 |
Movie | The Alamo | Col. Davy Crockett | 1960-10-23 |
Movie | North to Alaska | Sam McCord | 1960-11-07 |
Movie | The Horse Soldiers | Col John Marlowe | 1959-06-11 |
Movie | Rio Bravo | John Chance | 1959-03-18 |
Movie | I Married a Woman | 1958-03-01 | |
Movie | The Barbarian and the Geisha | Townsend Harris | 1958-09-30 |
Movie | Jet Pilot | Col. Jim Shannon | 1957-10-11 |
Movie | The Wings of Eagles | Frank W. 'Spig' Wead | 1957-01-31 |
Movie | Legend of the Lost | Joe January | 1957-12-17 |
Series | Cinépanorama | 1956-02-04 | |
Movie | The Conqueror | Temujin, later Genghis Khan | 1956-03-28 |
Movie | The Searchers | Ethan Edwards | 1956-05-16 |
Movie | The Sea Chase | Captain Karl Ehrlich | 1955-06-04 |
Series | Gunsmoke | Unknown | 1955-09-10 |
Movie | Blood Alley | Capt. Tom Wilder | 1955-10-01 |
Series | Casablanca | 1955-09-27 | |
Series | Screen Director's Playhouse | Mike Cronin | 1955-10-05 |
Movie | The High and the Mighty | Dan Roman | 1954-07-03 |
Series | Producers' Showcase | Self | 1954-10-18 |
Movie | Trouble Along the Way | Stephen Aloysius Williams | 1953-04-04 |
Series | The Oscars | Unknown | 1953-03-19 |
Movie | Island in the Sky | Captain Dooley | 1953-09-05 |
Movie | Hondo | Hondo Lane | 1953-11-26 |
Movie | The Quiet Man | Sean Thornton | 1952-07-21 |
Series | This Is Your Life | Unknown | 1952-10-01 |
Movie | Big Jim McLain | Jim McLain | 1952-08-30 |
Movie | Operation Pacific | Duke E. Gifford | 1951-01-27 |
Movie | The Screen Director | Self (staged 'archive' footage) (uncredited) | 1951-03-12 |
Movie | Flying Leathernecks | Maj. Daniel Xavier Kirby | 1951-08-28 |
Series | I Love Lucy | Unknown | 1951-10-15 |
Series | The Colgate Comedy Hour | 1950-09-10 | |
Movie | Sands of Iwo Jima | Sgt. John M. Stryker | 1950-01-01 |
Movie | Rio Grande | Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke | 1950-11-15 |
Movie | The Fighting Kentuckian | John Breen | 1949-09-15 |
Movie | She Wore a Yellow Ribbon | Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles | 1949-10-22 |
Series | The Ed Sullivan Show | Unknown | 1948-06-20 |
Movie | Fort Apache | Capt. Kirby York | 1948-06-14 |
Movie | Red River | Thomas Dunson | 1948-08-26 |
Movie | 3 Godfathers | Robert Marmaduke Sangster Hightower | 1948-12-31 |
Movie | Wake of the Red Witch | Capt. Ralls | 1948-12-30 |
Movie | Angel and the Badman | Quirt Evans | 1947-02-15 |
Movie | Tycoon | Johnny Munroe | 1947-12-27 |
Movie | Without Reservations | Rusty Thomas | 1946-05-13 |
Movie | Desert Command | Tom Wayne | 1946-05-31 |
Movie | Flame of Barbary Coast | Duke Fergus | 1945-05-28 |
Movie | Back to Bataan | Colonel Joseph Madden | 1945-05-30 |
Movie | Dakota | John Devlin | 1945-12-15 |
Movie | They Were Expendable | Lt. (J.G.) 'Rusty' Ryan | 1945-12-07 |
Movie | The Fighting Seabees | Lt. Cmdr. Wedge Donovan | 1944-01-27 |
Movie | Memo for Joe | Self | 1944-08-10 |
Movie | Tall in the Saddle | Rocklin | 1944-09-29 |
Movie | A Lady Takes a Chance | Duke Hudkins | 1943-08-19 |
Movie | In Old Oklahoma | Daniel F Somers | 1943-12-06 |
Movie | Reunion in France | Pat Talbot | 1942-12-25 |
Movie | Lady for a Night | Jackson Morgan | 1942-01-05 |
Movie | In Old California | Tom Craig | 1942-05-31 |
Movie | Reap the Wild Wind | Captain Jack Stuart | 1942-03-26 |
Movie | The Spoilers | Glennister | 1942-06-11 |
Movie | Pittsburgh | Charles 'Pittsburgh' Markham | 1942-12-11 |
Movie | Flying Tigers | Jim Gordon | 1942-10-08 |
Movie | A Man Betrayed | Lynn Hollister | 1941-03-07 |
Movie | The Shepherd of the Hills | Young Matt Matthews | 1941-07-18 |
Movie | Lady from Louisiana | John Reynolds | 1941-04-22 |
Movie | Dark Command | Bob Seton | 1940-04-15 |
Movie | Three Faces West | John Phillips | 1940-07-03 |
Movie | Seven Sinners | Dan | 1940-10-25 |
Movie | The Long Voyage Home | Ole Olsen | 1940-11-16 |
Movie | The Night Riders | Stony Brooke | 1939-04-12 |
Movie | Three Texas Steers | Stony Brooke | 1939-05-12 |
Movie | Stagecoach | The Ringo Kid | 1939-03-03 |
Movie | Wyoming Outlaw | Stony Brooke | 1939-06-27 |
Movie | Allegheny Uprising | Jim Smith | 1939-11-10 |
Movie | New Frontier | Stony Brooke | 1939-08-10 |
Movie | Pals of the Saddle | Stony Brooke | 1938-08-28 |
Movie | Overland Stage Raiders | Stony Brooke | 1938-09-20 |
Movie | Santa Fe Stampede | Stony Brooke | 1938-11-18 |
Movie | Red River Range | Stony Brooke | 1938-12-22 |
Movie | California Straight Ahead | Biff Smith | 1937-04-16 |
Movie | I Cover the War! | Bob Adams | 1937-07-04 |
Movie | Adventure's End | Duke Slade | 1937-12-05 |
Movie | Idol of the Crowds | Johnny Hanson | 1937-09-30 |
Movie | Born to the West | Dare Rudd | 1937-12-10 |
Movie | King of the Pecos | John Clayborn | 1936-03-09 |
Movie | The Oregon Trail | Capt John Delmont | 1936-01-18 |
Movie | The Lawless Nineties | John Tipton | 1936-02-15 |
Movie | The Lonely Trail | Captain John Ashley | 1936-05-25 |
Movie | Winds of the Wasteland | John Blair | 1936-07-06 |
Movie | Conflict | Pat Glendon | 1936-11-29 |
Movie | Sea Spoilers | Bob Randall | 1936-09-30 |
Movie | Paradise Canyon | John Wyatt | 1935-07-19 |
Movie | Rainbow Valley | John Martin | 1935-03-15 |
Movie | The Desert Trail | John Scott / John Jones | 1935-04-21 |
Movie | The Dawn Rider | John Mason | 1935-06-20 |
Movie | Westward Ho | John Wyatt | 1935-08-19 |
Movie | The New Frontier | John Dawson | 1935-10-25 |
Movie | Lawless Range | John Middleton | 1935-11-04 |
Movie | Texas Terror | John Higgins | 1935-10-17 |
Movie | Blue Steel | John Carruthers | 1934-05-10 |
Movie | West of the Divide | Ted Hayden aka Gat Ganns | 1934-02-15 |
Movie | The Lucky Texan | Jerry Mason | 1934-01-22 |
Movie | The Man from Utah | John Weston | 1934-05-15 |
Movie | Randy Rides Alone | Randy Bowers | 1934-06-05 |
Movie | The Lawless Frontier | John Tobin | 1934-11-22 |
Movie | The Trail Beyond | Rod Drew | 1934-10-22 |
Movie | 'Neath the Arizona Skies | Chris Morrell | 1934-12-05 |
Movie | The Star Packer | U.S. Marshal John Travers | 1934-07-30 |
Movie | Somewhere in Sonora | John Bishop | 1933-05-27 |
Movie | Central Airport | 1933-04-15 | |
Movie | The Telegraph Trail | John Trent | 1933-03-18 |
Movie | The Life of Jimmy Dolan | Smith | 1933-06-03 |
Movie | The Three Musketeers | Lt. Tom Wayne | 1933-04-07 |
Movie | Sagebrush Trail | John Brant | 1933-12-15 |
Movie | His Private Secretary | Dick Wallace | 1933-06-10 |
Movie | Riders of Destiny | Singin' Sandy Saunders | 1933-10-10 |
Movie | College Coach | 1933-11-04 | |
Movie | The Man from Monterey | John Holmes | 1933-07-15 |
Movie | Baby Face | Jimmy McCoy Jr. | 1933-07-13 |
Movie | Two-Fisted Law | Duke | 1932-06-08 |
Movie | Texas Cyclone | Steve Pickett | 1932-02-24 |
Movie | Running Hollywood | Emcee | 1932-01-27 |
Movie | The Shadow of the Eagle | Craig McCoy | 1932-02-01 |
Movie | Lady and Gent | Buzz Kinney | 1932-07-10 |
Movie | The Hurricane Express | The Air Pilot | 1932-08-01 |
Movie | Haunted Gold | John Mason | 1932-12-17 |
Movie | The Big Stampede | Deputy Sheriff John Steele | 1932-09-29 |
Movie | Ride Him, Cowboy | John Drury | 1932-08-27 |
Movie | Girls Demand Excitement | Peter Brooks | 1931-02-08 |
Movie | Arizona | Lt. Bob Denton | 1931-06-27 |
Movie | Three Girls Lost | Gordon Wales | 1931-04-19 |
Movie | The Range Feud | Clint Turner | 1931-10-14 |
Movie | Maker of Men | Dusty Rhodes | 1931-08-03 |
Movie | Men Without Women | Radioman on Surface (uncredited) | 1930-02-08 |
Movie | Born Reckless | Extra (uncredited) | 1930-05-11 |
Movie | Rough Romance | Lumberjack | 1930-06-15 |
Movie | The Big Trail | Breck Coleman | 1930-11-01 |
Movie | Cheer Up and Smile | 1930-06-22 | |
Movie | Speakeasy | Extra | 1929-03-08 |
Movie | The Black Watch | Black Watch Soldier (uncredited) | 1929-05-22 |
Movie | Salute | 1929-09-01 | |
Movie | Words and Music | Pete Donahue | 1929-08-18 |
Movie | Four Sons | 1928-02-13 | |
Movie | Hangman's House | Horse Race Spectator / Condemned Man in Flashback | 1928-05-13 |
Movie | Noah's Ark | Flood Extra (uncredited) | 1928-11-01 |
Movie | A Home Made Man | Man on Stool | 1928-07-17 |
Movie | The Draw-Back | Opposing Football Player | 1927-04-10 |
Movie | Annie Laurie | 1927-05-10 | |
Movie | Mother Machree | 1927-12-19 | |
Movie | The Drop Kick | Football Player / Extra in Stands | 1927-09-25 |
Movie | Brown of Harvard | Yale Football Player (uncredited) | 1926-05-02 |
Movie | The Great K&A Train Robbery | 1926-10-17 | |
Movie | Bardelys the Magnificent | 1926-09-30 |