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Filmography
The Shootist (1976) .... John Bernard Books
Rooster Cogburn (1975) .... Rooster Cogburn
Brannigan (1975) .... Lt. Brannigan
... aka Joe Battle
McQ (1974) .... Det. Lt. Lon McQ
Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973) .... U.S. Marshal J.D. Cahill
... aka Cahill (UK)
... aka Wednesday Morning
The Train Robbers (1973) .... Lane
The Cowboys (1972) .... Wil Andersen
Big Jake (1971) .... Jacob McCandles
Rio Lobo (1970) .... Col. Cord McNally
... aka San Timoteo
Chisum (1970) .... John Simpson Chisum
The Undefeated (1969) .... Col. John Henry Thomas
True Grit (1969) .... Marshall Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn
Hellfighters (1968) .... Chance Buckman
The Green Berets (1968) .... Col. Mike Kirby
The War Wagon (1967) .... Taw Jackson
El Dorado (1966) .... Cole Thornton
Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) .... Gen. Mike Randolph
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) .... John Elder
In Harm's Way (1965) .... Capt. Rockwell Torrey
The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) .... Centurion at crucifixion
... aka George Stevens Presents The Greatest Story Ever Told (USA: complete title)
Circus World (1964) .... Matt Masters
... aka Henry Hathaway's The Magnificent Showman (UK: complete title)
... aka Samuel Bronston's Circus World
... aka The Magnificent Showman (UK)
McLintock! (1963) .... George Washington McLintock
Donovan's Reef (1963) .... Michael Patrick 'Guns' Donovan
How the West Was Won (1962) .... Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman
"Alcoa Premiere" .... Sergeant-Umpire in Korea (1 episode, 1962)
- Flashing Spikes (1962) TV episode .... Sergeant-Umpire in Korea
The Longest Day (1962) .... Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort
Hatari! (1962) .... Sean Mercer
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) .... Tom Doniphon
The Comancheros (1961) .... Ranger Capt. Jake Cutter
"Wagon Train" .... General William Tecumseh Sherman (1 episode, 1960)
... aka Major Adams, Trail Master
- The Colter Craven Story (1960) TV episode (as Michael Morris) .... General William Tecumseh Sherman
North to Alaska (1960) .... Sam McCord
The Alamo (1960) .... Col. Davy Crockett
The Horse Soldiers (1959) .... Col. John Marlowe
Rio Bravo (1959) .... Sheriff John T. Chance
... aka Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo (USA: complete title)
The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958) .... Townsend Harris
I Married a Woman (1958) (uncredited) .... John Wayne / Leonard
Legend of the Lost (1957) .... Joe January
... aka Timbuctù (Italy)
Jet Pilot (1957) .... Col. Jim Shannon
The Wings of Eagles (1957) .... Frank W. 'Spig' Wead
The Searchers (1956) .... Ethan Edwards
The Conqueror (1956) .... Temujin, later Genghis Khan
... aka Conqueror of the Desert
"Screen Directors Playhouse" .... Mike Cronin (1 episode, 1955)
- Rookie of the Year (1955) TV episode .... Mike Cronin
Blood Alley (1955) .... Capt. Tom Wilder
... aka William A. Wellman's Blood Alley (UK: complete title) (USA: complete title)
The Sea Chase (1955) .... Capt. Karl Ehrlich
The High and the Mighty (1954) .... Dan Roman
Hondo (1953) .... Hondo Lane
Island in the Sky (1953) .... Capt. Dooley
Trouble Along the Way (1953) .... Stephen 'Steve' Aloysius Williams
... aka Alma Mater
Big Jim McLain (1952) .... Jim McLain
... aka Jim McLain
The Quiet Man (1952) .... Sean Thornton
Miracle in Motion (1952) .... Narrator
Flying Leathernecks (1951) .... Maj. Daniel Xavier Kirby
Operation Pacific (1951) .... Lt Cmdr. Duke E. Gifford
Rio Grande (1950) .... Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke
... aka John Ford and Merian C. Cooper's Rio Grande (USA: complete title)
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) .... Sgt. John M. Stryker
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) .... Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles
The Fighting Kentuckian (1949) .... John Breen
Wake of the Red Witch (1948) .... Capt. Ralls
3 Godfathers (1948) .... Robert Marmaduke Hightower
Red River (1948) .... Thomas Dunson
Fort Apache (1948) .... Capt. Kirby York
... aka War Party
Tycoon (1947) .... Johnny Munroe
Angel and the Badman (1947) .... Quirt Evans
... aka The Angel and the Outlaw
Without Reservations (1946) .... Rusty Thomas
... aka Thanks God, I'll Take It from Here
Dakota (1945) .... John Devlin
They Were Expendable (1945) .... Lt. JG 'Rusty' Ryan
Back to Bataan (1945) .... Col. Joseph Madden
... aka The Invisible Army
Flame of Barbary Coast (1945) .... Duke Fergus
... aka Flame of the Barbary Coast (UK)
Tall in the Saddle (1944) .... Rocklin
The Fighting Seabees (1944) .... Lt. Cmdr. Wedge Donovan
... aka Donovan's Army
In Old Oklahoma (1943) .... Daniel F. Somers
... aka War of the Wildcats (USA: reissue title)
A Lady Takes a Chance (1943) .... Duke Hudkins
... aka The Cowboy and the Girl
Reunion in France (1942) .... Pat Talbot
... aka Mademoiselle France (UK)
... aka Reunion
Pittsburgh (1942) .... Charles 'Pittsburgh' Markham/Charles Ellis
Flying Tigers (1942) .... Capt. Jim Gordon
In Old California (1942) .... Tom Craig
The Spoilers (1942) .... Roy Glennister
Reap the Wild Wind (1942) .... Captain Jack Stuart
... aka Cecil B. DeMille's Reap the Wild Wind (USA: complete title)
Lady for a Night (1942) .... Jackson Morgan
The Shepherd of the Hills (1941) .... Young Matt
Lady from Louisiana (1941) .... John Reynolds
... aka Lady from New Orleans
A Man Betrayed (1941) .... Lynn Hollister
... aka Citadel of Crime (UK)
... aka Wheel of Fortune (USA: reissue title)
Seven Sinners (1940) .... Lt. Dan Brent
... aka Cafe of the Seven Sinners
The Long Voyage Home (1940) .... Ole Olsen
Three Faces West (1940) .... John Phillips
... aka The Refugee (UK)
Dark Command (1940) .... Bob Seton
Allegheny Uprising (1939) .... James Smith
... aka The First Rebel (UK)
New Frontier (1939) .... Stony Brooke
... aka Frontier Horizon (USA: reissue title)
Wyoming Outlaw (1939) .... Stony Brooke
Three Texas Steers (1939) .... Stony Brooke
... aka Danger Rides the Range
The Night Riders (1939) .... Stony Brooke
Stagecoach (1939) .... The Ringo Kid
Red River Range (1938) .... Stony Brooke
Santa Fe Stampede (1938) .... Stony Brooke
Overland Stage Raiders (1938) .... Stony Brooke
Pals of the Saddle (1938) .... Stony Brooke
Born to the West (1937) .... Dare Rudd
... aka Hell Town (USA: reissue title)
Adventure's End (1937) .... Duke Slade
Idol of the Crowds (1937) .... Johnny Hansen
I Cover the War (1937) .... Bob Adams
California Straight Ahead! (1937) .... Biff Smith
Conflict (1936) .... Pat Glendon
Sea Spoilers (1936) .... 'Bos'n' Bob Randall
Winds of the Wasteland (1936) .... John Blair
The Lonely Trail (1936) .... Captain John Ashley
King of the Pecos (1936) .... John Clayborn
The Lawless Nineties (1936) .... John Tipton
The Oregon Trail (1936) .... Capt John Delmont
Lawless Range (1935) .... John Middleton, aka John Allen
The New Frontier (1935) .... John Dawson
Westward Ho (1935) .... John Wyatt
Paradise Canyon (1935) .... John Wyatt aka John Rogers
... aka Paradise Ranch
The Dawn Rider (1935) .... John Mason
The Desert Trail (1935) .... John Scott, aka John Jones
Rainbow Valley (1935) .... John Martin
Texas Terror (1935) .... John Higgins
'Neath the Arizona Skies (1934) .... Chris Morrell
... aka 'Neath Arizona Skies
The Lawless Frontier (1934) .... John Tobin
The Trail Beyond (1934) .... Rod Drew
The Star Packer (1934) .... U.S. Marshal John Travers
... aka He Wore a Star (UK)
Randy Rides Alone (1934) .... Randy Bowers
The Man from Utah (1934) .... John Weston
Blue Steel (1934) .... John Carruthers
... aka An Innocent Man (USA)
West of the Divide (1934) .... Ted Hayden, posing as Gat Ganns
The Lucky Texan (1934) .... Jerry Mason
... aka Gold Strike River (USA: alternative title)
Sagebrush Trail (1933) .... John Brant (using alias John Smith)
... aka Stolen Goods (USA: alternative title)
College Coach (1933) (uncredited) .... Student greeting Phil
... aka Football Coach (UK)
Riders of Destiny (1933) .... Singin' Sandy Saunders
The Man from Monterey (1933) .... Captain John Holmes
Baby Face (1933) .... Jimmy McCoy Jr.
His Private Secretary (1933) .... Dick Wallace
The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933) .... Smith
... aka The Kid's Last Fight (UK)
Somewhere in Sonora (1933) .... John Bishop
Central Airport (1933) (uncredited) .... Co-pilot in Wreck
The Three Musketeers (1933) .... Lt. Tom Wayne
The Telegraph Trail (1933) .... John Trent
Haunted Gold (1932) .... John Mason
The Big Stampede (1932) .... Deputy Sheriff John Steele
That's My Boy (1932) (uncredited) .... Football Player
Ride Him, Cowboy (1932) .... John Drury
... aka The Hawk
The Hurricane Express (1932) .... Larry Baker
Lady and Gent (1932) .... Buzz Kinney
... aka The Challenger
Two-Fisted Law (1932) .... Duke
Texas Cyclone (1932) .... Steve Pickett
The Shadow of the Eagle (1932) .... Craig McCoy
Maker of Men (1931) .... Dusty Rhodes
... aka Yellow
Range Feud (1931) .... Clint Turner
The Deceiver (1931) .... Richard Thorpe as a corpse
Arizona (1931) .... Lt. Bob Denton
... aka Men Are Like That (USA: review title)
Three Girls Lost (1931) .... Gordon Wales
Girls Demand Excitement (1931) .... Peter Brooks
The Big Trail (1930) .... Breck Coleman
Cheer Up and Smile (1930) (uncredited) .... Bit Part
Rough Romance (1930) (uncredited) .... Lumberjack
Born Reckless (1930) (uncredited) .... Extra
Men Without Women (1930) (uncredited) .... Radioman on surface
The Forward Pass (1929) (uncredited) .... Extra
Salute (1929) (uncredited) .... Bill (midshipman)
Words and Music (1929) (as Duke Morrison) .... Pete Donahue
The Black Watch (1929) (uncredited) .... Extra
... aka King of the Khyber Rifles (UK)
Speakeasy (1929) (uncredited) .... Extra
Noah's Ark (1928/I) (uncredited) .... Flood Extra
Hangman's House (1928) (uncredited) .... Horse Race Spectator/Condemned Man in Flashback
Four Sons (1928) (uncredited) .... Extra
Mother Machree (1928) (uncredited) .... Extra
The Drop Kick (1927) (uncredited) .... Football Player/Extra in Stands
... aka Glitter (UK)
Annie Laurie (1927) (uncredited) .... Extra
The Great K & A Train Robbery (1926) (uncredited) .... Extra
Bardelys the Magnificent (1926) .... Guard
Brown of Harvard (1926) (uncredited) .... Yale Football Player
John Wayne
Courage is being scared to death... and saddling up anyway.
~John Wayne
In January 1950, actor John Wayne placed his hand prints in wet cement at Grumman's Chinese Theatre (now Mann's Chinese Theatre) in Hollywood. Sand used in the cement reportedly was brought from Iwo Jima, in tribute to his performance in the 1949 film "Sands of Iwo Jima". This event marked the 90th such ceremony in the "Forecourt of the Stars" at the famous theater.
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John Wayne (born Marion Morrison)
26 May 1907, Winterset, Iowa, USA
11 June 1979, Los Angeles, California, USA
He was the first child of Clyde "Doc" Morrison and Mary "Molly" Brown. After his brother, Robert Emmet was born, his middle name was changed to Michael.
In 1912 Doc was diagnosed as having tuberculosis. He decided to move to a warmer climate, Palmdale, California. There, he bought a small 80 acre homestead. In 1914 the rest of the Morrison family joined him.
When the homestead failed in 1916, the family moved to Glendale. This was ten minutes from downtown Los Angeles. Doc got a job in one of the local pharmacies. Even though he was only eleven and still at school, Marion also worked. He delivered the Los Angeles Examiner in the morning and in the afternoon, prescriptions for his father. On Saturdays, he found work at the local picture theatre.
Marion owned an Airedale dog. Both were inseparable. Local fireman, seeing the pair of them wandering around the streets of Glendale, gave them a nickname. It was to stick with him until the day he died. They were called "Big Duke" and "Little Duke".
Years later Duke recounted:
"There've been a lot of stories about how I got to be called Duke. One was that I played the part of a duke in a school play, which I never did. Sometimes, they even said I was descended from royalty! It was all a lot of rubbish. Hell, the truth is that I was named after a dog!"
Duke won a college Football Scholarship to the University of Southern California. Whilst at University, Duke began working at the Fox lot on Western Avenue. Here he met the man who was to be one of the biggest influences in his life: director John Ford. Duke was 6'4 tall. He moved props around on the Ford sets. One day, Ford gibed Duke about his football prowess, inviting him to try to tackle him. Duke obliged and was tossed, unceremoniously, on the ground. Duke saw red. Invited to have another go by a jubilant Ford, he did. John Ford had never landed so hard. He lay there dazed and winded. On the football field it would have been an illegal tackle. A fifteen yard penalty would have been awarded. Duke's job was on the line. John Ford gazed at him for a while, then slowly rose to his feet. Everyone waited for the fiery Irishman to erupt. It never happened. Instead a big grin appeared on Fords face. They were to remain the best of friends until Fords death on August 31, 1973.
Duke became a permanent fixture on the Fox lots. He continued to move the props. Did some stunt work. Fed and watered the animals used on the various sets. Appeared in crowd scenes. (In Hangmans House, Duke actually appeared as a silhouette.)
In 1930, Raoul Walsh, the director who made the first outdoor western, In Old Arizona, was contracted to the Fox Studios. He was about to make another western, The Big Trail. A young trail scout was needed. No one could be found to play the role. Discussing the matter with Ford, Ford suggested that he look at a tall young fellow by the name of Marion Morrison. Walsh liked what he saw. A screen test was arranged. Duke passed with flying colors. There was one problem: his name. It would be difficult to convince the American public that Marion Morrison was a tough trail scout. Duke Morrison was considered and dropped. The name of a General from the American War of Independence was suggested. "Mad" Anthony Wayne. Anthony was replace with John. Consequently, without any say in the matter, Duke acquired his screen name: John Wayne.
In late 1930, The Big Trail, starring Marguerite Churchill, Tyron Power, and John Wayne, was released. It had been shot in both 35mm and 70mm (known as Grandeur). It was epic in its size. It was a mammoth failure. Because of the depression, Fox had only been able to install the 70mm screens, and not the 70mm projectors. On the small screen it was little more than another movie. (Twenty-five years latter, Fox would film again using 70mm film. The process, with its name changed to CinemaScope, was an instant success.)
Duke worked through the depression. He was fortunate. He still waited for stardom. Between 1930 and 1938 he made some 56 movies, mainly "B" grade westerns.
In the spring of 1938 John Ford asked Duke to read a short story. It was written by Ernest Haycox and published in Colliers magazine. The title of the story was "Stage to Lordsburg". The central characters were a gambler, a drunken doctor, a saloon girl, a lady, a whiskey drummer, a crooked bank owner and a gunfighter known as "Malpais Bill". (Latter the name "Malpais Bill" would be changed for a stronger, more appealing one: the "Ringo Kid".)
Ford asked Duke who he thought should play the part of the "Ringo Kid?". "Why don't you get Lloyd Nolan?" he asked. Ford erupted, "Why, you stupid _________, I want you to play it!".
In 1939, Stagecoach, starring John Wayne as the "Ringo Kid" was released. It was an instant success. It was Dukes springboard to stardom. John Wayne became a household name. Stagecoach was also to introduce another star, the setting: Monument Valley. It was the first time that Ford shot there. It was not to be the last. He used it in many of his latter westerns. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon was one such movie. Here Ford, filming at sunset, used the Monument Valley backdrop to capture a haunting, but tender moment. Duke visits his wife's grave. He sits down on a stool. Watering the flowers around the grave, Duke sadly relates to her the news about Little Big Horn, and the death of their dear friend, George Armstrong Custer.
Two Oscars were won by Stagecoach. Thomas Mitchell, as the drunken doctor, won "best supporting actor". Richard Hageman and his associates won one for "best musical score".
Between Stagecoach and True Grit, Duke made many memorable movies. Notable amongst these are: They Were Expendable, Fort Apache, Red River, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Sands of Iwo Jima, Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, (written by Maurice Walsh - and reproduced here as it appeared to in the Saturday Evening Post February 11, 1933), The Searchers, The Horse Soldiers, North to Alaska, The Comancheros, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and Hellfighters.
In 1969, Duke made a movie for Hal Wallis, True Grit. It won him the Oscar, he long sought. Duke plays an U. S. Marshal by the name of Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn. It was Duke to a "T". Who will ever forget the scene were Rooster comes across Ned Pepper and his three henchmen. Rooster invites them to surrender, "or be shot". A look of disbelief crosses Ned's face. He looks at each member of his gang, then coldly stares back at Rooster. "Bold talk, for a one-eyed fat man". Visible anger appears on Roosters face. "Fill your hand, you son of a bitch!". Placing his horses reins between his teeth, Rooster charges. Pistol blazing in one hand, the Winchester in the other. His firepower is deadly. Ned and his boys never stood a chance. All were gunned down. Rooster crowed. He was still crowing in 1970, when he received his Oscar.
Duke went on to make eleven more films. Everyone in the film industry knew he had cancer. He had two major operations to try to cure him of it. He thought he had "licked the big C".
The Cowboys, made in 1972, showed us another side of Dukes acting capabilities. His presence was inspiring to a bunch of schoolboys who are to become men before the end of the cattle drive. Bruce Dern plays the evil "Long Hair". He intimidates the boys and steals Duke's cattle. Duke is gunned down by the cowardly Dern, after Duke had beaten him in a fair fistfight. The boys turn into men, avenging their mentor, and successfully complete the cattle drive.
In 1975, the sequel to True Grit, Rooster Cogburn and the Lady, was made. The interchanges between Duke and Katharine Hepburn simply sparkle. (Reminiscent of the dialogue between Duke and Victor McLaglen in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon). The action is also very riveting.
In 1976, Duke made the Shootist . It was to be his final movie. Ironically it is the story of an ageing gunfighter, J. B. Brooks, diagnosed as having cancer. He has only a few weeks to live. Brooks arranges a gunfight, in the local saloon. Three men, with "old scores" to settle, have been invited to kill him. None of them manage it. Brooks kills them all, but is wounded in the process. A shotgun blast, by the bar keeper, finally kills him. An avenging angel, in the form of Ron Howard, picks up Brook's pistol and shoots the cowardly barman.
Duke eventually died of "the big C" at 5:23 pm, on June 11, 1979, at the UCLA Medical Centre. He was buried on June 15. The memorial service was held at Our Lady Queen of Angles parish, Newport Beach. Because of expected crowds, the Mass was conducted at 5:45 am. Only family and close friends attended. The press was not invited. A second grave was dug and his funeral flowers placed on it. This was done so that Duke's last resting place would not be disturbed by souvenir hunters or vandals.
Before his death, Duke wanted a simple epitaph carved on his headstone, "Feo, Fuerte y Formal". Translated it means "He was Ugly, Strong, and had Dignity". Sadly, his wishes were never carried out. Dukes grave, in Pacific View Memorial Park, still remains unmarked to this day.
Addendum
After 20 years John Wayne's burial site now has a headstone. The headstone is a bronze plaque featuring an image of John Wayne astride a horse, near the Alamo.
Its inscription reads:
"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learnt something from yesterday."
This has a lot of typos (even his name) but interesting.
Did you know he weighed 13 pounds at birth?
or that he rode a horse three miles to school when he was in the second grade?
"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday."
John Wayne
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John Wayne Museum
A show business museum in Hollywood is presenting an exhibit on the career of the late and great actor John Wayne.
One of the featured items is a pair of yellowy-brownish colored gravestones bearing his name, date of birth, and the titles of his most memorable movies.
The museum has decided to call the exhibit, ... "The Amber Graves of Wayne."
The title role of Dirty Harry, 1971, was originally intended for Frank Sinatra. After he refused, it was offered to John Wayne, and then Paul Newman, finally being accepted by Clint Eastwood.
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The U.S. Army has a stealth reconnaissance helicopter named "The Duke" in honor of John Wayne.
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