John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known to millions as “Duke,” was the quintessential American actor, an enduring icon whose towering presence, rugged masculinity, and laconic drawl came to define the Western hero and symbolize the nation’s frontier spirit.
After a decade starring in B-Westerns, Wayne was catapulted to superstardom by his electrifying entrance as the Ringo Kid in John Ford’s masterpiece, Stagecoach (1939). This began one of cinema’s greatest collaborations, with Ford casting Wayne in a series of iconic films, including the epic Red River (1948) and their most acclaimed and complex work, The Searchers (1956), where he played the obsessive anti-hero Ethan Edwards.
While a master of the Western, Wayne also starred in beloved classics like the Irish romance The Quiet Man (1952). He finally won his long-overdue Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as the cantankerous, one-eyed marshal Rooster Cogburn in True Grit (1969). His final role, as an aging gunfighter dying of cancer in The Shootist (1976), was a moving and fitting tribute to his legendary career.
