John Wayne Highlands, fierce fighters against communism, bestowed on Wayne a brass bracelet that he wore in the film and all subsequent films. Wayne finally won a Best Actor Oscar for "True Grit" (1969), two decades after his only other nomination. Wayne took on the role of the eponymous detective in the crime drama "McQ" (1974). His last film was "The Shootist" (1976), whose main character, J. B. Books, was dying of cancer—which Wayne himself succumbed to three years later. "The Shootist" (1976) contains numerous plot similarities to "The Gunfighter" of nearly thirty years before, a role which Wayne had wanted but
John S. Ragin roles in a few films such as "Earthquake", "The Parallax View" and "Doctors' Wives. Ragin played Walter Cramer in the short-lived 1974 TV series "Sons and Daughters". He had a short-term stint as Dr. Grant Jameson on the daytime soap opera "Santa Barbara" during 1990-91. Ragin died in Los Angeles on April 14, 2013, at the age of 83. John S. Ragin John Stanley Ragin (May 5, 1929 - April 14, 2013) was an American television and film actor. He was best known for his role as uptight bureaucratic Dr. Robert Asten, M.E. in the TV series "Quincy, M.E." (1976–83).