John McClane John McClane John McClane is the main protagonist of the "Die Hard" film series. He is portrayed by Bruce Willis. He is known for his sardonic one-liners, including the famous catchphrase "Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker". John McClane was originally based on the fictional character Detective Joe Leland from Roderick Thorp's bestselling novel, "Nothing Lasts Forever". Other aspects are derived from Frank Malone from Walter Wager's novel "58 Minutes" (adapted as "Die Hard 2"). "Die Hard" villain Hans Gruber describes him as "just another American... who thinks he's John Wayne," to which McClane replies that he "was always partial to Roy Rogers." He
John A. Willis the Tony Awards and the New York University Hall of Fame, and was on the national board of the University of Tennessee Clarence Brown Theatre. In 2007, he was honored by his alma mater, Milligan College, when they dedicated the John Willis Wing of the new Gregory Center for Liberal Arts. John A. Willis John Alvin Willis (October 16, 1916 – June 25, 2010) was an American theatre and film book editor, theatre awards producer, actor, and educator. He is best known for editing the long-running annual publications "Theatre World" and "Screen World", and for producing the annual Theatre World