John Wayne John Wayne Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison; May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed "The 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
The Wings of Eagles films as "Hell Divers" with Wallace Beery and Clark Gable, "Ceiling Zero" with James Cagney, and the Oscar-nominated World War II drama "They Were Expendable" in which Wayne co-starred with Robert Montgomery. The supporting cast features Ward Bond, Ken Curtis, Edmund Lowe and Kenneth Tobey. This film was the third of five in which Wayne and O'Hara appeared together; others were "Rio Grande" (1950), "The Quiet Man" (1952), "McLintock!" (1963) and "Big Jake" (1971). Soon after World War I is over, "Spig" Wead (John Wayne), along with John Dale Price (Ken Curtis), tries to prove to the Navy the value