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
John Wayne filmography Monogram, and Republic. Wayne kept on friendly terms with John Ford who, as a result, gave Wayne a career boost with "Stagecoach" (1939). John Wayne had achieved stardom in motion pictures by 1941 and, by the end of the decade, was one of the cinema's top ten box office attractions. During the latter half of the 1940s Wayne starred in what many film fans and critics regard as being among his finest work, notably the "cavalry trilogy" "(Fort Apache", "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon", and "Rio Grande)" for director John Ford, "3 Godfathers", also for Ford, and "Red River" for