John R. Hamilton (photographer) John R. Hamilton (photographer) John R. Hamilton (12 November 1923 – 7 February 1997) was an American photographer. Hamilton began as a magazine photojournalist, then became known for his photographs of actors on film sets. The first movie Hamilton worked on was "The Searchers" in 1956 with John Ford and John Wayne. He worked on 77 films and his photographs appeared in "Life," "Look," "Time" and other newspapers and periodicals. Hamilton photographed Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, Kirk Douglas, Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood, Clint Eastwood, Elvis and Jayne Mansfield. His portrait of John Wayne was used on the cover of "Life"
John Wayne Corporation, he appeared mostly in small bit parts. His first leading role came in Raoul Walsh's Western "The Big Trail" (1930), an early widescreen film epic which was a box-office failure. Only leading roles in numerous B movies followed during the 1930s, most of them also Westerns. Wayne's career was rejuvenated with John Ford's "Stagecoach" (1939) making him an instant mainstream star. He starred in 142 motion pictures altogether, including the dozens with his name above the title produced before 1939. Biographer Ronald Davis said, "John Wayne personified for millions the nation's frontier heritage. Eighty-three of his movies were Westerns,