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 title was a play on the Dumas classic. He was mentored by stuntmen in riding and other Western skills. Stuntman Yakima Canutt and Wayne developed and perfected stunts and onscreen fisticuffs techniques which are still in use. Wayne's breakthrough role came with John Ford's "Stagecoach" (1939). Because of Wayne's B-movie status and track record in low-budget Westerns throughout the 1930s, Ford had difficulty getting financing for what was to be an A-budget film. After rejection by all the major studios, Ford struck a deal with independent producer Walter Wanger in which Claire Trevor—a much bigger star at the time—received top