John Wayne
Born May 26, 1907 (Age: 118)
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Winterset, Iowa, USA
Biography
Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison) (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed 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 Corporation, he appeared mostly in small bit parts. His first leading role came in Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail (1930), which led to leading roles in numerous B movies throughout the 1930s, many of them in the Western genre. Wayne's career took off in 1939, with John Ford's Stagecoach making him an instant star. He went on to star in 142 pictures. Biographer Ronald Davis said, "John Wayne personified for millions the nation's frontier heritage. Eighty-three of his movies were Westerns, and in them, he played cowboys, cavalrymen, and unconquerable loners extracted from the Republic's central creation myth." Wayne's other well-known Western roles include a cattleman driving his herd north on the Chisholm Trail in Red River (1948), a Civil War veteran whose young niece is abducted by a tribe of Comanches in The Searchers (1956), and a troubled rancher competing with a lawyer for a woman's hand in marriage in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He is also remembered for his roles in The Quiet Man (1952), Rio Bravo (1959), and The Longest Day (1962). In his final screen performance, he starred as an aging gunfighter battling cancer in The Shootist (1976). He appeared with many important Hollywood stars of his era, and his last public appearance was at the Academy Awards ceremony on April 9, 1979.
Marion Mitchell Morrison (born Marion Robert Morrison) (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed 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 Corporation, he appeared mostly in small bit parts. His first leading role came in Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail (1930), which led to leading roles in numerous B movies throughout the 1930s, many of them in the Western genre.
Wayne's career took off in 1939, with John Ford's Stagecoach making him an instant star. He went on to star in 142 pictures. Biographer Ronald Davis said, "John Wayne personified for millions the nation's frontier heritage. Eighty-three of his movies were Westerns, and in them, he played cowboys, cavalrymen, and unconquerable loners extracted from the Republic's central creation myth."
Wayne's other well-known Western roles include a cattleman driving his herd north on the Chisholm Trail in Red River (1948), a Civil War veteran whose young niece is abducted by a tribe of Comanches in The Searchers (1956), and a troubled rancher competing with a lawyer for a woman's hand in marriage in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). He is also remembered for his roles in The Quiet Man (1952), Rio Bravo (1959), and The Longest Day (1962). In his final screen performance, he starred as an aging gunfighter battling cancer in The Shootist (1976). He appeared with many important Hollywood stars of his era, and his last public appearance was at the Academy Awards ceremony on April 9, 1979.
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Filmography
Spiritual day in Minneapolis
2026
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as
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Age: 118
Dead Man's Wire
2026
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as Self (archive footage)(uncredited)
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Age: 118
John Ford and Throwing
2022
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as
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Age: 114
John Wayne-A Life on Film
2000
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as Himself
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Age: 92
Perry Como's Early American Christmas
1978
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as Self
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Age: 71
This Little Bullet
1977
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as Host
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Age: 69
The Shootist
1976
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as J.B. Books
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Age: 69
Rooster Cogburn
1975
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as Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn
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Age: 68
Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television
1975
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as (archive footage)
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Age: 68
No Image
The Man Behind the Star
1973
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as Self
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Age: 65
The Cowboys
1972
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as Wil Andersen
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Age: 64
Big Jake
1971
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as Jacob McCandles
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Age: 64
Plimpton! Shoot-Out at Rio Lobo
1970
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as Self
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Age: 63
Chisum
1970
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as John Chisum
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Age: 63
True Grit
1969
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as Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn
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Age: 62
The Green Berets
1968
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as Colonel Mike Kirby
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Age: 61
El Dorado
1966
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as Cole Thornton
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Age: 59
The Sons of Katie Elder
1965
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as John Elder
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Age: 58
The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965
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as Centurion at crucifixion
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Age: 57
In Harm's Way
1965
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as Capt. Rockwell Torrey
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Age: 57
No Image
Choice
1964
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as Host
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Age: 56
McLintock!
1963
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as George Washington McLintock
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Age: 56
Donovan's Reef
1963
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as Michael "Guns" Donovan
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Age: 56
How the West Was Won
1962
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as William Sherman
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Age: 55
The Longest Day
1962
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as Lt. Col. Benjamin Vandervoort
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Age: 55
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962
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as Tom Doniphon
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Age: 54
The Comancheros
1961
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as Jake Cutter
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Age: 54
No Image
The Challenge of Ideas
1961
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as Self
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Age: 53
The 10 from Texas
1961
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as (archive footage)
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Age: 53
The Colter Craven Story
1960
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as
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Age: 53
The Alamo
1960
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as Col. Davy Crockett
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Age: 53
The Horse Soldiers
1959
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as Col John Marlowe
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Age: 52
Rio Bravo
1959
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as Sheriff John T. Chance
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Age: 51
The Western: A Lost TV Special
1958
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as Self
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Age: 51
Blood Alley
1955
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as Capt. Tom Wilder
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Age: 48
The Sea Chase
1955
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as Captain Karl Ehrlich
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Age: 48
Sands of Iwo Jima
1950
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as Sgt. John M. Stryker
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Age: 42
Reunion in France
1942
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as Pat Talbot
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Age: 35
Pittsburgh
1942
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as Charles 'Pittsburgh' Markham
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Age: 35
Flying Tigers
1942
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as Jim Gordon
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Age: 35
The Spoilers
1942
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as Glennister
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Age: 35
In Old California
1942
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as Tom Craig
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Age: 35
Reap the Wild Wind
1942
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as Captain Jack Stuart
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Age: 34
Lady for a Night
1942
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as Jackson Morgan
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Age: 34
The Shepherd of the Hills
1941
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as Young Matt Matthews
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Age: 34
Lady from Louisiana
1941
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as John Reynolds
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Age: 33
A Man Betrayed
1941
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as Lynn Hollister
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Age: 33
Haunted Gold
1932
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as John Mason
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Age: 25
The Big Stampede
1932
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as Deputy Sheriff John Steele
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Age: 25
Ride Him, Cowboy
1932
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as John Drury
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Age: 25
No Image
The Hollywood Handicap
1932
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as
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Age: 25
The Hurricane Express
1932
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as The Air Pilot
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Age: 25
Lady and Gent
1932
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as Buzz Kinney
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Age: 25
Two-Fisted Law
1932
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as Duke
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Age: 25
Texas Cyclone
1932
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as Steve Pickett
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Age: 24
The Shadow of the Eagle
1932
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as Craig McCoy
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Age: 24
No Image
Running Hollywood
1932
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as Emcee
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Age: 24
No Image
The Deceiver
1931
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as Reginald Thorpe as a corpse
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Age: 24