John Wayne, born Marion Mitchell Morrison, was an American actor, director, and producer who became one of the most enduring symbols of classic Hollywood cinema. Known by the nickname “Duke,” he defined the image of the American cowboy and war hero across a career that spanned more than five decades.

Marion Morrison was born in Winterset, Iowa, in 1907 and moved west with his family in 1914. He was soon nicknamed “Duke” after firefighters in Glendale, California, where the family settled, gave him the same name as his constant companion, an Airedale dog. He lived with his parents, Clyde “Doc” Morrison, a pharmacist, and Mary “Molly” Brown, alongside his brother Robert Morrison. At Glendale High School, Duke excelled academically and athletically.

His success earned him a football scholarship to the University of Southern California. However, a bodysurfing injury ended his athletic career, leading him to seek work in the film industry during the Great Depression. He joined the Fox Film Corporation as a prop man, where he began appearing as an extra in films such as Brown of Harvard (1926) and Drop Kick (1927).

While working at Fox, he caught the attention of director John Ford, who cast him in a minor role in Mother Machree (1928). A close professional relationship and lifelong friendship developed between the two, with Ford mentoring Wayne and frequently casting him in small parts. Ford later introduced him to director Raoul Walsh, who gave him his first starring role as Breck Coleman in The Big Trail (1930). During this production, studio executives encouraged him to adopt the screen name “John Wayne,” which he accepted.

Throughout the 1930s, John Wayne refined his craft by starring in low-budget Westerns and serials. He spent extensive time with stuntmen and real-life cowboys, developing his distinctive walk, fighting style, and on-screen persona, often performing his own stunts.

His career-defining breakthrough came in 1939 when John Ford cast him as the Ringo Kid in Stagecoach. The film made Wayne a major star and marked the beginning of one of the most influential actor–director collaborations in film history.

During the 1940s and 1950s, John Wayne became a central figure in American cinema through iconic Westerns and war films. He worked repeatedly with directors such as Howard Hawks and John Ford, and co-starred with leading actors including Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Montgomery Clift, and Maureen O’Hara. In parallel, he toured internationally with the USO, entertaining American troops.

As his career progressed into the 1960s and 1970s, Wayne expanded into romantic comedies, police dramas, and historical epics. He earned three Academy Award nominations and won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1969 for his performance as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit, in which he later appeared alongside Katharine Hepburn in its sequel.

His final screen appearance came in The Shootist (1976), where he portrayed a dying gunfighter opposite Lauren Bacall, James Stewart, and Ron Howard. The role is widely regarded as one of the most powerful performances of his career.

Wayne survived lung cancer in 1964, losing a lung and several ribs. After multiple marriages, he had seven children, including Michael, Patrick, Toni, Melinda, Marisa, Aissa, and Ethan. In his later years, he became increasingly vocal on national issues and supported the U.S. Senate’s ratification of the Panama Canal Treaties in 1977.

John Wayne died of stomach cancer in 1979 at the age of seventy-two. Posthumously, he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Honoring his final wish, his family established the John Wayne Cancer Foundation in 1985 to support cancer research, education, and patient care.

Source: Biyografiler.com