John Wayne
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John Wayne | |
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Marion Robert Morrison | |
Birthday | |
Birthplace | Winterset, Iowa, U.S. |
Died | |
Occupation | Actor, director, producer |
Education | Glendale High School |
Wayne, John
Wayne, John, 1907–79, American movie actor, b. Winterset, Iowa, as Marion Michael Morrison. An enduringly popular movie star from his debut in 1930, Wayne combined the toughness necessary to play westerners and soldiers with an appealing amiability. He collaborated with John Ford, who discovered him, in such films as Stagecoach (1939), Fort Apache (1948), Rio Grande (1950), The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers (1956), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Wayne's other films include Red River (1949), The Alamo (1960), True Grit (1969), for which he won an Academy Award, and The Shootist (1975).
Bibliography
See biographies by R. Roberts and J. S. Olson (1995) and S. Eyman (2014); studies by M. Tomkies (1971), G. Carpozi (1972), and G. Wills (1997).
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Wayne, John (b. Marion Michael Morrison)
(1907–79) film actor; born in Winterset, Iowa. This tough, tall, strong-but-silent he-man made his first film in Hangman's House (1928) and graduated to a long succession of small parts in low-budget movies until he got his big break in Stagecoach (1939). He became the quintessential mythical movie hero, and finally won an Oscar for True Grit (1969) after some 250 films. His final movie was The Shootist (1976). He became known in later years for his outspokenness on behalf of conservative political causes, particularly for his support of America's role in Vietnam.The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.