John Wayne

John Wayne (born Marion Michael Morrison; 26 May 1907 – 11 June 1979) was an American film actor and director who was active through fifty years from his first accredited appearance in 1926 until his last film, The Shootist, in 1976. Wayne was born in Winterset, Iowa and died of cancer in Los Angeles. He was best known for his many appearances in films of the western film genre, mainly in association with director John Ford, though he worked with several well-known directors and was himself a director of five movies, though he was only credited twice.

His best known films include Stagecoach (1939), Reap the Wild Wind (1942), Fort Apache (1948), Red River (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Rio Grande, (1950), The Quiet Man (1950), The Searchers (1956), The Horse Soldiers (1959), Rio Bravo (1959), The Alamo (1960), North to Alaska (1960), The Comancheros (1961), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), The Longest Day (1962), Donovan's Reef (1963), The War Wagon (1967), El Dorado (1967), True Grit (1969), Chisum (1970), Big Jake (1970), The Cowboys (1972) and The Shootist.