John Wayne (born May 26, 1907 in Iowa, United States) is a Hollywood star known for acting as tough guys in Westerns and war movies.
Wayne was the embodiment of all Americans of that era: honesty, individuality, heroism. His work "Guan Shan FeiDu" is well-known in the world film industry, starring in a total of 181 films in his lifetime, which is extremely influential, and is one of the greatest movie stars in Hollywood history. In 1999, he was selected by the American Film Institute as the 13th greatest actor of a hundred years. He is also ranked 4th in the "Top 10 Cultural Icons in the United States".
Pictured is a still from 1958's "Barbarians and Geisha". Image source: Visual China
John Wayne, whose father was a pharmacist, moved his family south to Southern California as a child and ran a farm in the Mojave Desert, where he would swim across a river with his brother every day before riding to school. After the farm failed, they moved again, and Morrison began delivering medicine or selling newspapers for his father, and had a hard-haired dog named "Duke". This later became Wayne's own nickname.
Stills from the 1934 film Blue Steel starring John Wayne. Image source: Visual China
He did well in school and rugby, and met Western director John Ford while working during the holidays, but his dream was to become a rugby star. It wasn't until an accident forced him off the field that he began his acting career under Ford's direction and changed his name to John Wayne.
Pictured here is stills from the 1970 film White Valley Sun starring John Wayne. Image source: Visual China
His first film was 1930's The Man Without a Woman, and he later starred in several films. But at that time, the genre of Westerns was not yet mature, the production was crude, and Wayne in his early twenties was also a little too naïve, and he did not have the tough and rough style of the future, and he was not popular at this time. It wasn't until 1939's "Stagecoach" that Wayne shined and became a star. In the film, Wayne is flesh and bloody, bent on revenge.
Stills from the 1942 film Wild Wind starring John Wayne. Image source: Visual China
Red River (1948) was another leap forward for Wayne. After the success of this film, the two worked more and more closely together, making a series of Westerns. And Wayne has gradually participated in film production in multiple capacities such as director and producer. After middle age, Wayne was plagued by health problems for a long time, but still insisted on filming, and finally won an Oscar in 1969 for his old spicy performance in "Earth Thunder". Wayne made 181 plays in his lifetime, and his famous films include John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy, The Searcher, and more.
Pictured here is a still from the 1959 movie "Pink Submarine" starring John Wayne. Image source: Visual China
Westerns are the product of a specific era in the United States, and Wayne, as the representative of Westerns, is considered a symbol of the United States, the embodiment of all Americans in that era. Wayne plays characters who are always honest, have personality, and are heroic. Wayne was politically conservative, and he and Reagan were good friends, had personally written biographies for Reagan, and often reflected his political demands in the film. He died of illness on 11 June 1979.
Stills from the 1929 film The Black Watch starring John Wayne. Image source: Visual China