John Wayne, one of America's greatest actors and

directors of all time. His fame and superstardom led to many

problems in his career. His image as an icon of American

individualism and the frontier spirit has overshadowed his

career to such an extent that it is almost impossible for the

fans and writers to separate Wayne the legend from Wayne

Before the start of his movie career he played football

at USC under his birth name, Marion Michael Morrison. He

held many behind-the-scene jobs at Fox before moving in

front of the cameras in the late 1920's in a series of small

roles. Director John Ford, who befriended " the Duke",

recommended him for the lead role in Raoul Walsh's western

epic, The Big Trail. Wayne did not let the stardom go to his

head. He spent the rest of the decade making his way

through a series of low budget films whose failing budgets

and quick shooting schedules did little to advance his career.

In 1939 John Ford gave Wayne another break by

(1942), The Fighting Seabees (1944) and Back to Bataan

several small pictures. Standard western and action movies

low, talk slow, and don't say too much." His silence mad him

(1945) left Wayne with some pretty big shoes to fill.

Wayne into the top ranks of the movie stars and finally, in

military duty due to physical problems, Wayne became the

Howard Hawks emphasized the willful side of Wayne's screen

compelling character. Two other films directed by John Ford

Some common words found in the essay are:
John Wayne, Vietnam Wayne, Wayne America's, Kid Stagecoach, True Grit, Trail Wayne, Yellow Ribbon, Fighting Seabees, Michael Morrison, John Ford, john wayne, john ford,
Approximate Word count = 732
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)