Photo: John Wayne in Red River / JohnWayne.com
John Wayne started out his career in film as a member of a swing gang. He worked as a prop man, moving furniture and equipment. Several filmmakers he worked with thought he was the right build to stand in a few scenes here and there as an extra. His first official roles were as a football player in “Brown of Harvard” in 1926 and in “Drop Kick” in 1927.
Eventually Wayne got to know Hollywood great John Ford, who took a liking to him, and Wayne tried to learn as much as possible about filmmaking under Ford’s tutelage.
After starring in several lesser known westerns in the 1930s, Wayne got his first big break from For in 1939 as the Ringo Kid in “Stagecoach.” A silver screen star was born.
Throughout his career, John Wayne had roles in a total of 142 films. Here are our picks for his top 10 (in no particular order).
The Searchers
The Shootist
True Grit
Stagecoach
Fort Apache
Red River
Rio Bravo
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
El Dorado
The Cowboys