On April 7, 1970, the legendary actor John Wayne wins his first—
and only—acting Academy Award, for his star turn in the director
Henry Hathaway’s Western True Grit.
Wayne appeared in some 150 movies over the course of his long
and storied career.
He established his tough, rugged, uniquely American screen
persona most vividly in the many acclaimed films he made for
the directors John Ford and Howard Hawks from the late 1940s
into the early 1960s.
He earned his first Oscar nomination, in the Best Actor category,
for Sands of Iwo Jima (1949). The Alamo (1960), which Wayne
produced, directed and starred in, earned a Best Picture
nomination.
Wayne’s Oscar for True Grit at the 42nd annual Academy Awards
in 1970 was generally considered to be a largely sentimental win,
and a long-overdue reward for one of Hollywood’s most enduring performers.
John Wayne (Marion Robert Morrison)
(May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979)
