Marion Robert Morrison, who later became the cinematic icon John Wayne, was born on May 26, 1907, in Winterset, Iowa. Over a legendary fifty-year career spanning nearly 170 films, Wayne won exactly one Academy Award for Best Actor in 1970 for his portrayal of the one-eyed, hard-drinking Marshal Reuben J. Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 western True Grit. Wayne actually began his Hollywood career as a prop boy and an extra, landing his first minor roles only because he used to exchange manual labor for free football tickets from local studio executives.
Image of John Wayne from 1932 for The Big Stampede via Alamy