953 nut 59,890 #1 Posted April 7, 2016 4-7-1970 John Wayne wins Best Actor Oscar On this day in 1970, the legendary actor John Wayne wins his first–and only–acting Academy Award, for his star turn in the director Henry Hathaway’s WesternTrue 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. The Academy had failed to even nominate Wayne for any of his most celebrated performances, in films such as Stagecoach (1939), Red River (1948), The Quiet Man (1952), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and especially Ford’s The Searchers (1956), considered by many to be the greatest Western ever made. In True Grit, Wayne played a drunken, foul-tempered but endearing U.S. marshal named Rooster Cogburn, who becomes an unlikely hero when he helps a young girl avenge the murder of her father. He would reprise the role in the film’s sequel, Rooster Cogburn (1975), opposite Katharine Hepburn. 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aldon 4,828 #2 Posted April 7, 2016 My favorites are the old stand by's, The Quiet Man and McClintock with The Shootist from 1976 my absolute favorite if I had to pick one. A shout out has to go to one of his leading ladies just because I can 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ztnoo 2,300 #3 Posted April 7, 2016 Maureen O'Hara was a BABE. Even though she was my dad and mom's age (born in 1920), as a kid I was totally dumbstruck how beautiful a woman she was. No one had red hair, green eyes, and a flawless complexion like her. She was the perfect counter to John Wayne in the movies they did together. The strong willed and determined characters she played, only enhanced her beauty. What a knockout!!! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimD 3,347 #4 Posted April 7, 2016 Your best one of these posts yet Rich. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roadapples 6,983 #5 Posted April 7, 2016 One of the all time greats.. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 28,377 #6 Posted April 9, 2016 My Mother probably watched True Grit 100 times... I will still occasionally watch with my daughter, who loves my "re-enactment" of the famous high speed horseback gun battle between Rooster and the bad guys...Thanks for the memories! May go and watch it tonight... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites