Two cowboys, one deceased and the other still very much active, have refused to ride into the sunset with their memorable cinematic achievements. Both were the top box office stars during their heyday and their devoted fans celebrate their birthday anniversaries five days apart. They enjoyed parallel careers in the movies and became famous in western genre films. Both were actors, directors, filmmakers and winners of the Academy Awards. They were the most popular actors of their generation and topped the movie charts for decades in the 20th century. They both became active in politics. One actively campaigned for his friend, Ronald Reagan, when he ran for Governor of California and later as President of the US. The other actually served as Mayor of Carmel, California. They were respected by their peers, and enjoyed the adoration of their legions of fans around the world. Aside from movie awards, they were accorded distinctive honors outside the film industry. They have remained movie icons up to now and they belonged to Hollywood’s ranks of immortals.
Marion Mitchell Morrison, more popularly known as John Wayne was born on May 26, 1907 in Winterset, Iowa. When he was young, he had a dog that followed him to school everyday. But the school sent such dogs to the pound so Marion left his dog at the nearby firehouse, which the firemen loved and gave his dog the name “Dule.” Since they did not know Marion’s name, they called him the Big Duke. This nickname stuck with him for life. When he adopted the screen name “John Wayne,” it took him a while to respond when people call him John.
He was awarded two of France’s highest honors, the 1994 Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the 2007 Legion of Honor Medal. He was also awarded by Emperor Akihito of Japan with the Order of the Rising Sun for enhancing Japan-US relations.
After years of doing bit roles in minor movies and playing an assortment of characters in western genre films, he finally became a star when Director John Ford casted him in the classic movie, Stagecoach in 1939. The movie earned seven Academy Award nominations. There was no looking back for Wayne after that. He made several movies with the famous German sex symbol Marlene Dietrich, which were well received by the moviegoers. The two eventually became romantically involved. He starred in many classic films such as The River, Fort Apache and Rio Grande. He received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in Sands of Iwo Jima in 1949 but finally won it for his unforgettable role as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit in 1969. He eventually produced his own films under his own production companies. He was our hero in The Alamo, The Longest Day, How the West Was Won, The Green Berets and El Dorado. For his valuable contributions to the motion picture industry, Wayne was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit in 1980. The Orange County Airport in California was renamed after him.
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Clint Eastwood was born on May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, California. Eastwood, who has a height of 6’4’’, was given the nickname Samson by the hospital nurses because he weighed 11.6 lbs. at birth. Unlike the Duke who excelled in school both in academic and sports, Eastwood did poorly in school. A high-school friend was not certain if he graduated from high school since he hardly spent time in school. He loved tinkering in an airplane shop. “Clint graduated from an airplane shop. I think that was his major,” another friend joked.
He was believed not to have completed high school. Later in life, he was given three honorary degrees from different universities.
The public first took notice of Eastwood for his role in the western TV series Rawhide but he won worldwide following for his performance in three spaghetti westerns megged by Italian director Sergio Leone where he played a character known as The Man with No Name. After the trio of films was released, Eastwood’s name was a byword around the movie world. He also starred in Hang ‘Em High, High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Pale Rider and Play Misty for Me. His characters in Escape from Alcatraz, Every Which Way But Loose and Bridges of Madison Country and many other memorable movies left indelible prints in tinseldom. The Dirty Harry series made him immensely popular and rich. He starred and directed most of his films and at his peak, he was earning 60 percent of all the profits from his films, the rest going to the studio. He won two Academy Awards as Director for Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby.
The greatest honor that an actor can have is what he gets from his fellow actor. This is what actor Tim Robbins said of Eastwood who directed him and Sean Penn in the movie, Mystic River, which won Robbins the Best Supporting Actor and the Best Actor for Penn. It also garnered Eastwood nominations for Best Director and Best Picture. “Clint is a true artist in every respect. Despite his years of being at the top of his game and the legendary movies he has made, he always made us feel comfortable and valued on the set, treating us as equals.”
Eastwood will soon turn 90 years old. When he was asked earlier why he is still actively pursuing his craft, he replied: “Everybody wonders why I continue working at this stage. I keep working because there’s always new stories. And as long as people want me to tell them, I’ll be there doing them.” Go ahead Clint, and make our day!