90 John Wayne Trivia Questions and Answers (Movies, Westerns & The Duke)

Somewhere out past the last fence post, a man in a weathered hat sits his horse against a red-rock sky and squints into the distance. You know that silhouette before you know the film. For forty years he was the biggest man in American pictures — the slow walk, the drawl, the pause before he decided what to do about you.

Here are 90 questions on Marion Morrison of Winterset, Iowa, the boy who became the Duke. The answer sits right under each one, so push your hat back, pour something cold, and see how many you can call without a second look.

The Man They Called Duke

1. What was John Wayne’s birth name?

Marion Robert Morrison.

2. In which small Iowa town was he born?

Winterset.

3. In what year was he born?

1907 (May 26).

4. The nickname “Duke” actually belonged first to whom?

His dog.

5. What breed was that dog?

An Airedale Terrier.

6. Who started calling the boy “Little Duke”?

A local fireman — because the boy was always walking with the big dog.

7. He went on a football scholarship to which university?

The University of Southern California (USC).

8. What subject did he study there, with a career in mind?

Pre-law.

9. Who was the USC Trojans coach he played under?

Howard Jones.

10. What injury, from a bodysurfing accident, ended his athletic career and cost him his scholarship?

A broken collarbone.

11. At which movie studio did he start out as a prop boy and extra?

Fox (Fox Film Corporation).

12. Which director suggested the stage name “John Wayne”?

Raoul Walsh.

13. The name was borrowed from which Revolutionary War general?

“Mad” Anthony Wayne.

14. Under what name was he billed in the 1929 film Words and Music?

Duke Morrison.

15. How many children did he have in all?

Seven.

Breaking Through: The Big Trail to Stagecoach

16. What 1930 film gave him his first leading role?

The Big Trail.

17. Who directed The Big Trail?

Raoul Walsh.

18. Was it a hit or a flop when it came out?

A box-office failure.

19. The Big Trail was shot in an early widescreen 70mm process called what?

Grandeur.

20. Which 1939 western finally made him an A-list star?

Stagecoach.

21. Who directed Stagecoach?

John Ford.

22. What was the name of the character Wayne played in it?

The Ringo Kid.

23. Stagecoach, and many Ford westerns after it, were filmed in which dramatic valley?

Monument Valley.

Riding With John Ford

24. Roughly how many of Ford’s films did Wayne appear in over their long partnership?

Nearly two dozen.

25. In the 1952 Irish-set picture The Quiet Man, who did Wayne play?

Sean Thornton.

26. In which fictional Irish village is The Quiet Man set?

Inisfree.

27. Who played his fiery, red-headed love interest, Mary Kate?

Maureen O’Hara.

28. Which Academy Award did John Ford win for The Quiet Man?

Best Director.

29. In The Searchers (1956), what was Wayne’s character’s name?

Ethan Edwards.

30. In which US state is The Searchers set?

Texas.

31. Wayne’s repeated line in The Searchers inspired which Buddy Holly song?

“That’ll Be the Day.”

32. Who played his young companion, Martin Pawley?

Jeffrey Hunter.

33. In The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), who did Wayne play?

Tom Doniphon.

34. Who played the lawyer Ransom Stoddard in that film?

James Stewart.

35. Who played the outlaw Liberty Valance?

Lee Marvin.

36. Finish the film’s famous line: “When the legend becomes fact, print the ___.”

Legend.

Howard Hawks and the Great Cattle Drives

37. In Red River (1948), what was the name of Wayne’s hard-driving cattleman?

Thomas Dunson.

38. Who directed Red River?

Howard Hawks.

39. Along which historic trail does the cattle drive in Red River head north?

The Chisholm Trail.

40. Who played Dunson’s adopted son, Matt Garth?

Montgomery Clift.

41. In Rio Bravo (1959), Wayne plays a Texas sheriff named what?

John T. Chance.

42. Who directed Rio Bravo?

Howard Hawks.

43. Which crooner played the recovering drunk deputy, Dude?

Dean Martin.

44. Teen idol Ricky Nelson played which young gunslinger?

Colorado (Colorado Ryan).

45. Walter Brennan played which cranky, limping deputy?

Stumpy.

46. Angie Dickinson played the gambler Wayne falls for — what was she called?

Feathers.

True Grit and the Oscar

47. For which 1969 film did Wayne finally win the Best Actor Oscar?

True Grit.

48. What one-eyed, hard-drinking marshal did he play?

Rooster Cogburn.

49. Who directed True Grit?

Henry Hathaway.

50. The film was based on a 1968 novel by which author?

Charles Portis.

51. Which singer co-starred as Texas Ranger La Boeuf?

Glen Campbell.

52. Who played the determined young Mattie Ross?

Kim Darby.

53. What did Rooster Cogburn famously wear over one eye?

An eye patch.

54. Accepting his Oscar, Wayne joked he’d have put that patch on how many years earlier?

Thirty-five.

55. In the 1975 sequel Rooster Cogburn, who played his leading lady?

Katharine Hepburn.

56. At which ceremony did he win — the 42nd what?

The 42nd Academy Awards.

The Duke at War: Iwo Jima, Normandy and Vietnam

57. In Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), what was the name of the tough Marine sergeant Wayne played?

Sergeant John M. Stryker.

58. That role brought him his first nomination for which acting Oscar?

Best Actor.

59. Which World War II battle does the film depict?

The Battle of Iwo Jima.

60. The Marines in the film raise the flag atop which mountain?

Mount Suribachi.

61. Wayne joined a huge all-star cast for which 1962 film about the D-Day landings?

The Longest Day.

62. In 1968 he co-directed and starred in which Vietnam War film?

The Green Berets.

63. What was his character’s name in The Green Berets?

Colonel Mike Kirby.

64. The Green Berets was based on a 1965 novel by whom?

Robin Moore.

65. Who co-directed The Green Berets alongside Wayne?

Ray Kellogg.

Directing The Alamo

66. Wayne made his big effort behind the camera with which 1960 film?

The Alamo.

67. Which frontier legend did he play in it?

Davy Crockett.

68. Through which of his own production companies did he make it?

Batjac (Batjac Productions).

69. The odd name “Batjac” came from a fictional shipping line in which 1948 film?

Wake of the Red Witch.

70. Richard Widmark played which famous Alamo defender?

Jim Bowie.

71. Laurence Harvey played which Alamo commander?

William Travis (William Barret Travis).

72. The Alamo won a single Academy Award — in which category?

Best Sound.

Later Trails: The Cowboys to The Shootist

73. In The Cowboys (1972), Wayne’s rancher hires what unlikely trail crew after his hands quit for the gold fields?

Schoolboys.

74. What was that rancher’s name?

Wil Andersen.

75. In McLintock! (1963), who again played his sparring wife, Katherine?

Maureen O’Hara.

76. McLintock! is loosely based on which Shakespeare play?

The Taming of the Shrew.

77. What was Wayne’s final film, released in 1976?

The Shootist.

78. Who directed The Shootist?

Don Siegel.

79. In that film, Wayne’s aging gunfighter is dying of what?

Cancer.

80. Which screen legend played the widow in The Shootist?

Lauren Bacall.

Honors, Roles He Passed On, and the Legend

81. He turned down the lead in which 1952 western, calling it “un-American”?

High Noon.

82. He lost the title role in which 1971 cop thriller to Clint Eastwood?

Dirty Harry.

83. He declined the Waco Kid in which 1974 Mel Brooks comedy?

Blazing Saddles.

84. When Congress struck a Gold Medal for him in 1979, which co-star testified in support of it?

Maureen O’Hara.

85. Which posthumous civilian honor did President Carter award him in 1980?

The Presidential Medal of Freedom.

86. In what year did he receive his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

1960.

87. He is credited with popularizing “the Big C” as a gentler word for what?

Cancer.

88. Which lung did he lose to cancer surgery in 1964?

His left lung.

89. On what date in 1979 did he die?

June 11, 1979.

90. His tombstone reads “Feo, Fuerte y Formal,” which he translated as what?

“Ugly, strong, and dignified.”

Frequently asked questions

Did John Wayne really win only one acting Oscar?

He did. In a career of nearly 150 films, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor just once, for True Grit (1969). His only earlier acting nomination came twenty years before, for Sands of Iwo Jima (1949).

Which director did he work with the most?

John Ford, by a wide margin — nearly two dozen films across some twenty years, from the breakthrough of Stagecoach (1939) through The Searchers (1956) and on to Donovan’s Reef (1963). If you enjoy his frontier films, you’ll like our classic western TV show trivia.

How did he get the nickname “Duke”?

From his dog. As a boy he walked everywhere with a big Airedale named Duke, and a local fireman took to calling the pair “Big Duke” and “Little Duke.” He much preferred it to Marion, and it stuck for life.

What was his very last movie?

The Shootist (1976), in which he played a gunfighter dying of cancer — a quiet echo of his own illness. For more from the big screen, try our classic movie trivia for seniors.

Sources

• John Wayne — Wikipedia
• True Grit (1969 film) — Wikipedia
• The Alamo (1960 film) — Wikipedia

Still got some grit? Play our trivia quizzes and ride the range with the Duke.