TCM Shop > John Wayne

John Wayne, aka The Duke got his nickname from his favorite childhood dog. He was raised in Southern California, and scored one of his first jobs at Fox Studios, appearing as an extra in films. Duke’s first break came in 1929 when he was finally cast as the lead in a major Fox production, The Big Trail. From there he became a box-office superstar appearing in films like Angel and the Badman (1947) with Gail Russell, Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Operation Pacific (1951) with Patricia Neal, and True Grit (1969). His genre of choice was the Western genre; John Wayne films are available on DVD and Blu-ray. Turner Classic Movies presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from one of the largest film libraries in the world. Find video, photos, gifts and rare movie memorabilia at shop.TCM.com.