When Did John Wayne Win His Only Oscar?

Lauren Novak February 14, 8:00 am

TRUE GRIT, John Wayne, 1969 — Everett Collection

Everett Collection

What To Know

John Wayne won his only competitive Oscar for Best Actor on April 7, 1970, for his role as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit.
Despite a prolific career with nearly 170 films and being the face of the American Western, Wayne had only one previous acting nomination, for Sands of Iwo Jima in 1949.
Wayne continued acting after his Oscar win, making notable films like The Shootist, and received a standing ovation at the 1979 Academy Awards shortly before his death from cancer at age 72.

When people think of John Wayne, they often assume he must have collected a shelf full of Oscars for all the iconic Westerns he starred in. But in reality, he won only one competitive Academy Award in his entire career — and it came very close to the end of his career. That long-awaited moment came on April 7, 1970, at the 42nd Academy Awards, when Wayne took home the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as Rooster Cogburn in True Grit.

How did John Wayne finally win an Oscar?

By that point, Wayne had been a movie star for decades. He had appeared in nearly 170 films and had become the defining face of the American Western. Despite his enormous popularity, he had only received one previous acting nomination, for Sands of Iwo Jima in 1949.

In True Grit, Wayne played the one-eyed U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn, a gruff lawman hired by a young girl to track down her father’s killer. When Barbra Streisand presented him with the Oscar that night, Wayne began his acceptance speech with a joke. “Wow. If I’d have known that, I’d have put that patch on thirty-five years earlier,” he quipped, according to his website.

Everett Collection

Wayne also reflected on his history with the Academy. He noted that he was no stranger to the Oscar stage, having previously accepted awards on behalf of others. He mentioned picking up awards for John Ford and for “our beloved” Gary Cooper. He thanked the Academy members and spoke warmly about the people who had helped him throughout his career.

After his Oscar win, Wayne continued acting and made what many consider one of his most poignant films, The Shootist, in 1976. In it, he portrayed an aging gunfighter dying of cancer, a role that resonated deeply given Wayne’s own health struggles at the time. One of his most moving public appearances came at the 51st Academy Awards in 1979, when he returned to present the Best Picture award.

He had recently undergone cancer treatment, and the audience responded with a standing ovation. “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,” he said. “That’s about the only medicine a fellow would ever need.” He also remarked that he and Oscar had both arrived in Hollywood in 1928 and, though “a little weather beaten,” planned to be around a while longer. Sadly, Wayne died less than two months later, on June 11, 1979, at age 72.