John Wayne's Centennial

Film legend John Wayne, seen here in a scene from the 1959 movie "The Horse Soldiers," was born May 26, 1907, in Winterset, Iowa. The actor died of cancer in 1970 but his home town is marking his 100th birthday.

A Star Is Found

This studio shot shows John Wayne in character for the John Ford 1939 film, "Stagecoach." Wayne had already appeared in 79 films, from extra to lead, before his breakout performance as the Ringo Kid.

Raising A Flag On Iwo Jima

Capt. H.G. Schrier, left, who actually carried the flag up Mt. Surabachi, hands the flag to John Wayne in a scene from "The Sands of Iwo Jima." Actor Jim Brown is in the center. Wayne received his first Best Actor nomination for this film.

Luck O' The Irish

Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne converse over a rocky wall in this scene from the film "The Quiet Man." shot on location in 1951 at the west Ireland village of Cong. The production won John Ford one of his four Oscars for Best Director.

Old Soldiers Just Fade Away

John Wayne in the iconic closing shot of the John Ford classic "The Searchers" (1956). Ford and his frequent leading man forged one of Hollywood's most enduring partnerships, collaborating on more than a dozen films, including "Fort Apache," "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," "They Were Expendable" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

Actor John Wayne is photographed with Italian actress Sophia Loren in 1957 as they arrive at Rome from Africa after Wayne broke a leg during the shooting of "The Legend of the Lost."

John Wayne watches American actress Rita Hayworth, right, and Italian actress Claudia Cardinale dressed in their costumes for a Henry Hathaway film, "Circus World," in Madrid in 1964.

John Wayne acts in the role of one-eyed marshall Rooster Cogburn in Henry Hathaway's film "True Grit" for which Wayne won an Oscar as Best Actor. Wayne, known as "The Duke," received one other Oscar nomination, three Golden Globe Awards and four People's Choice Awards.

John Wayne, with singer/actress Barbra Streisand, holds up the Oscar he was awarded for his role in the 1969 Western "True Grit."

John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart in a scene from the 1976 movie "The Shootist." A film about a dying gunslinger, it was The Duke's swan song.

This is the John Wayne stamp in the "Legends of Hollywood" commemorative series of U.S. postage stamps, issued in 2004.

Signs advertising the birthday centennial celebration for actor John Wayne hang from poles in Winterset, Iowa, May 22, 2007. Wayne appeared in more than 170 movies and TV shows from the 1920s to the mid-1970s.

This storefront display shows signs and memorabilia depicting actor John Wayne's career, in Winterset, Iowa, May 22, 2007. Wayne, whose birth name was Marion Robert Morrison, was the son of a pharmicist in Iowa. His family moved to California because it was healthier for Wayne, who suffered from lung problems as a child.

A sign for John Wayne Drive marks a street near the water tower in Winterset, Iowa, May 22, 2007. Wayne is buried at Pacific View Cemetery in Corona del Mar, Calif., a community in his adopted hometown of Newport Beach. His grave was marked by a plaque in 1999.