Nicknamed The Duke, he played a hero in action films and westerns and was nominated for an Academy Award for True Grit.
In his youth, he was employed in a local ice cream shop. His football scholarship to USC was taken away after he got injured while bodysurfing.
He was born Marion Robert Morrison and never legally changed it.
His divorce with actress Esperanza Baur in 1954 resulted in her attempting to shoot him.
He ranked 13 on AFI's list of Greatest Male Screen Legends of All Time, whereas Humphrey Bogart ranked number 1.
