Movie star John Wayne had dedicated fans who hated seeing any deaths surrounding the characters he played. He held an image that represented America to many moviegoers, making it hard for some to stomach watching his characters die. Nevertheless, Wayne had 8 character deaths out of his large filmography totaling over 200 motion pictures, not including 1955’s The Sea Chase, which left his character’s fate unknown.
‘Reap the Wild Wind’ (1942)
Cecil B. DeMille’s Reap the Wild Wind is set in the 1840s, when a group of salvagers go from profiting off shipwrecks to to causing them. All those in the American South consider King Cutler (Raymond Massey) the most dangerous, who sets his eyes on the ships of the wealthy Devereaux Company, Captain Jack Stuart (Wayne), and the company’s lawyer, Stephen Tolliver (Ray Milland). Meanwhile, they fight for the romance of Loxi Claiborne (Paulette Goddard).
Wayne has his first of a handful of deaths on the silver screen in Reap the Wild Wind, where the captain dies in a dangerous octopus attack.
‘The Fighting Seabees’ (1944)
Duncan Cramer’s The Fighting Seabees follows Wedge Donovan (Wayne), the head of a construction company, during World War II. The Navy seeks him out to train their men as specialists, but he wants to prove that he can turn his own crew will be able to accomplish the task.
Wayne faced the second of his characters’ deaths via gunshot/explosion.
‘Wake of the Red Witch’ (1948)
Edward Ludwig’s Wake of the Red Witch is set in the 1860s in the South Pacific, Capt. Ralls (Wayne) acts as the head of a ship called the Red Witch. The story chronicles his adventures involving sunken treasures and dangers, such as a giant octopus.
Wayne’s character died in Reap the Wild Wind as a result of an octopus attack, but in Wake of the Red Witch, he met his demise by drowning.
‘Sands of Iwo Jima’ (1949)
Allan Dwan’s Sands of Iwo Jima finds Marine Sgt. John Stryker (Wayne) wrestles with gaining the respect of his own men, who can’t stand his difficult attitude and the tough training that he puts them through. He’s forced to deal with his own personal demons as they continue to fight through the beaches, where his men finally discover why he is the way that he is.
Stryker succumbs to his gunshot wounds at the end of Sands of Iwo Jima in a performance that earned Wayne his first Oscar nomination.
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‘The Alamo’ (1960)
Wayne’s epic The Alamo takes place in 1836, where a small group of soldiers agrees to sacrifice their own lives to stop a much larger army from pushing forward through the Republic of Texas, giving their allies time to respond. Wayne played Col. Davy Crockett to help gain financing and sell the film to audiences.
Crockett met his end from a combination of a lance and explosion.
‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’ (1962)
John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is set around Senator Stoddard (James Stewart) making a surprise appearance at the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon (Wayne). The film rewinds to their younger years, where Tom saved Stoddard’s life after a run-in with a crew of outlaws run by Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin).
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was the only instance of Wayne’s character’s cause of death is natural causes.
‘The Cowboys’ (1972)
Mark Rydell’s The Cowboys follows a rancher named Wil Andersen (Wayne) when he has no other choice but to hire young and inexperienced boys as cowhands for an important mission. He plans to get his herd to a market in time to sell, although the trip is full of dangers, including a gang run by Long Hair (Bruce Dern).
Wayne’s Andersen died from gunshot wounds in a brutal final showdown against Dern’s Long Hair.
‘The Shootist’ (1976)
Don Siegel’s The Shootist finds J.B. Books (Wayne) at the end of his rope when the talented gunfighter discovers that death is closing in on him. He’s approaching his final days, so he decides to find a way to die with the most dignity and the least amount of pain possible. This leads to him taking advance of the hospitality of a widow (Lauren Bacall) and her son (Ron Howard).
The Shootist marked the last performance of Wayne’s career before his real-life death, which made this performance land particularly hard. He ultimately dies of gunshot wounds in the film.
