Born Enos Edward Canutt born November 29, 1894 in the snake river hills near Colfax Washington. Yakima Canutt, Rodeo star and later became a stuntman, he doubled for most of the western hero's, including John Wayne. In the five years they worked together they became close friends, Wayne spent weeks studying the way Yak walked and talked. He noticed that the angrier he got, the lower his voice, the slower his tempo. He tried to say his lines low and strong, the way Yak did. One thing he did adopt in his westerns was the way Yak drew his gun, twirling it once as he pulled it from his holster, Yak appeared in thirty-one movies alongside his friend John Wayne. Yak died on 24 May  1986 in North Hollywood, California, USA..

Born in 1906 Andy Devine sidekick to many of the western stars, such as Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy and John Wayne. He starred in the classic Stagecoach, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance he appeared in three more movies with Wayne and many more films with the stars mentioned above. He was in the first pictures that Henry Fonda, James Stewart and John Wayne made, but sadly Andy died in 1977. His good friends John Wayne and Henry Fonda were reduced to tears at his parting.

Chill Wills was born on 18 July 1902, in Seagoville, Texas, USA. A colourful character actor of American Westerns. He was named Chill a musician from his youth, he performed from the age of 12 in tent shows, in vaudeville, and other companies. He formed a musical group, Chill Wills and is Avalon Boys. They were spotted by a man from RKO and started to appear in B Westerns, he was the bass-singing voice of Stan Laurel in Way Out West. The group was disbanded and he went solo appearing primarily in westerns as supporting actor. In The Alamo his portrayal of Beekeeper won him a nomination for an Acamedy Award. He appeared in Three other westerns with John Wayne. Chill Wills Died on 15 December 1978.

Maureen O'Hara was born Maureen FitzSimons on 17 August 1920 in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland. Another actress who was interested in show business at an early age, she worked hard at her craft in order to be the best. By the time she was 14 years old she was winning awards in drama contests. The hard work she had put in finally paid off, in 1938 at the age of 18 she got a bit part as a secretary in the film Kicking The Moon Around. Maureen appeared in a lot of films after that. 1952 saw Maureen play Mary Kate Danaher in John Ford's hit "The Quiet Man" starring John Wayne. She appeared in four more films with John Wayne, "Mclintock", "Rio Grande", "Wings Of Eagles" and "Big Jake", I think there was a sparkle between these two stars when they appeared in the same film together.

Born George Francis Hayes on the 7 May 1885, as a young man he worked in a circus and played semi-pro baseball. He made his film debut, and gained fame as Windy Halliday sidekick to Hopalong Cassidy. He also played a clean shaven villain in some of the films he appeared in. When he left the Cassidy films he had to adopt a new name, so he took the name of Gabby. In the late thirties he played almost exclusively as a western sidekick to such stars as John Wayne, Roy Rogers and Randolph Scott, Gabby appeared in sixteen movies with John Wayne. Gabby died on 9 February 1969 and was sadly missed.

Ward Bond was born Wardell Bond on 9 April 1903 in Benkelman, Nebraska, U.S.A. Gruff, burly American character actor, Bond attended the University of Southern California, where he got work as an extra through a football team mate who would become both his friend and one of cinema's biggest stars, John Wayne. Director John Ford promoted Bond from extra to supporting player in the film Salute (1929), and became another fast friend. He appeared in hundreds of pictures over the next 30 years. In the films of Wayne and Ford, particularly, he was nearly always present. Among his most memorable roles are John L. Sullivan in "Gentleman Jim", Tom Polhaus in "The Maltese Falcon", and the Reverend Captain Samuel Johnson Clayton "The Searchers", Ward appeared in twenty-one more movies with John Wayne. He gained his greatest fame as the star of T.V's "Wagon Train". During its production, he went to Dallas, Texas to attend a football game and died in his hotel room on 5 November 1960, he will be greatly missed.

Mildred Natwick was born on 19 June 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland,USA. Mildred a talented character actress whose presence was always welcome. A Bryn Mawr graduate, she went into acting after finishing College and made her Broadway debut in 1932. Mildred first appeared on screen in The Long Voyage Home with John Wayne (1940) which was directed by John Ford who hired her frequently. She always looked older than she was, and was playing spinsters while still in her thirties. Mildred's other films with Wayne and Ford were The 3 Godfathers (1949), She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1950) and The Quiet Man(1952). Sadly Mildred died on 25 October 1994 in New York, New York, USA.

Victor Mclaglen born on 11 December 1883 in Tunbridge wells, Kent,England, UK. Mclaglen was the son of the Right Reverend Andrew Mclaglen, a Protestant clergyman. The eldest of eight brothers, he tried to serve in the Boer War by joining the Life Guards but his father secured his release. He became a Prizefighter and toured the world he once fought heavyweight champion Jack Johnson. He fought in the First World War and soldiered in the middle east, after the war he attempted to resume a boxing career, but was given a acting role in "The Call of the Road" 1920. He became a popular leading man in British silent films playing tough or suave with apparent equal ease. With the coming of sound he was cast by John Ford as the tragic Gypo in "The Informer" 1935, for which Mclaglen won the Best Actor Oscar. He continued to play heroes, villians and simple minded thugs into the 1940s, when Ford gave his career a new impetus with a number of roguish Irish parts in such films as "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" 1949 and " The Quiet Man" 1952, plus two more Cavalry films with star John Wayne. Sadly Victor died on 7 November 1959 in Newport Beach, California, USA.

John Agar was born on 31 January 1921 in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A, he was the eldest of four children of a local meat packer. His marriage to Shirley Temple put him in the public eye for the first time, and a movie contract with independent producer David O. Selznick quickly ensued Agar debuted opposite John Wayne, Henry Fonda and Temple in John Ford's "Fort Apache" 1948, initial film in the famed director's "Cavalry Trilogy". His marriage to Temple ended in 1949 while his movie career continued. Popular with fans of westerns and sci-fi films, he appeared with Wayne in Fords "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" and "Sands Of Iwo Jima". But his career stalled shortly thereafter, with an acrimonious divorce. He appeared again with John Wayne in Chisum (1970) and Big Jake (1971) before taking minor roles in TV shows, sadly John died on 7 April 2002 in California USA.

Lauren Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske on 16 September 1924 in New York, New York. U.S.A. Lauren originally wanted to be a dancer, but later became enthralled with acting. She had studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, after high school. Once out of school, Lauren entered modeling and her beauty got her on the cover of Harpers Bazaar a popular magazine in the US. Her first film, she co-starred opposite Humphrey Bogart in To Have Or Have Not, when she was just 19 years old. She married him in 1945, and made several more films with him. Her first film with John Wayne was Blood Alley in 1955 an adventure film set in China. In 1976 Lauren co-starred with John Wayne in "The Shootist", the film was to be Wayne's last.

Ben Johnson was born on 13 June 1918, in Foraker, Shidler, Oklahoma, USA. Ben Johnson was a ranch hand and rodeo performer when, in 1940 Howard Hughes hired him to take a herd of horses to California. He decided to stick around (the pay was good), and for some years was a stunt man, horse wrangler and double for such stars as John Wayne, Gary Cooper and James Stewart. His break came when John Ford noticed him and gave him a part in one of his films. He eventually, in 1950 was the star of Wagonmaster. In 1953 he returned to the rodeo circuit and won the world roping championship but by the end of the year he had barely cleared his expenses, so he went back into the movies and a career that saw him in over 300 movies. In 1972 Ben won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in the film "The Last Picture Show", Ben Johnson died on 8 April 1996, another great star that will be missed. Ben appeared in seven movies with John.

Born Aaron Chwatt on 5 February 1919 in New York, New York, USA His stage name came about when he was a young man  working at Dinty Moore's Tavern in the Bronx as a singer/waiter. He had to wear a uniform with 48 buttons, and with his red hair people started referring to him as Red Buttons. Lots of clowns want to play Hamlet, but this compact, red-haired comedian not only got the chance to do heavy drama, he won an Oscar for it: as the star-crossed sergeant in Sayonara 1957. He got his comic training in burlesque and in the resorts of the Catskills, he eventually moved to Broadway, and made his film debut in 1944 recreating his stage role in Winged Victory. Red appeared in twenty films two of them with John Wayne.

Some of this information is courtesy of The Internet Movie Database. Used with permission.