The swaggering "Duke," killed in 1979 aged 72 by stomach cancer, was one of the defining stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, hailed for his roles in Western and war epics and for cultivating a screen ...

Was it a movie he made? Was it his addictions? It could have been a combination of reasons why John Wayne died of cancer but it concluded a successful Hollywood career that spanned about 50 years.

John Wayne, the legendary Western star, died in 1979 after a short but difficult battle with stomach cancer. The actor starred in many iconic films, including True Grit, The Searchers, Stagecoach, and ...