WASHINGTON – He crossed “Rio Bravo” and “Red River.” He fought at “Fort Apache” and on “The Sands of Iwo Jima.” He was “The Quiet Man” and won an Oscar as Rooster Cogburn in “True Grit,” but everyone knew him as the Duke. Next month, movie hero John Wayne will get his own postage stamp.

On Sept. 9, the U.S. Postal Service will release the 37-cent stamp, the latest in the Legends of Hollywood series. The first day of issue ceremony will be at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, and the stamps will go on sale nationwide the next day.

Born Marion Morrison in Winterset, Iowa, Wayne was attending the University of Southern California on a football scholarship when he got a summer job in the props department at Fox studios. There he met director John Ford, who featured the actor in many of his films, including “Stagecoach” and “The Searchers.”

During his career Wayne played many Western and war hero characters who celebrated independence, courage and patriotism. He died in 1979.

The stamp, painted by Drew Struzan, is based on a black-and-white publicity still taken during the filming of “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” in 1962.

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On the Net:

U.S. Postal Service: http://www.usps.com

(c) AP


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