Died Today (August 31st): John Ford (1894–1973)

John Ford (1894–1973)

Born: February 1, 1894 in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, USA
Died: August 31, 1973 (age 79) in Palm Desert, California, USA

I didn’t show up at the ceremony to collect any of my first three Oscars. Once I went fishing, another time there was a war on, and on another occasion, I remember, I was suddenly taken drunk.

[on Native American Indians] We’ve treated them badly, it’s a blot on our shield; we’ve robbed, cheated, murdered and massacred them, but they kill one white man and God, out come the troops.

John Ford is the winningest director in Oscar history — four of them he received over the course of his career — but that’s not why he’s on this list, though it helps. It’s not for more or less discovering John Wayne either. Though that helps, too.

The Informer 1935 dir. John Ford Cast Victor McLaglen Heather…