The Legend of Rooster Cogburn

Written By Jason Lockard

John Wayne has starred in 142 films during his career and was involved in more than that. Many iconic and historic roles were part of his career. But I think the one that sticks out in my mind is the one he received a best actor Academy Award for. That role is of the cantankerous one-eyed marshal Rooster Cogburn.

The first time I ever saw the character Rooster Cogburn was in the film Rooster Cogburn and the Lady with one of my favorite actresses Katherine Hepburn. She was an amazing actress and I discovered how amazing John Wayne was in this role so I had to go and visit the beginnings of the Rooster Cogburn character in the film True Grit.

True Grit (1969) When the father of 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) is murdered, she seeks vengeance and hires U.S. Marshal "Rooster" Cogburn (John Wayne), to track down the killer. Soon Texas Ranger, La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), joins the manhunt in hopes of capturing the killer and collecting the reward.

Rooster Cogburn... and the Lady (1975) The ex-Marshall Rooster tries to win back his law badge by hunting a gang of bandits and a stolen shipment of explosives. It seems easy enough of a job. That is until the daughter of one of the gang's victims insist on coming along for the ride.

Now I have to admit the first film is amazing. It's action-packed and has a great story. And Duke deserved the Oscar for his performance. But while many people may feel that the sequel is not as strong as the first, (I can see that argument). I really enjoy the kind of comedic repartee between Rooster and Eula.

As I look back at these two films and think about Rooster Cogburn I can only wonder what one more adventure with John Wayne under that eye patch might have been like. Oh, how I wish we could have got a Rooster Cogburn Trilogy! And no Jeff Bridge's take is not part of a trilogy, in my opinion.

While John Wayne was nominated for 3 Academy Awards, it was this role of Rooster Cogburn that gave him the coveted statue. I can understand that because it is probably my favorite role of his as well. It is a shame however as he was deserving of many more Best Actor awards.

If you have only seen Jeff Bridge's take on Rooster Cogburn, you need to see the originator. Pick up a copy of the original True Grit here or the sequel Rooster Cogburn here.

So what are your thoughts on John Wayne's iconic role of Rooster Cogburn? Do you like the sequel? Are you a fan of Jeff Bridge's take on the iconic character? Let us know in the comments. We would love to hear your opinion as well! And as always thanks for reading!