Ward Bond
Encyclopedia
Wardell Edwin "Ward" Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American
film actor
whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train
.
, a small town located in the southwestern corner of Nebraska just a few miles from the Kansas
and Colorado
borders. The Bond family, consisting of father John W., mother Mabel L., and sister Bernice, lived in Benkelman until 1919 when they moved to Denver
. Ward Bond graduated from East High School in Denver.
Bond attended the University of Southern California
and played football on the same team as future USC coach Jess Hill
. At 6'2" and 195 pounds, Bond was a starting lineman on USC's first national championship team in 1928
.
Bond and John Wayne
, who as Marion Morrison had played tackle for USC in 1926 before an injury ended his career, became lifelong friends and colleagues. Bond, Wayne and the entire Southern Cal team were hired to appear in Salute (1929), a football film starring George O'Brien and directed by John Ford
. It was during the filming of this movie that Bond and Wayne became friendly with Ford, and both actors would appear in many of Ford's later films.
from 1957 until his death in 1960. He was frequently typecast as a friendly policeman or as a brutal thug. He had a long-time working relationship with directors John Ford
and Frank Capra
, performing in such films as The Searchers
, Drums Along the Mohawk
, The Quiet Man
, and Fort Apache
for Ford, with whom he made 25 films, and It Happened One Night
and It's a Wonderful Life
for Capra. Among his other well-known films were Bringing Up Baby
(1938), Gone with the Wind
(1939), The Maltese Falcon
(1941), Sergeant York
(1941), They Were Expendable
(1945), Joan of Arc
(1948), in which he was atypically cast as Captain La Hire
, Rio Bravo
(1959), and Raoul Walsh
's 1930 widescreen
wagon train epic The Big Trail
, which also featured John Wayne
's first leading role. Bond later starred in the popular NBC western television series Wagon Train
from 1957 until his death. Wagon Train was inspired by the 1950 movie Wagon Master
, in which Bond also appeared, and was influenced by The Big Trail
.
An epileptic
, he was rejected by the draft
during World War II
.
During the 1940s, Bond was a member of the conservative group called the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals
, whose major rationale was opposition to communists
in the film industry. In 1960, Bond campaigned for the Republican
presidential nominee Richard M. Nixon. Bond died three days before Democrat
John F. Kennedy
narrowly defeated Nixon.
The wide-shouldered 6'2" Bond appears in more of the films on both the original
and the tenth anniversary edition of the American Film Institute
's 100 Years... 100 Movies lists than any other actor, albeit always as a supporting player: It Happened One Night
(1934), Bringing Up Baby
(1938), Gone with the Wind
(1939), The Grapes of Wrath
(1940), The Maltese Falcon
(1941), It's a Wonderful Life
(1946) and The Searchers
(1956).
Bond has also been in 11 films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
, which may be more than any other actor:
Arrowsmith
(1931/32), Lady for a Day
(1933), It Happened One Night
(1934), You Can't Take It with You
(1938), Gone with the Wind
(1939), The Grapes of Wrath
(1940), The Maltese Falcon
(1941), Sergeant York
(1941), It's a Wonderful Life
(1946), The Quiet Man
(1952) and Mister Roberts (1955).
Bond made 16 movies with John Wayne; Rio Bravo (1959). The Wings of Eagles
(1957), The Searchers
(1956), Rookie of the Year
(1955). Hondo
(1953), The Quiet Man
(1952), Operation Pacific
(1951), Fort Apache
(1948), 3 Godfathers (1948), They Were Expendable
(1945), Dakota
(1945), Tall in the Saddle
(1944), The Shepherd of the Hills
(1941), The Long Voyage Home
(1940), Conflict
(1936), and The Big Trail
(1930).
A legend has developed that country singer Johnny Horton
died in an automobile accident while driving to see Bond at a hotel in Dallas
to discuss a possible role in the fourth season of Wagon Train. Although Horton was indeed killed in a car crash at 1:30 a.m. on November 5, 1960, and Bond died from a massive heart attack
at noon that same day, the two events were unrelated. Horton was on his way from Austin
to Shreveport, Louisiana
, not Dallas. Bond was in Dallas to attend a football game.
Bond was 57 at the time of his death; John Wayne
gave the eulogy
at his funeral. Bond's will bequeathed to Wayne the shotgun with which Wayne had once accidentally shot Bond.
For his contribution to the television industry, Bond has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6933 Hollywood Blvd. In 2001, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
in Oklahoma City
. There is also a Ward Bond Memorial Park in his birthplace of Benkelman, Nebraska.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
.
Early life
Bond was born in Benkelman, NebraskaBenkelman, Nebraska
Benkelman, a city, is the county seat of Dundy County , Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,006 at the 2000 census. As of the 2010 census it has a population of 839-Geography:Benkelman is located at ....
, a small town located in the southwestern corner of Nebraska just a few miles from the Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
borders. The Bond family, consisting of father John W., mother Mabel L., and sister Bernice, lived in Benkelman until 1919 when they moved to Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. Ward Bond graduated from East High School in Denver.
Bond attended the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and played football on the same team as future USC coach Jess Hill
Jess Hill
Jesse Terrill Hill was an American athlete, coach and college administrator who was best known for his tenure as a coach and athletic director at the University of Southern California. His career spanned six decades...
. At 6'2" and 195 pounds, Bond was a starting lineman on USC's first national championship team in 1928
1928 college football season
The 1928 college football season had the USC Trojans recognized as champions under the Dickinson System, but the Rose Bowl was contested between the #2 and #3 teams, California and Georgia Tech...
.
Bond and John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
, who as Marion Morrison had played tackle for USC in 1926 before an injury ended his career, became lifelong friends and colleagues. Bond, Wayne and the entire Southern Cal team were hired to appear in Salute (1929), a football film starring George O'Brien and directed by John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
. It was during the filming of this movie that Bond and Wayne became friendly with Ford, and both actors would appear in many of Ford's later films.
Hollywood
Bond made his screen debut in Salute, and thereafter played over 200 supporting roles, rarely playing the lead in a theatrical release but starring in the television series Wagon TrainWagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
from 1957 until his death in 1960. He was frequently typecast as a friendly policeman or as a brutal thug. He had a long-time working relationship with directors John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
and Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...
, performing in such films as The Searchers
The Searchers (film)
The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
, Drums Along the Mohawk
Drums Along the Mohawk
Drums Along the Mohawk is a 1939 historical Technicolor film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author, Walter D. Edmonds. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and directed by John Ford. Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert portray settlers on the New York frontier during the...
, The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man is a 1952 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film. It was directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald. It was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story by Maurice Walsh...
, and Fort Apache
Fort Apache (film)
Fort Apache is a 1948 Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. The film was the first of the director's "cavalry trilogy" and was followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande , both also starring Wayne...
for Ford, with whom he made 25 films, and It Happened One Night
It Happened One Night
It Happened One Night is a 1934 American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed by Frank Capra, in which a pampered socialite tries to get out from under her father's thumb, and falls in love with a roguish reporter . The plot was based on the story Night Bus by Samuel...
and It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
for Capra. Among his other well-known films were Bringing Up Baby
Bringing up Baby
Bringing Up Baby is an American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and released by RKO Radio Pictures....
(1938), Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
(1939), The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)
The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 Warner Bros. film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and a remake of the 1931 film of the same name...
(1941), Sergeant York
Sergeant York
Sergeant York is a 1941 biographical film about the life of Alvin York, the most-decorated American soldier of World War I. It was directed by Howard Hawks and was the highest-grossing film of the year....
(1941), They Were Expendable
They Were Expendable
They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford and starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne. The film is based on the book by William L. White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese...
(1945), Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (1948 film)
Joan of Arc is a 1948 Technicolor film directed by Victor Fleming; starring Ingrid Bergman as the French religious icon and war heroine. It was produced by Walter Wanger. It is based on Maxwell Anderson's successful Broadway play Joan of Lorraine, which also starred Bergman, and was adapted for the...
(1948), in which he was atypically cast as Captain La Hire
La Hire
Étienne de Vignolles, called La Hire, was a French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. His nickname of La Hire would be that the English had nicknamed "the Hire-God" . He fought alongside Joan of Arc in the campaigns of 1429...
, Rio Bravo
Rio Bravo (1959 film)
Rio Bravo is a 1959 American Western film, directed by Howard Hawks. The script was written by Jules Furthman and Leigh Brackett, based on a short story by B.H. McCampbell...
(1959), and Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
's 1930 widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
wagon train epic The Big Trail
The Big Trail
The Big Trail is a lavish early widescreen movie shot on location across the American West starring John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh....
, which also featured John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
's first leading role. Bond later starred in the popular NBC western television series Wagon Train
Wagon Train
Wagon Train is an American Western series that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65...
from 1957 until his death. Wagon Train was inspired by the 1950 movie Wagon Master
Wagon Master
Wagon Master is a 1950 Western film directed by John Ford and starring Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Joanne Dru, and Ward Bond.-Plot:Learning of their ability as experienced horsemen, Mormon Elder Wiggs , hires Travis Blue and Sandy Owens to guide a small group of Mormons across the West to the...
, in which Bond also appeared, and was influenced by The Big Trail
The Big Trail
The Big Trail is a lavish early widescreen movie shot on location across the American West starring John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh....
.
An epileptic
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
, he was rejected by the draft
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
During the 1940s, Bond was a member of the conservative group called the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals
Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals
The Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals was an American organization of high-profile, politically conservative members of the Hollywood film industry...
, whose major rationale was opposition to communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in the film industry. In 1960, Bond campaigned for the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
presidential nominee Richard M. Nixon. Bond died three days before Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
narrowly defeated Nixon.
The wide-shouldered 6'2" Bond appears in more of the films on both the original
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
The first of the AFI 100 Years… series of cinematic milestones, AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies is a list of the 100 best American movies, as determined by the American Film Institute from a poll of more than 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry who chose from a list of 400 nominated movies...
and the tenth anniversary edition of the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
's 100 Years... 100 Movies lists than any other actor, albeit always as a supporting player: It Happened One Night
It Happened One Night
It Happened One Night is a 1934 American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed by Frank Capra, in which a pampered socialite tries to get out from under her father's thumb, and falls in love with a roguish reporter . The plot was based on the story Night Bus by Samuel...
(1934), Bringing Up Baby
Bringing up Baby
Bringing Up Baby is an American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and released by RKO Radio Pictures....
(1938), Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
(1939), The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath (film)
The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F...
(1940), The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)
The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 Warner Bros. film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and a remake of the 1931 film of the same name...
(1941), It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
(1946) and The Searchers
The Searchers (film)
The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
(1956).
Bond has also been in 11 films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
, which may be more than any other actor:
Arrowsmith
Arrowsmith (film)
Arrowsmith is a 1931 film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was written by Sidney Howard from the Sinclair Lewis novel Arrowsmith, and directed by John Ford.-Plot:...
(1931/32), Lady for a Day
Lady for a Day
Lady for a Day is a 1933 American comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on the short story Madame La Gimp by Damon Runyon...
(1933), It Happened One Night
It Happened One Night
It Happened One Night is a 1934 American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed by Frank Capra, in which a pampered socialite tries to get out from under her father's thumb, and falls in love with a roguish reporter . The plot was based on the story Night Bus by Samuel...
(1934), You Can't Take It with You
You Can't Take It with You
You Can't Take It with You is a comedic play in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The original production of the play opened at the Booth Theater on December 14, 1936, and played for 837 performances...
(1938), Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
(1939), The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath (film)
The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F...
(1940), The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)
The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 Warner Bros. film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and a remake of the 1931 film of the same name...
(1941), Sergeant York
Sergeant York
Sergeant York is a 1941 biographical film about the life of Alvin York, the most-decorated American soldier of World War I. It was directed by Howard Hawks and was the highest-grossing film of the year....
(1941), It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
(1946), The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man is a 1952 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film. It was directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald. It was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story by Maurice Walsh...
(1952) and Mister Roberts (1955).
Bond made 16 movies with John Wayne; Rio Bravo (1959). The Wings of Eagles
The Wings of Eagles
The Wings of Eagles is a 1957 Metrocolor film about Frank "Spig" Wead and US Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. The film is a tribute to Wead from his friend, director John Ford....
(1957), The Searchers
The Searchers (film)
The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
(1956), Rookie of the Year
Rookie of the Year (1955 TV drama)
Rookie of the Year is a half-hour baseball drama directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, and Patrick Wayne, all of whom Ford would direct in The Searchers the following year...
(1955). Hondo
Hondo (film)
Hondo is a movie that was made in 1953 by 3-D Warnercolor western film starring John Wayne, directed by John Farrow. The screenplay is based on the 1952 short story "The Gift of Cochise" by Louis L'Amour...
(1953), The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man
The Quiet Man is a 1952 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film. It was directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald. It was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story by Maurice Walsh...
(1952), Operation Pacific
Operation Pacific
Operation Pacific is a 1951 World War II submarine film starring John Wayne and directed by George Waggner. The technical advisor for this film was Admiral Charles A...
(1951), Fort Apache
Fort Apache (film)
Fort Apache is a 1948 Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. The film was the first of the director's "cavalry trilogy" and was followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande , both also starring Wayne...
(1948), 3 Godfathers (1948), They Were Expendable
They Were Expendable
They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford and starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne. The film is based on the book by William L. White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese...
(1945), Dakota
Dakota (film)
Dakota is a 1945 Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring John Wayne.-Cast:* John Wayne - John Devlin* Vera Ralston - Sandy Poli * Walter Brennan - Capt. Bounce of the Riverbird* Ward Bond - Jim Bender* Mike Mazurki - Bigtree Collins...
(1945), Tall in the Saddle
Tall in the Saddle
Tall in the Saddle is a 1944 western movie starring John Wayne as a cowboy and Ella Raines as his fierce bullwhip-brandishing love interest. The screenplay was co-written by actor Paul Fix and the film was directed by Edwin L...
(1944), The Shepherd of the Hills
The Shepherd of the Hills (film)
The Shepherd of the Hills is a 1941 film starring John Wayne. It was Wayne's first film in Technicolor. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Harold Bell Wright.-Differences from the novel:...
(1941), The Long Voyage Home
The Long Voyage Home
The Long Voyage Home is an American drama film and directed by John Ford. It features John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, John Qualen, Mildred Natwick, Ward Bond, among others....
(1940), Conflict
Conflict (1936 film)
Conflict is a 1936 American film based on a novel by Jack London and a silent movie both titled "The Abysmal Brute". The film stars John Wayne, Ward Bond and Jean Rogers.-Plot:...
(1936), and The Big Trail
The Big Trail
The Big Trail is a lavish early widescreen movie shot on location across the American West starring John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh....
(1930).
A legend has developed that country singer Johnny Horton
Johnny Horton
John Gale "Johnny" Horton was an American country music and rockabilly singer most famous for his semi-folk, so-called "saga songs" which began the "historical ballad" craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s...
died in an automobile accident while driving to see Bond at a hotel in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
to discuss a possible role in the fourth season of Wagon Train. Although Horton was indeed killed in a car crash at 1:30 a.m. on November 5, 1960, and Bond died from a massive heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at noon that same day, the two events were unrelated. Horton was on his way from Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
to Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, not Dallas. Bond was in Dallas to attend a football game.
Bond was 57 at the time of his death; John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
gave the eulogy
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
at his funeral. Bond's will bequeathed to Wayne the shotgun with which Wayne had once accidentally shot Bond.
For his contribution to the television industry, Bond has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6933 Hollywood Blvd. In 2001, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of American rodeo, photographs, barbed wire, saddlery, and early rodeo trophies...
in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
. There is also a Ward Bond Memorial Park in his birthplace of Benkelman, Nebraska.
Partial filmography
- Words and MusicWords and Music (1929 film)Words and Music is a 1929 American musical comedy film, directed by James Tinling, and starring Lois Moran, David Percy, Helen Twelvetrees, and Frank Albertson...
(1929) (bit part) - Salute (1929)
- The Big TrailThe Big TrailThe Big Trail is a lavish early widescreen movie shot on location across the American West starring John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh....
(1930) - ArrowsmithArrowsmith (film)Arrowsmith is a 1931 film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was written by Sidney Howard from the Sinclair Lewis novel Arrowsmith, and directed by John Ford.-Plot:...
(1931) (uncredited) - VirtueVirtue (film)Virtue is a 1932 romance film starring Carole Lombard and Pat O'Brien.-Plot summary:New York City streetwalker Mae is placed on a train by a policeman and told not to come back. However, she gets off, taking the cab of Jimmy Doyle , who doesn't think much of women. She slips away without paying...
(1932) - Lady for a DayLady for a DayLady for a Day is a 1933 American comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra. The screenplay by Robert Riskin is based on the short story Madame La Gimp by Damon Runyon...
(1933) (uncredited) - Wild Boys of the Road (1933) (uncredited)
- Frontier MarshalFrontier Marshal (1934 film)Frontier Marshal is a 1934 western film directed by Lewis Seiler. Produced by Fox Film and Sol M. Wurtzel, the film is the first based on Stuart N. Lake's enormously popular but largely fictitious "biography" of Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal...
(1934) - It Happened One NightIt Happened One NightIt Happened One Night is a 1934 American romantic comedy film with elements of screwball comedy directed by Frank Capra, in which a pampered socialite tries to get out from under her father's thumb, and falls in love with a roguish reporter . The plot was based on the story Night Bus by Samuel...
(1934) (uncredited) - The Fighting RangerThe Fighting Ranger (1934 film)The Fighting Ranger is a 1934 Western film directed by George B. Seitz.-Cast:* Buck Jones as Jim Houston * Dorothy Revier as Tonita, Cantina Singer* Frank Rice as Thunder, Texas Ranger* Bradley Page as Cougar the Half Breed...
(1934) - Black FuryBlack Fury (1935 film)Black Fury is a 1935 American crime film starring Paul Muni, Karen Morley, and William Gargan. It was adapted from the short story "Jan Volkanik" by Judge Michael A. Musmanno and the play Bohunk by Harry R...
(1935) - ConflictConflict (1936 film)Conflict is a 1936 American film based on a novel by Jack London and a silent movie both titled "The Abysmal Brute". The film stars John Wayne, Ward Bond and Jean Rogers.-Plot:...
(1936) - TopperTopper (film)Topper is a 1937 American comedy film which tells the story of a stuffy, stuck-in-his-ways man who is haunted by the ghosts of a fun-loving married couple. It was adapted by Eric Hatch, Jack Jevne and Eddie Moran from the novel by Thorne Smith. The film was directed by Norman Z. McLeod, produced by...
(1937) (uncredited) - Bringing Up BabyBringing up BabyBringing Up Baby is an American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and released by RKO Radio Pictures....
(1938) (uncredited) - The Amazing Dr. ClitterhouseThe Amazing Dr. ClitterhouseThe Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse is a 1938 American crime film starring Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor and Humphrey Bogart. It was directed by Anatole Litvak for Warner Bros. and written by John Wexley and John Huston, based on the first play written by short-story writer Barré Lyndon, which ran for...
(1938) - You Can't Take It with YouYou Can't Take It with YouYou Can't Take It with You is a comedic play in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The original production of the play opened at the Booth Theater on December 14, 1936, and played for 837 performances...
(1938) (uncredited) - They Made Me a CriminalThey Made Me a CriminalThey Made Me a Criminal is a 1939 American Warner Bros. drama crime film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring John Garfield, Claude Rains, and The Dead End Kids. It is a remake of the 1933 film The Life of Jimmy Dolan. The film was later featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia.-Plot:Johnnie...
(1939) - The Oklahoma KidThe Oklahoma KidThe Oklahoma Kid is a 1939 western film starring James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart. The movie was directed for Warner Bros. by Lloyd Bacon. Cagney plays an adventurous gunslinger in a broad-brimmed cowboy hat while Bogart portrays his black-clad and viciously villainous nemesis...
(1939) - Dodge City (1939)
- Young Mr. LincolnYoung Mr. LincolnYoung Mr. Lincoln is a 1939 partly fictionalized biography about the early life of President Abraham Lincoln, directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda. Ford and producer Darryl F. Zanuck fought for control of the film, to the point where Ford destroyed unwanted takes for fear the studio...
(1939) - Frontier MarshalFrontier Marshal (1939 film)Frontier Marshal is a 1939 western film starring Randolph Scott as Wyatt Earp. It is the second film produced by Sol M. Wurtzel based on Stuart N. Lake's highly fictionalized account of Earp, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. An earlier version was Wurtzel's Frontier Marshal, filmed in 1934...
(1939) - Heaven with a Barbed Wire FenceHeaven with a Barbed Wire FenceHeaven with a Barbed Wire Fence is a 1939 drama film starring Glenn Ford and directed by Ricardo Cortez-Plot:Joe Riley , who owns a shop, saves enough money to buy a piece of land in Arizona. Unable to buy a car , he has to travel to his new home by hitchhiking...
(1939) - Drums Along the MohawkDrums Along the MohawkDrums Along the Mohawk is a 1939 historical Technicolor film based upon a 1936 novel of the same name by American author, Walter D. Edmonds. The film was produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and directed by John Ford. Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert portray settlers on the New York frontier during the...
(1939) - Gone with the WindGone with the Wind (film)Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
(1939) - The Grapes of WrathThe Grapes of Wrath (film)The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 drama film directed by John Ford. It was based on John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Nunnally Johnson and the executive producer was Darryl F...
(1940) - Virginia CityVirginia CityVirginia City is a city located in Storey County, Nevada.Virginia City may also refer to:* Virginia City, Montana* Virginia City, Nevada* Virginia City, Virginia* Virginia City , a 1940 film starring Errol Flynn...
(1940) - The Mortal StormThe Mortal StormThe Mortal Storm is a drama film from MGM starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart, and directed by Frank Borzage.-Production background:...
(1940) - The Long Voyage HomeThe Long Voyage HomeThe Long Voyage Home is an American drama film and directed by John Ford. It features John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, Barry Fitzgerald, Wilfrid Lawson, John Qualen, Mildred Natwick, Ward Bond, among others....
(1940) - Tobacco RoadTobacco Road (film)Tobacco Road is a 1941 film directed by John Ford starring Charley Grapewin, Marjorie Rambeau, Gene Tierney, William Tracy and Dana Andrews. It was based on the novel of the same name by Erskine Caldwell, but the plot was rewritten for the film.-Cast:...
(1941) - A Man Betrayed (1941)
- Sergeant YorkSergeant YorkSergeant York is a 1941 biographical film about the life of Alvin York, the most-decorated American soldier of World War I. It was directed by Howard Hawks and was the highest-grossing film of the year....
(1941) - The Shepherd of the HillsThe Shepherd of the Hills (film)The Shepherd of the Hills is a 1941 film starring John Wayne. It was Wayne's first film in Technicolor. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Harold Bell Wright.-Differences from the novel:...
(1941) - ManpowerManpower (1941 film)Manpower is a 1941 film about power company linemen starring Edward G. Robinson, Marlene Dietrich, and George Raft. The memorable posters for the movie proclaimed, "Robinson - He's mad about Dietrich. Dietrich - She's mad about Raft...
(1941) - The Maltese FalconThe Maltese Falcon (1941 film)The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 Warner Bros. film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and a remake of the 1931 film of the same name...
(1941)
- Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942)
- Gentleman JimGentleman Jim (1942 film)Gentleman Jim is a 1942 film starring Errol Flynn as heavyweight boxing champion James J. Corbett. The supporting cast includes Alexis Smith, Jack Carson, Alan Hale, William Frawley, and Ward Bond. The movie was based upon Corbett's autobiography, The Roar of the Crowd, and directed by Raoul...
(1942) - Slightly DangerousSlightly DangerousSlightly Dangerous is a 1943 American romantic comedy film starring Lana Turner and Robert Young. A bored young woman in a dead-end job runs away to New York City and ends up impersonating the long-lost daughter of a millionaire. The film was directed by Wesley Ruggles and written by Charles...
(1943) - A Guy Named JoeA Guy Named JoeA Guy Named Joe is a 1943 film made by MGM, directed by Victor Fleming, produced by Everett Riskin, from a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, adapted by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan from a story by Chandler Sprague and David Boehm. It starred Spencer Tracy, Irene Dunne and Van Johnson, with Esther Williams...
(1943) - The Sullivans, renamed The Fighting SullivansThe Fighting SullivansThe Fighting Sullivans, originally released as The Sullivans, is a 1944 American biographical war film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Edward Doherty, Mary C. McCall Jr. and Jules Schermer...
(1944) - Tall in the SaddleTall in the SaddleTall in the Saddle is a 1944 western movie starring John Wayne as a cowboy and Ella Raines as his fierce bullwhip-brandishing love interest. The screenplay was co-written by actor Paul Fix and the film was directed by Edwin L...
(1944) - DakotaDakota (film)Dakota is a 1945 Western film directed by Joseph Kane and starring John Wayne.-Cast:* John Wayne - John Devlin* Vera Ralston - Sandy Poli * Walter Brennan - Capt. Bounce of the Riverbird* Ward Bond - Jim Bender* Mike Mazurki - Bigtree Collins...
(1945) - They Were ExpendableThey Were ExpendableThey Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford and starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne. The film is based on the book by William L. White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese...
(1945) - My Darling ClementineMy Darling ClementineMy Darling Clementine is a 1946 western movie. It was directed by John Ford, and based on the story of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral between the Earp brothers and the Clanton gang. It features an ensemble cast including Henry Fonda, Victor Mature, Ward Bond, Walter Brennan, and others.The movie...
(1946) - It's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
(1946) - UnconqueredUnconqueredUnconquered is a 1947 adventure film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille and released by Paramount. The film depicts the violent struggles between American colonists and Native Americans on the western frontier in the mid-18th century during the time of Pontiac's Rebellion, primarily around...
(1947) - The FugitiveThe Fugitive (1947 film)The Fugitive is a 1947 drama film starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, based on the novel The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. It was shot on location in Mexico by Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa.-Plot:...
(1947) - Fort ApacheFort Apache (film)Fort Apache is a 1948 Western film directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda. The film was the first of the director's "cavalry trilogy" and was followed by She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande , both also starring Wayne...
(1948) - The Time of Your LifeThe Time of Your Life (film)The Time of Your Life is a 1948 film starring James Cagney adapted from the 1939 William Saroyan play of the same title. The movie was adapted by Nathaniel Curtis, directed by H. C. Potter, and featured William Bendix as Nick, Wayne Morris as Tom, Broderick Crawford as Krupp, and Ward Bond as...
(1948) - Tap RootsTap RootsTap Roots is a 1948 period film set during the American Civil War. It is very loosely based on the true life story of Newton Knight, a farm owner who attempted to secede Jones County from Mississippi....
(1948) - Joan of ArcJoan of Arc (1948 film)Joan of Arc is a 1948 Technicolor film directed by Victor Fleming; starring Ingrid Bergman as the French religious icon and war heroine. It was produced by Walter Wanger. It is based on Maxwell Anderson's successful Broadway play Joan of Lorraine, which also starred Bergman, and was adapted for the...
(1948) - 3 Godfathers (1948)
- Kiss Tomorrow GoodbyeKiss Tomorrow GoodbyeKiss Tomorrow Goodbye is a 1950 film noir starring James Cagney, directed by Gordon Douglas and based on the novel by Horace McCoy. The film was banned in Ohio as "a sordid, sadistic presentation of brutality and an extreme presentation of crime with explicit steps in commission."Supporting Cagney...
(1950) - Operation PacificOperation PacificOperation Pacific is a 1951 World War II submarine film starring John Wayne and directed by George Waggner. The technical advisor for this film was Admiral Charles A...
(1951) - Only the ValiantOnly the ValiantOnly the Valiant is a 1951 western film produced by William Cagney , directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Gregory Peck and Barbara Payton. The screenplay was written by Edmund H...
(1951) - On Dangerous GroundOn Dangerous GroundOn Dangerous Ground is a film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and produced by John Houseman. The screenplay was written by A. I. Bezzerides based on the novel Mad with Much Heart, by Gerald Butler...
(1952) - The Quiet ManThe Quiet ManThe Quiet Man is a 1952 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film. It was directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald. It was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story by Maurice Walsh...
(1952) - Blowing WildBlowing WildBlowing Wild is a 1953 film starring Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, and Anthony Quinn in a love triangle set in a Latin American oilfield. Ruth Roman also stars and adds to the romantic entanglements....
(1953) - HondoHondo (film)Hondo is a movie that was made in 1953 by 3-D Warnercolor western film starring John Wayne, directed by John Farrow. The screenplay is based on the 1952 short story "The Gift of Cochise" by Louis L'Amour...
(1953) - Johnny GuitarJohnny GuitarJohnny Guitar is a 1954 Republic Pictures Western film starring Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, and Scott Brady.The screenplay was based upon a novel by Roy Chanslor. Though credited to Philip Yordan, he was merely a front for the actual screenwriter, blacklistee Ben Maddow. ...
(1954) - The Long Gray LineThe Long Gray LineThe Long Gray Line is a 1955 American drama film directed by John Ford based on the life of Marty Maher. Tyrone Power stars as the scrappy Irish immigrant whose 50-year career at West Point took him from dishwasher to non-commissioned officer and athletic instructor.Maureen O'Hara, one of Ford's...
(1955) - Mister Roberts (1955)
- A Man AloneA Man Alone (film)A Man Alone is a 1955 Western directed by and starring Ray Milland. The supporting cast includes Mary Murphy, Ward Bond, Raymond Burr, Lee Van Cleef, and Alan Hale, Jr.. The story involves a man who stumbles into the aftermath of a stagecoach robbery in the desert in which there were no...
(1955) - The SearchersThe Searchers (film)The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
(1956) - The Halliday BrandThe Halliday BrandThe Halliday Brand is a 1957 Western film directed by Joseph H. Lewis and starring Joseph Cotten.-Cast:* Joseph Cotten - Daniel Halliday* Viveca Lindfors - Aleta Burris* Betsy Blair - Martha Halliday* Ward Bond - Big Dan Halliday...
(1957) - The Wings of EaglesThe Wings of EaglesThe Wings of Eagles is a 1957 Metrocolor film about Frank "Spig" Wead and US Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. The film is a tribute to Wead from his friend, director John Ford....
(1957) - China DollChina Doll (film)China Doll is a 1958 romantic drama film set in the China Burma India Theater of World War II and starring Victor Mature and Li Hua Li.-Plot:...
(1957) - Rio Bravo (1959)