Born James Meggs on  2 October 1892 in Canada, Tall, thin, and refined, but with a hint of sneakiness in his facial make-up, James Craven was eminently qualified for playing serial brains heavies. He was handsome and dignified enough to convince the other characters that he was on the good guys' side, and cruel and shady-looking enough to let the audience know what he was really up to. However, if one were to contrast the two halves of his serial career, one would be tempted to think there were two different actors by the name of James Craven, so strongly did those two halves contrast. In Craven's three major serial roles at Columbia, he played (probably at the behest of director James Horne) wild-eyed, ranting villains in the old melodrama style, berating henchmen violently and getting more harried and flustered as the hero foiled each of his plans. In two of his three major serial roles at Republic, however, Craven portrayed very crafty, subtle heavies, the complete opposite of his hyperventilating Columbia characters. I personally enjoy his suave persona best, but his whacked-out villains could be very amusing too. Craven was really a very talented actor, and his performances, whether over-the-top or well-modulated, were always a lot of fun to watch. James appeared in two movies with John Wayne, James passed away on 29 June 1955 in Los Angeles, California, USA. "This information was kindly supplied from the Files of Jerry Blake."

Born Milburn Stone on 5 July 1904 in Burrton, Kansas, USA, Milburn Stone got his start in vaudeville as one-half of the song 'n' snappy patter team of Stone and Strain. He worked with several touring theatrical troupes before settling down in Hollywood in 1935, where he played everything from bits to full leads in the B-picture product ground out by such studios as Mascot and Monogram. One of his few appearances in an A-picture was his uncredited but memorable turn as Stephen A. Douglas in John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln. During this period, he was also a regular in the low-budget but popular Tailspin Tommy series. He spent the 1940s at Universal in a vast array of character parts, at one point being cast in a leading role only because he physically matched the actor in the film's stock-footage scenes! Full stardom would elude Stone until 1955, when he was cast as the irascible Doc Adams in Gunsmoke. Milburn Stone went on to win an Emmy for this colorful characterization, retiring from the series in 1972 due to ill health. Milburn appeared in three movies with John Wayne, Milburn passed away on 12 June 1980 in La Jolla, California, USA.

Born Charles Brokaw on 23 September 1898, Columbus, Ohio, USA, Broadway actor, active from 1921-1936. He appeared in the hits: The Road to Rome 1928 The Great Waltz 1934 and Jubilee 1935, his last Broadway appearance running 169 performances through March 7, 1936. Charles appeared in two movies with John Wayne, Charles passed away on 23 October 1975 in New York, New York, USA.

Born David Gainey Clarke on 30 August 1908 in Chicago, Illinois, USA, David Clarke made his Broadway debut in "Journeyman" in 1938, and subsequently appeared in "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" with Raymond Massey. He also played at the Biltmore Theatre in Los Angeles, where he caught the eye of agent Leland Hayward, leading to his first film role in Knockout 1941. Over the next five decades Clarke appeared in scores of films and TV shows (from the "Golden Age" of live dramas to more recent series), and was featured on Broadway in the original productions of "A View from the Bridge", "Orpheus Descending", "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe", "Inquest", and "The Visit" with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. David appeared in three movies with John Wayne, David passed away on 18 April 2004 in Arlington, Virginia, USA.

Born Earle Hodgins on 6 October 1893, Utah, USA,  Actor Earle Hodgins has been characterized by more than one western-film historian as a grizzled, bucolic Bob Hope type. Usually cast as snake-oil salesmen, Hodgins would brighten up his "B"-western scenes with a snappy stream of patter, leavened by magnificently unfunny wisecracks ("This remedy will give ya a complexion like a peach, fuzz 'n' all..."). When the low-budget western market died in the 1950s, Hodgins continued unabated on such TV series as The Roy Rogers Show and Annie Oakley. He also made appearances in such "A" films as East of Eden (55), typically cast as carnival hucksters and rural sharpsters. In 1961, Earle Hodgins was cast in the recurring role of wizened handyman Lonesome on the TV sitcom Guestward Ho!. Earle appeared in four movies with John Wayne, Earle passed away on 14 April 1964, Hollywood, California, USA.

Born Pedro Armendáriz Jr on 6 April 1940 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico, Pedro Armendáriz Jr. has become a film and television star in his own right in Mexico and abroad. He started acting in the '70s, mostly with bit parts in violent Westerns starring Anthony Quinn, John Wayne, or Clint Eastwood. During the '80s he made a lot of films in Mexico and eventually worked in Europe and Hollywood. While a leading man in his native country, he had mostly walk-on roles in U.S. productions. American audiences may recognize him as President Hector Lopez in Licence to Kill or Pancho Villa in The Old Gringo. Other small roles continued in Before Night Falls, The Mexican, Original Sin, and The Crime of Padre Amaro. Back in Mexico, he finally received recognition for his acting with starring roles in the award-winning films La Ley de Herodes and Su Alteza Serenisma. In 2003, he appeared in John Sayles's Casa de los Babys and Robert Rodriguez's Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Pedro appeared in two westerns with John Wayne.

Born Paul Smith on 13 January 1912, Atmore, Alabama, USA, Paul Birch was a veteran of 39 movies, 50 stage dramas and an untold number of television shows including the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" (1951). In the late 1950s he starred, along with William Campbell, in the syndicated series "Cannonball" (1958), a half-hour drama adventure show about over-the-road truckers. He was the original "Marlboro Man" in TV commercials and played both Union Gen. U.S. Grant and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in several historical playlets. He started out as the first of the original members of the Pasadena Playhouse and his stage work included "The Caine Mutiny". He was often called upon to play Grant due to the striking resemblance (when bearded) he bore to the former General and President. He enjoyed playing the roles of Lee and Grant and once remarked, "There were times when I was switching those two roles so fast I could have surrendered to myself. Paul appeared in two movies with John Wayne, Paul passed away on 24 May 1969 in St. George, Grenada.

Born James McEachin on May 20, 1930 in Rennert, North Carolina. USA, African American actor was a stage actor until signed to a Universal contract in the mid-1960s. Though relatively young, McEachin projected a middle-aged, "solid citizen" image that perfectly suited his title character in the Universal television series Tenafly 1973. McEachin was cast as private eye and loyal family man Harry Tenafly, one of the few TV detectives who relied more on brains than movie-star charisma. Since that time, James McEachin has usually been cast as a cop; he played Sergeant and later Lieutenant Brock on virtually every Perry Mason TV movie of the 1980s and 1990s-a notable exception being the 1987 entry The Case of the Scandalous Scoundrel, in which he was cast as "Harry Forbes.

Born Tiger Androwaous on 19 March 1920, Brooklyn, New York, USA, The son of Lebanese parents, American actor Tige Andrews, born Tiger Androwaous, played supporting roles on television and in films where he was usually cast as an amiable bad-guy. He was best known for his television work; he was a regular on the 1970s series Mod Squad. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1970. He recorded a record single "Keep America Beautiful" and "The Mod Father" in the early 70's, Tige was an artist who painted with oil paints, and published in the book "Actors as Artists." He had gallery shows. Tige appeared in two movies with John Wayne, Tige passed away on 27 January 2007 in Encino, California, USA.

Born Jacqueline Wells on 30 August 1914, Denver, Colorado, USA, Colorado-born leading lady Julie Bishop, who also acted under her birth name of Jacqueline Wells and the stage name Diane Duval, started off as a silent movie child actress, working with such legends as Clara Bow and Mary Pickford. The daughter of a wealthy banker and oilman, she was raised in Texas and eventually Los Angeles following her parents' divorce. Julie Bishop was signed by Warner Bros in 1940 and played a dutiful sweethearts opposite filmdom's top male stars, notably Errol Flynn in Northern Pursuit 1943, Humphrey Bogart in Action in the North Atlantic 1943, John Wayne in both Sands of Iwo Jima 1949 and The High and the Mighty 1954, and Alan Ladd in The Big Land 1957, her last picture. But, for the most part, she was never given anything challenging enough to become a top-flight star. Julie passed away on 30 August 2001in Mendocino, California, USA.

Born  Frank Puglia on 9 March 1892 in Sicily, Italy, Puglia started his career at age 15 when he joined a traveling operetta company. Frank appeared in Italian opera from the age of 13. He came to the U.S. in 1907 and worked in a laundry before joining an Italian language theatre group in New York. In 1921, while appearing on stage, he was spotted by D.W. Griffith and was hired immediately. Puglia played a number of ethnic roles throughout his 150+ films career, as well as frequently playing priests, diplomats and musicians. Frank appeared in two movies with John Wayne, Frank passed away on 25 October 1975 in South Pasadena, California, USA.

Born Russell Hopton on 18 February 1900 in New York, New York, USA, Stage actor Russell Hopton made his first screen appearance in a bit role in 1926's Ella Cinders. Hopton came into his own in the early 1930s, playing glowering, sarcastic characters who often bear such ill-suited names as Smiley and Happy. One of his largest roles was phony elocution expert Jerry Daniels in Once in a Lifetime, the famed 1932 satire of Hollywood's early-talkie days. In 1935 and 1936, Hopton directed a handful of "B" pictures for producer Maurice Conn. Russell Hopton spent the last eight years or so of his life as an RKO contract player, essaying villainous or disreputable supporting roles in both feature films and 2-reel comedies. Russell appeared in two movies with John Wayne, Russell passed away on 7 April 1945 in North Hollywood, California, USA.