Did John Wayne make a third Rooster Cogburn movie?

John Wayne was one of the most popular movie stars from the golden era of Hollywood. He was known for his versatile talent, which led him to move seamlessly from silent pictures to the grandeur of the West, becoming one of the definitive leading men of the time. After finding himself working for Fox Corporation after a surfing accident, which caused him to give up on his dreams of becoming a footballer, he found himself in a number of smaller roles.  

However, he had his first leading part in The Big Trail, directed by Raoul Walsh in 1930. From then on, he starred in many popular B-movies from the 1930s, eventually finding himself as a regular within the world of the western. But it wasn’t until the late 1930s that Wayne truly found his niche, with his role as Ringo Kid in Stagecoach launching him to stardom, subsequently building a filmography that consisted of over 170 films.  

During those years of global success, he was widely recognised for his performances in The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Bravo, and Red River. After playing countless iterations of cowboys, gun-slicking violence and dusty drama became second nature to the actor.

However, one of his mythicised roles was that of Rooster Cogburn, starring alongside Katharine Hepburn in the notorious production. But, there is a somewhat complex backstory to the project.

Who created the character of Rooster Cogburn?

Rooster Cogburn was originally created by Charles Portis in his 1968 novel True Grit, which was first adapted into a film of the same name in 1969. The film was directed by Henry Hathaway, following a teenage tomboy who is on a quest for revenge after the murder of her father, working with an old marshal called Rooster Cogburn to complete the job.

How many actors have played Rooster Cogburn?

John Wayne also played the titular character in the 1969 film, reclaiming the character in the 1975 sequel alongside Katherine Hepburn. While Rooster Cogburn appears to be the end of Wayne’s portrayal of this character, the story did not end there. In 1978, a lesser-known TV movie called True Grit: A Further Adventure was released, which continued the saga of both characters. However, neither Bridges nor Wayne starred in this strange sequel, and Warren Oates was cast in the role of Rooster Cogburn, with Lisa Pelikan playing Mattie.  

The film was directed by Richard T Heffron and initially intended as a gateway to a television series. Oates slots perfectly into the story world, with the actor building a reputation for similar roles after starring in The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. Altogether, three actors have taken on this role, with each of them contributing something unique to the beloved character.  

The True Grit series is one of the most long-lasting Western stories, spanning from 1969 until its final instalment in 2010 with Jeff Bridges reprising this iconic character under the direction of the Coen Brothers.  The first was perhaps the most successful, with audiences being critical of the third addition to the universe. However, the Coen Brothers offered a refreshing take on the story over 30 years later, and the film was nominated for ten Oscars.  

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