Career: Wayne began doing bit parts in westerns and adventures and appeared in about 70 movies before his breakthrough role in John Ford's Stagecoach (1939). He went on to star in more than 20 John Ford pictures, including Fort Apache (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Rio Grande (1950), The Searchers (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Other notable films included Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), The Alamo (1960), The Green Berets (1968), True Grit (1969) and The Shootist (1976). He died of stomach cancer on June 11, 1979 at the age of 72.

Career: In 1941 he landed his first role on Broadway in the play Spring Again and changed his name to Kirk Douglas, but his career was put on hold when he signed up with the US Navy; he was discharged in 1944 after being injured. He returned to Broadway, where he was spotted by Hollywood scouts. His film debut was 1946's The Strange Love of Martha Ivers; his first Oscar nomination came three years later for Champion. He received further nominations for the Bad and the Beautiful and Lust for Life. Douglas formed his own production company, Bryna (named after his mother), which made many of his best-known films, including The Vikings and Seven Days in May. He also produced Spartacus, and caused controversy when he gave a screen credit to the blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo. He continues to make public appearances despite suffering a debilitating stroke in 1996.

Career: In Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Fonda landed his first professional role in the University Players production of The Jest. It wasn't long before he headed to New York. Along with roommate James Stewart, he developed his acting skills on Broadway and appeared in a number of stage productions between 1926 and 1934. Fonda got his big break when he made his first film appearance in The Farmer Takes a Wife (1935). His movie career took off and in 1936 he starred in The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, the first Technicolor movie filmed outdoors. He went on to star in The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Rings On Her Fingers (1942), and The Ox-Bow Incident (1943). He served in the Navy during the Second World War. In 1948, Fonda won a Tony Award for playing the title role in Mister Roberts, a role he would later play on the big screen in 1955. He went on to star in War in Peace (1956), The Wrong Man (1956), 12 Angry Men (1957), How the West Was Won (1962) and Spencer's Mountain (1963). Fonda continued to act throughout his final years and he won his only Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in On Golden Pond (1981). He died a year later in Los Angeles at the age of 77.