> John Ford was born Sean Aloysius O'Fearna/O'Feeney in Maine, to parents who hailed from Ireland. He was the youngest child in his family and grew up with ten older siblings. Ford's older brother Francis was later hired by Universal Pictures to direct silent films, and young Ford followed his brother to Hollywood, working as a stunt rider/actor and soon began directing as well. After numerous early films, Ford's The Iron Horse (1924) clinched his status as a master filmmaker. He won his first directing Oscar for The Informer (1935).

> Ford earned his second Academy Award as Best Director for The Grapes of Wrath (1940) starring Henry Fonda who had previously worked with the director in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) and Young Mr. Lincoln (1939). Ford then garnered a third win at the Academy Awards for How Green Was My Valley (1941), which also won Best Picture. Ford later won his fourth Best Director Oscar for The Quiet Man (1952).

> Ford excelled in all genres and tales across varied chapters in American history. In particular, he redefined the Western genre like no other filmmaker before or since. The Westerns directed by John Ford documented, examined, recreated, and immortalized the history and culture of the Old West. Stagecoach was the first of eight John Ford pictures filmed in Monument Valley, Utah. Director Ford and the film's star, John Wayne, were great friends in real-life and collaborated on many films through the decades.