"True Grit" Director Henry Hathaway 1985 Holy Cross Cemetery

Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring John Wayne, including Wayne's Oscar winning performance in True Grit. Hathaway also directed 1966's Nevada Smith, another Western starring Steve McQueen that was based on the Harold Robbins novel The Carpetbaggers. In addition, Hathaway was one of three directors on the epic Cinerama Western, How the West Was Won (1962), directing the bulk of the film, including the river, prairie, and train robbery sequences. He made his 65th and final film in 1974.

Hathaway died from a heart attack in 1985 in Hollywood and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Although often overlooked as a director, his body of work earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1638 Vine Street.