John Wayne struggled with ill-health, confessed ‘I'm on borrowed time' when John Ford died
John Wayne classics such as The Searchers and Stagecoach saw his health deteriorating terribly in the early 1970s. After breaking a hip, Ford had to get used to a wheelchair and was moved from his Bel Air home to Palm Desert to be treated for cancer. In October 1972, the Screen Directors Guild paid tribute to him and in March the following year, the American Film Institute honoured the director with a Lifetime Achievement Award.