How a legend is born...

John Wayne owes a lot to John Ford. As a football player at USC -- then known as Marion Morrison -- the future "Duke" was befriended by Ford during a summer job at the Fox Studios in Hollywood. Ford put Wayne in a number of films and when he found him a spot in 1939's Stagecoach, Wayne became a star. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, WPT presents American Masters "John Wayne/John Ford: The Filmmaker and the Legend," a program that uncovers the prolific business relationship that grew from that early friendship.

Without Ford's early help, Wayne's legend would be a lot less colorful. Here are some examples:

Without the early star turns in some of the 145 films Ford directed, Wayne probably wouldn't have appeared in 174 films on his own. People wouldn't flock to his birthplace in Winterset, Iowa. He wouldn't have an airport in Orange County, Calif. named after him. There wouldn't be a tour company offering rides on his former yacht. Outdoor types wouldn't be hiking or biking on Washington's John Wayne Pioneer Trail. His name wouldn't be on a marina in the Northwest. There wouldn't be a working movie set from his version of The Alamo that is a big tourist attraction in Texas. He wouldn't be enshrined in the National Cowboy Museum. And probably most prestigiously he wouldn't have his face on a stamp.

Yes, Ford had an amazing career, but as a director, he probably would've made his living as a filmmaker regardless of Wayne. But for the boy from Iowa, that summer job in Hollywood was a pretty good gig.