| Rooster Cogburn | |
|---|---|
 Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn inTrue Grit | |
| First appearance | True Grit (novel) |
| Last appearance | True Grit (2010 film) |
| Created by | Charles Portis |
| Portrayed by | John Wayne Warren Oates Jeff Bridges |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation | U.S. Marshal Wild West Show participant |
| Nationality | American |
Reuben J. "Rooster"Cogburn is a fictional character who first appeared in the 1968Charles Portis novelTrue Grit.
Reuben Cogburn was born on July 15, 1825, according to the tombstone in the John Wayne adaptation, though the character in the novel is about 39. Cogburn was a veteran of theAmerican Civil War who served underConfederate guerrilla leaderWilliam Quantrill, where Cogburn lost his eye. He was married first to anIllinois woman who left him to return to her first husband after bearing Cogburn a single, extremely clumsy son, Horace (of whom Cogburn says, "He never liked me anyway"). Cogburn is described as a "fearless, one-eyedUnited States Marshal who never knew a dry day in his life." He was "the toughest marshal" working theIndian Territory on behalf of JudgeIsaac C. Parker,[1] the real-life judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas (having criminal jurisdiction in the Indian Territory, as thebailiff repeatedly announces in both films). When Cogburn goes to court in "Rooster Cogburn," it shows that Cogburn shot a total of 64 men in eight years, killing 60 (by the film's end, it was 70 shot, and 66 killed), all of whom he claimed to have killed in self-defense, in the line of duty, or fleeing justice.
In the 1969 film, Cogburn helped a headstrong 14-year-old girl named Mattie Ross (Kim Darby), along with Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Glen Campbell), to track down Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey), the man who drunkenly killed her father. In thesequel, he teamed up with elderly spinster Eula Goodnight (Katharine Hepburn) and anIndian boy named Wolf while on the trail of the desperado, Hawk (Richard Jordan), who had stolen a shipment ofnitroglycerin from theUnited States Army and killed family members of both Goodnight and Wolf. Cogburn lived inFort Smith, Arkansas, in the back of a Chinese dry-goods store, along with the proprietor, his friend and gambling buddy Chen Lee, and an orange tabby cat named after Confederate GeneralSterling Price for his entire life as a marshal.
In the 2010 film, while Cogburn demonstrated a ruthless attitude towards the criminals and fugitives he pursued, he was generally very fair with Mattie and was shown to have a distaste for what he viewed as unnecessary cruelty. When LaBoeuf isbirching Mattie for her refusal to return to Fort Smith, Cogburn demands that he stop and drew his gun in a threat to make LaBoeuf stop. Later in the film, when Cogburn and Mattie witnessed two childrencaning a mule with sharpened sticks, Cogburn quickly intervened, cutting the mule loose and roughly throwing the two children onto the ground in retaliation. After Mattie was snakebitten, he rode through the night, holding her, in order to get her medical care. When the horse collapsed, he mercy-killed it with his revolver and then carried her a long distance in his arms to get her to a doctor, both saving her life and proving he really had the true grit Mattie thought he did.
Cogburn's relationship with LaBoeuf was strained throughout the film, with the two arguing frequently. Cogburn often made light of theTexas Rangers, much to LaBoeuf's outrage, and irritatingly criticized LaBoeuf's tendency to talk long-windedly. Likewise, LaBoeuf patronized Cogburn for being a hopeless drunk who routinely relents to Mattie's stubbornness. Their greatest point of contention came during an argument about their military service during theAmerican Civil War, during which Cogburn ended their agreement of splitting the reward on Tom Chaney when they brought him back to Texas when LaBoeuf insulted Capt Quantrill. He did, however, thank LaBoeuf for saving his life when "Lucky" Ned Pepper was about to kill him and said he was in debt before leaving with the snakebitten Mattie and promising to send help back.
In bothTrue Grit films, Cogburn confessed to having robbed something after the war before becoming a marshal, a bank in his youth in the 2010 film, and a federal paymaster in the 1969 film. He spoke admiringly of Quantrill, with whom he served during the Civil War. Twenty-five years after the Tom Chaney hunt, Maddie received a note from the Marshal with a flyer enclosed, saying Cogburn was traveling with a Wild West show and inviting her to come see him. However, Cogburn died three days before she arrived while the show was still inJonesboro, Arkansas. He was buried in aMemphis, Tennessee, Confederate cemetery. When Mattie arrived in Memphis and learned of his death, she had his body removed to her family plot in Yell County, Arkansas and visited it over the years. His gravestone shows his full name to be Reuben Cogburn, and his date of death to be August 12, 1903.
The novel was adapted into a 1969 film,True Grit, and from that a 1975 sequel entitledRooster Cogburn was also produced, withKatharine Hepburn and a script loosely based onThe African Queen set in theAmerican frontier. The character was also featured in a 1978made-for-television sequel entitledTrue Grit: A Further Adventure starringWarren Oates as Cogburn. TheCoen brothers released anew film version of the novel in 2010.[2]
In the 1969 and 1975 films, Cogburn was portrayed byJohn Wayne. Unusually for Wayne, who usually portrayed more or less straitlaced heroes, Cogburn is portrayed as a curmudgeonlyantihero behaviorally similar toWallace Beery's performances. The 2010 film featuresJeff Bridges as Cogburn andMatt Damon as the comical Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf.[3]John Wayne won theAcademy Award for Best Actor for his role as Cogburn in the 1969 film. In 2011, Bridges was nominated for the same award for his portrayal of Cogburn.[4]