What Happened to ‘Wagon Train’ Star Ward Bond? Inside His Sudden Death & John Wayne’s Final Goodbye

Even if Ward Bond‘s name doesn’t sound familiar, you probably remember his face. He was Bert the police officer in It’s a Wonderful Life, Captain Clayton in The Searchers, and Major Seth Adams on Wagon Train. With Wagon Train, after decades as one of Hollywood’s busiest supporting actors, Bond finally became the star of his own television series. Unfortunately, his life ended suddenly, just a few years later, on November 5, 1960, at just 57 years old, leaving Wagon Train without its original wagon master and fellow Western star John Wayne without one of his closest friends.

Wardell Edwin Bond was born on April 9, 1903, in Benkelman, Nebraska. He lived there with his family until 1919, when they moved to Denver. Bond later attended the University of Southern California, where he played football and was a starting lineman on the school’s first national championship team in 1928.