This topic is "were", so I assumed the actors were no longer living.

John Wayne - not a great actor, but as a kid I loved all those war and cowboy movies. He was sooooooo tough.
Burt Lancaster - Played Jim Thorpe, what else can you say.
Steve McQueen - Mr. Cool...the Great Escape, Bullitt, oh yeah The Blob.
Maureen O'Hara - my first starlet crush. Ezmerelda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame; The Quiet Man.
Marlon Brando - say no more, Don Corleone.
Gregory Peck - To Kill a Mockingbird, fabulous.