The nickname was explained in Michael J. Lafavore, "John Ford: The Quiet Man from Portland," Maine Life, ... and in M&W JF's remark "I didn't tell him anything' was made to Henry Fonda on The American West of John Ford (CBS-TV, 1971).
Ford came up with the role of Buttons, a factotum occupying an indispensable place in Earp's life much like Jeff Poindexter's with Judge Priest. Among other duties, Buttons was to have brought Earp his chair so the marshal could await ...
The definitive biography of the great, dark cinematic poet of the American West, the troubled director of Stagecoach, Red River, and scores of other Hollywood classics.
He hid his sensitivity beneath a hard-drinking, exaggeratedly Irish exterior, but Joseph McBride's biography succeeds in penetrating Ford's habitual reticence and sheds light upon previously unknown aspects of his professional endeavours.
Searching for John Ford: A Biography
Searching for John Ford