John Dutton III was the Governor of Montana, and the patriarch of the Dutton family. He was mainly played by Kevin Costner, but Josh Lucas has played a younger version in several flashbacks.
Beware of 'spoilers' from here on down!
Personal life[]
Click here for the main page of the Dutton family.
Dutton was born into a family of ranchers. His ancestors have been through good and bad times to gather land and make a home in Montana. His grandfather or great-grandfather was John Dutton I and his father was John Dutton Sr.. James Dutton, John Dutton I's father was head of the family when it settled in Montana.
Marriage & family[]
He married and started a family with Evelyn Dutton. On March 30, 1997, she was out riding with two of their children, and her horse was spooked which caused it to fall over, causing her to experience a severe spinal Injury and significant internal bleeding. Help came too late and she died. [2]
John and Evelyn were blessed with four children: Lee, Jamie, Beth, and Kayce. They live and grow up on the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Kayce extended the family, marrying Monica Long and having a son named Tate, the grandson of John Dutton. [3]
His oldest son Lee died when he was protecting the family ranch in a feud with the Broken Rock Indian Reservation. Lee’s brother Kayce came too late to help him as he died of a fatal gunshot wound by Robert Long. [3]
In July, 1997 John was brought to help deal with a young boy trespassing on a nearby ranch. It turns out the boy, Rip Wheeler, killed his father after he murdered Rip’s mother and brother. John decided to welcome the orphan boy into his family and let him work on his ranch. [4]
John's daughter Beth became romantically involved after a while and even though they went through some times when they did not see each other much, they eventually got engaged and married, after which Rip officially became part of the family. [5]
Monica, John's daughter-in-law, got pregnant once again while their oldest son, Tate was in his teens. He went with her to the hospital when she was about to give birth to her child, but they had a car accident and even though she gave birth to a son, who she and her husband named John (after his grandfather), he died shortly after, probably due to complications suffered because of the accident. [6]
Illness[]
When in his 60s, Dutton was diagnosed with colon cancer, as a tumor made its way into his colon. He was cured by way of operation, having cut two feet out of his colon. [7] He kept it quiet to his family, but his son Jamie was told by Governor Perry and John later confirmed it to him and Beth. [8] After the operation John visited the hospital for a CT scan. Dr. Fielding wanted to make an appointment for an endoscopy as he saw a mass on the scan. However, John said he had no time and quickly left the hospital. [9] He didn’t make an appointment, so when things took a turn for the worse and he started coughing up blood, he was brought to the hospital and again had major surgery. This time he took his doctor’s advice to heart and began physical therapy. [10]
Love life[]
Although his deceased wife Evelyn was the love of his life, John tried to find love elsewhere sometime after her passing. He had a relationship with Montana Governor Lynelle Perry, [2] whom he knew since they were growing up together. They both lost a spouse and connected over their mutual grief.[11] John and Lynelle never developed romantic feelings for each other, but there is a deep companionship between them that sometimes brings them together. Both agreed that they would never fall in love for anyone again, not because they don't want to but because they both already had that and now that it's gone, they know it won't happen again.
John also had a brief fling with Summer Higgins.
Hobbies[]
In his spare time, John likes to go fishing, sometimes with Carl Reynolds. [8] He also hunts every now and then. [12]
Work[]
Yellowstone Dutton Ranch[]
Click here for the main page of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.
The Dutton family ranch is everything John Dutton lives for. He does not only own it but is still running it and works on it daily. It is his wish to keep the ranch in the family, but after Lee’s passing it is hard for him to find a way to let his children take over the ranch, as they all chose different career paths.
Montana Livestock Association[]
Click here for the main page of the Montana Livestock Association.
John is a Livestock Commissioner of the Montana Livestock Association, making it possible to influence an organization that gets things done on an even bigger scale. [11]
Governor of Montana[]
When Lynelle Perry announced she would go to Washington to work as the Senator for Montana, and would like John's son Jamie to run for Governor, John not only disagreed with her proposal but saw no other alternative than to announce his candidacy, running as a Republican. [13] He went on to win the election in a closely contested race, and was soon after sworn in as the new Governor. [6] He later on gives his son Kayce the ownership of running the ranch while he is away governing Montana. [14]
Upon learning that Governor Perry was making a run for the United States Senate, he was offered a potential endorsement for the Governor seat, and learned that his foster son, Jamie, who was the current state AG, was eyeing the very same prize. John made a leap, went to Helena and declared his candidacy for Governor of the State of Montana. He was later discovered dead in the Governor's Mansion Bathtub from a gunshot wound to the head, though there are no speculations of it being suicide or an assassination.
Incident(s)[]
- While driving a horse trailer Dutton got in a car accident with a truck from Paradise Valley. He had some slight injuries but his horse was worse off and had to be killed. [3]
- John started coughing up blood now and then. At one point it became too much and he fell. He was flown to the hospital by his helicopter and provided with first aid by veterinarian Sam. [15] He was further taken care of in the Bozeman General Hospital. [10]
- When the rivalry between the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and businessmen Malcolm & Teal Beck got out of hand, the Becks went after John's grandson Tate. He was found missing when he was feeding his horse at night. [16]
- It was also revealed in the show that he was diagnosed with colon cancer and had a series of episodes due to the diagnosis.
Quotes[]
This is my home. I made a promise. Protect it, care for it, love it. Me and this family, can't break it. —John Dutton III
This is America. We don't share land down here.” – John Dutton to the Chinese tourists on his property.
You don't see it on your way to work, in the fields, or on the mountain. But there is a war being waged against our way of life. They'll tell you all the reasons why our way of life in Montana are bad for this country, bad for our future. How it's immoral that you live here,work here, grow their food here. They will tell it so much you might even start to believe it yourself. Question what you do and who you are. They'll tell you that the land's only hope is for them to be its steward. The ugly truth is they want the land, and if they get it, it will never look like our land again. That is progress in today's terms, so if it's progress you seek, do not vote for me. I am the opposite of progress. I am the wall that it bashes against, and I will not be the one who breaks. –John's opening speech as he throws his hat in the Montana Governor Race.
It's the trash can for everyone who's attacked us. It lays in a jurisdictional dead zone in a county with a population of exactly zero. Hence, no jury of your peers, and no court for a change in venue. Why are you so surprised? Where did you think the men who attacked you in your office and attacked our ranch went? You're shocked we found a way to circumvent the consequences of defending ourselves? I'm shocked we need a way. But we do. We always have. And unless we're willing to walk away from one hundred and twenty years of our family bleeding into this ground, we always will. –John explaining to Beth what the Train Station is exactly.
Appearances[]
Check out the table(s) below to find out in which episodes Dutton made an appearance.
- O = appeared in this episode
- - = did not appear in this episode
Season 1[]
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O |
Season 2[]
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O |
Season 3[]
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O |
Season 4[]
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O | O |
Season 5[]
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O | O | O | O | O | O | O |
| 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| O | - | - | - | - | - | * |
Images[]
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ The exact relationship between John Dutton I and John Dutton is (as of yet) unconfirmed. He likely was his father's uncle.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Season 1, episode 3: No Good Horses
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Season 1, episode 1: Daybreak
- ↑ Season 1, episode 8: The Unravelling: Part 1
- ↑ Season 4, episode 10: Grass on the Streets and Weeds on the Rooftops
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Season 5, episode 1: One Hundred Years is Nothing
- ↑ Season 1, episode 4: The Long Black Train
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Season 1, episode 6: The Remembering
- ↑ Season 1, episode 7: A Monster Is Among Us
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Season 2, episode 2: New Beginnings
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Season 2, episode 3: The Reek of Desperation
- ↑ Season 2, episode 6: Blood the Boy
- ↑ Season 4, episode 7: Keep the Wolves Close
- ↑ Season 5, episode 8: A Knife and No Coin
- ↑ Season 2, episode 1: A Thundering
- ↑ Season 2, episode 9: Enemies by Monday