Liberty Lighthouse Journal: DOSSIER: CLINT EASTWOOD

DIRTY HARRY

“Men must know their limitations”

BORN: May 31^st, 1930

BIRTH NAME: Clinton Eastwood Jr.

HEIGHT: 6' 4”

RAWHIDE

Eastwood was born at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, California to Ruth Runner (1909-2006) and Clinton Eastwood (1906-1970). Eastwood was nicknamed “Samson” by the hospital nurses because he weighed 11 pounds 6 ounces at birth. He has a younger sister, Jeanne Bernhardt (b. 1934). He is of English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry. He is descended from Mayflower passenger William Bradford, and the 12^th generation born in North America. His family relocated three times during the 1930s as his father changed occupations, residing in Sacramento in 1935. Settling in Piedmont, California, the Eastwood family lived in a wealthier area of the town, had a swimming pool, belonged to a country club, and each parent drove their own car. Eastwood's father was a manufacturing executive at Georgia-Pacific for most of his working life. As Clint and Jeanne grew older, Ruth took a clerical job at IBM.

Eastwood attended Piedmont Middle School, where he had poor academic scores, so he attended summer school. From January 1945 until January 1946, he attended Piedmont High School, but was asked to leave for writing an obscene suggestion to a school official on the athletic field scoreboard and for burning an effigy on the school lawn, as well as other school infractions. He transferred to Oakland Technical High School and was scheduled to graduate in January 1949.

Eastwood held a number of jobs, including lifeguard, paper carrier, grocery clerk, forest firefighter, and golf caddy. Eastwood said that he tried to enroll at Seattle University in 1951, but was drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War. He ended up being a lifeguard at Fort Ord. While returning from Seattle, Washington, he was a passenger on a Douglas AD bomber that ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean near Point Reyes. Using a life raft, he and the pilot swam 2 miles to safety.

Universal-International film company was shooting Rawhide in Fort Ord when an assistant spotted Eastwood and invited him to meet the director. According to an official biography, the man was named Chuck Hill who was stationed at Fort Ord and had contacts in Hollywood. While in Los Angeles, Hill managed to sneak Eastwood into a Universal studio where he introduced him to cameraman Irving Glassberg. Glassberg arranged for an audition with Arthur Lubin who was impressed with Eastwood's appearance and stature, but disapproved of his acting. Lubin suggested he attend drama classes and arranged for Eastwood's initial contract in April 1954 at $100 per week. After signing, Eastwood was criticized for his stiff manner and delivering his lines through his teeth, which became a trademark the rest of his career.

In May of 1954, Eastwood made his first real audition for Six Bridges to Cross, but was rejected by Joseph Pevney. He was eventually given a minor role after many unsuccessful auditions by director Jack Arnold in Revenge of the Creature (1955). It was the sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon.

In September of 1954, Eastwood worked for three weeks on Lady Godiva of Coventry and won a role in February 1955 playing a sailor in Francis in the Navy. He appeared unaccredited in Tarantula portraying a squadron pilot.

In May of 1955, Eastwood put four hours work into the film Never Say Goodbye and had a minor role as a ranch hand in Star in the Dust.

Universal presented him with his first television role in 1955, on NBC's Allen in Movieland, starring Steve Allen, Tony Curtis and Benny Goodman. Universal terminated his contract in October of 1955.

Eastwood joined the Marsh Agency, he got a part in The First Traveling Saleslady (1956) and in 1957, Escapade in Japan, but he still had no contract with anyone. His financial advisor had him switch to the Kumin-Olenick Agency in 1956 and Michael Gertz in 1957. He got several small roles in 1956 as an army officer for the ABC Reader's Digest series and as a motorcycle gang member on a Highway Patrol episode. Eastwood played a cadet in West Point series and as a suicidal gold prospector on Death Valley Days.

In 1958, Eastwood played a Navy lieutenant in a segment of Navy Log and in 1959, made an appearance on Maverick opposite James Garner.

Also in 1958, he portrayed an aviator in Lafayette Escadrille and an ex-renegade of the Confederacy in Ambush at Cimarron Pass.

In 1958, Eastwood was cast as Rowdy Yates for the CBS series Rawhide. Eastwood was not happy with his character, thinking that the Rowdy was too young and cloddish. Filming began in Arizona in the summer of 1958. In three weeks, Rawhide reached the top 20 in TV ratings and became a success for several years. The time spent acting in Rawhide was the most grueling of Eastwood's career. Often filming took place six days a week at an average of 12 hours a day. Rating declined lacking fresh script, so it was canceled in the 1965-66 season. Eastwood tried to convince the producers to let him direct an episode, but failed. In the first season, Eastwood earned $750 an episode. By the time Rawhide was canceled, he got $119,000 an episode as severance pay.

FISTFULL OF DOLLARS

In 1963, Eastwood's Rawhide co-star Eric Fleming rejected an offer to star in an Italian Western called A Fistful of Dollars (1964), filmed in a remote region of Spain by an unknown director, Sergio Leone. Richard Harrison suggested to Leone that Eastwood would make a good cowboy. Eastwood signed a contract for $15,000 in wages for eleven weeks with a bonus of a Mercedes-Benz automobile upon completion. Eastwood thought it would be a good transition from the good guy to an “antihero” part. Leone insisted that Eastwood smoke cigars, despite him being a non-smoker.

A Fistful of Dollars proved to be a landmark film and first of the “Spaghetti Westerns”, with Leone depicting a more lawless and desolate world than traditional westerns of the time. The film's success made Eastwood a major star in Italy and he was rehired to star in For a Few Dollars More (1965). The rights to For a Few Dollars More and the trilogy's final film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) were sold to United Artists for about $900,000.

In 1966, Eastwood met producer Dino De Laurentiis in New York City and agreed to star in a non-Western five-part anthology production, The Witches (1967), opposite De Laurentiis's wife, Silvana Mangano. Eastwood's 19-minute installment took only a few days to shoot, but his performance did not please critics.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Two months later Eastwood began work on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, playing the Man with No Name again with Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach portraying the Mexican bandit. During the filming scene in which a bridge was blown up, Eastwood told Wallach to go to the hilltop, saying, “Stay as far away from special effects and explosives as you can.” Minutes later there was confusion when the word “Vaya!” was yelled, it resulted in a premature explosion that could have killed Wallach.

The Dollars trilogy was not released in the United States until 1967. All three were commercially successful, especially The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which earned $8 million in rental earnings and turned Eastwood into a major film star. Critics were more critical about the films.

INGER STEVENS & CLINT EASTWOOD: HANG 'EM HIGH

In 1968, signed up to star in Hang 'Em High with Inger Stevens, Pat Hingle, Dennis Hopper, Ed Begley, Alan Hale Jr., Ben Johnson, Bruce Dern, and James MacArthur. The film earned Eastwood $400,000 and 25% of its net box office. Using money he had earned, Eastwood's advisor helped establish his own production company, Malpaso Productions. It was named after Malpaso Creek on Eastwood's property in Monterey County, California.

Before Hang 'Em High's release, Eastwood had begun working on Coogan's Bluff. He was reunited with Universal Studios for it after receiving an offer of $1 million. Jennings Lang arranged for Eastwood to meet Don Siegel, a contract director, who later became Eastwood's close friend and a partnership that lasted more than ten years, producing five films.

In 1968, Eastwood was paid $750,000 for the war epic Where Eagles Dare. Richard Burton played the squad's commander with Eastwood being his right-hand man.

PAINT YOUR WAGON

Eastwood starred in the only musical of his career, Paint Your Wagon in 1969, co-starring Lee Marvin and Jean Seberg.

In 1970, Eastwood starred with Shirley MacLaine in Two Mules for Sister Sara, directed by Don Siegel. At around the same time, Eastwood starred in the World War II film Kelly's Heroes with Donald Sutherland and Telly Savalas. It would be the last film Eastwood appeared in that was not produced by his Malpaso Productions. Filming took place in Yugoslavia and London.

KELLY'S HEROES

Eastwood and Siegel began The Beguiled in 1971. It was especially popular in France, but only grossed about $1 million.

His next film Eastwood portrayed a disc jockey who become stalked by one of his fans (Jessica Walter). It was filmed in Monterey where he lived and footage included the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Dirty Harry in 1971 was written by Harry and Rita Fink and has been described as Eastwood's most memorable character. His lines have become historic. It earned $22 million.

Sean Connery announced he would not play James Bond again. Eastwood was offered the role but turned it down because he believed the character should be played by an English actor. Of course, he was correct.

Eastwood's next film was Joe Kidd (1972).

HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER

Eastwood's first western as director was High Plains Drifter in which he also starred. It was a box-office hit, but got mixed reviews. John Wayne, who had declined a role in the film, sent a letter to Eastwood soon after the film's release in which he complained that, “The townspeople did not represent the true spirit of the American pioneer, the spirit that made America great.”

Eastwood next worked on the project of Breezy in 1973, a film about a middle-aged man and a teenage girl. During casting he met Sondra Locke, an actress who would play major roles in six of his films over the next ten years and would become an important figure in his life. Kay Lenz got the part of Breezy because Locke was 29. The film came in $1 million under budget and was finished three days ahead of schedule.

Warner Brothers then announced that Eastwood had agreed to reprise his role as Callahan in Magnum Force (1973), a sequel to Dirty Harry cast included David Soul, Robert Urich and Tim Matheson. The film grossed $58.1 million in the United States, but was not a success with the critics.

JEFF BRIDGES & CLINT - THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTNING

Eastwood then teamed up with Jeff Bridges and George Kennedy in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974). Upon release, the film was praised for its offbeat comedy mixed with suspense and tragedy, but only a modest success at the box-office earning $32.4 million. Bridges was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Reportedly Eastwood was angered at the Academy Award recognition for him and swore that would never work for United Artists again.

Eastwood's next film was The Eiger Sanction (1975) based on the spy novel of the same name written by Trevanian. Eastwood plays Jonathan Hemlock that was originally intended for Paul Newman. Mike Hoover taught Eastwood how to climb for several weeks at Yosemite before filming took place in Grindelwald, Switzerland in 1974. Despite warnings about the perils of the Eiger, Eastwood insisted on doing all his own climbing and stunts. The film crew suffered a number of accidents, including one fatality. The film received $14.2 million at the box-office. Eastwood blamed Universal Studios for the film's poor promotion and left them to make an agreement with Warner Brothers through Frank Wells that has lasted to this day.

OUTLAW JOSEY WALES

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) was inspired by a 1972 novel written by Asa Carter, the lead character being a Confederate guerrilla who refuses to surrender after the American Civil War and is chased across the southwest. The supporting cast included Locke as his love interest and Chief Dan George as an elderly Cherokee who befriends Wales. Upon release the film was widely acclaimed. The film would appear in Time's “Top 10 Films of the Year”.

Eastwood was then offered a role in Apocalypse Now, but he declined because he did not want to spend weeks in the Philippines. He also refused the part of a platoon leader in Go Tell the Spartans, and instead proceeded to produce the third Dirty Harry film, The Enforcer (1976). The film had Callahan partnered with a new female officer (Tyne Daly). The film ended with a shootout on Alcatraz island and was shorter than other Dirty Harry films at 92 minutes. It was a major commercial success grossing $100 million worldwide.

Eastwood directed and starred in The Gauntlet (1977), opposite Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney, and Mara Corday. Some critics believed it was overly violent.

EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE

In Every Which Way But Loose (1978), Eastwood provides an offbeat comedy role. Supporting actors is Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis and Clyde the orangutan. The film was surprisingly successful.

In 1979, Eastwood starred in Escape from Alcatraz, the last of his films directed by Siegel. It was based upon the true story of Frank Lee Morris, who along with John and Clarence Agnlin, escaped from the notorious Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1962. The film was a major success.

In 1980, Eastwood directed and played the title role in Bronco Billy, with Sondra Locke, Scatman Crothers, and Sam Bottoms. Liked by the critics, it was a commercial disappointment.

Later in 1980, Any Which Way You Can was produced, the sequel to Every Which Way But Loose, also starring Eastwood.

HONKYTONK MAN

Eastwood directed and starred in Honkytonk Man (1982, portraying a struggling western singer who suffers from tuberculosis, but finally gets the opportunity to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. He is accompanied by his young nephew (real-life son Kyle Eastwood) to Nashville. In France the film was compared to The Grapes of Wrath and received a positive reception. The film acquired a high rating of 93 percent by Rotten Tomatoes.

Eastwood directed and starred in the fourth Dirty Harry film, Sudden Impact in 1983. By this time, Eastwood was receiving 60 percent of all profits from films he starred and directed in and the rest going to the studio. Sudden Impact was the final on-screen collaboration with Sondra Locke. The line in the beginning segment of the film “Go ahead, make my day” has been cited as one of cinema's immortal lines. The film earned $70 million.

CITY HEAT

In Tightrope (1984), Eastwood stars opposite to Geneviéve Bujold, set in New Orleans. Eastwood then co-starred with Burt Reynolds in City Heat (1984). The film grossed $50 million domestically.

Eastwood ventured into TV direction with the Amazing Stories episode “Vanessa in the Garden” (1985), starring Harvey Keitel and Sondra Locke. This was his first collaboration with Steven Spielberg, who later co-produced Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima.

Eastwood returns to the Western genre with Pale Rider (1985).

In 1986, Eastwood co-starred with Marsha Mason in the military drama Heartbreak Ridge about the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada. The film grossed $70 million domestically. The United States Department of Defense expressed contempt for the film.

DEAD POOL

Eastwood starred in The Dead Pool (1988), the fifth and final Dirty Harry film. It co-starred Patricia Clarkson, Liam Neeson, and Jim Carrey. It grossed $38 million.

Eastwood was always interested in jazz, so he directed Bird (1988), starring Forest Whitaker. The film only earned $11 million.

Eastwood directed and starred in White Hunter Black Heart in 1990. It is about John Huston and the making of the classic film The African Queen. It was shot in Zimbabwe and earned $8.4 million.

Eastwood directed and starred with Charlie Sheen in The Rookie in 1990.

Eastwood starred and directed the film Unforgiven in 1992. The film was a major success and was ranked as the fourth-best American western. It would be the last western film that Eastwood stars in.

Eastwood portrayed Frank Horrigan of the Secret Service in the thriller In the Line of Fire (1993). A few months after the film wrapped, Eastwood directed and co-starred with Kevin Costner in A Perfect World.

At the May 1994 Cannes Film Festival, Eastwood received the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres medal. And on March 27^th, 1995, he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award at the 67^th Academy Awards. His next film in 1995 was a cameo role as himself in the children's film Casper. He made a commendable performance playing opposite Meryl Streep in The Bridges of Madison County, also in 1995. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Picture and won a César Award in France for Best Foreign Film.

ABSOLUTE POWER - 1997

In 1997, Eastwood directed and starred in Absolute Power with Gene Hackman who also appeared in Unforgiven. Later in the same year, Eastwood directed Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil starring John Cusack, Kevin Spacey, and Jude Law.

In 1999, Eastwood directed and starred in True Crime with Isaiah Washington. The film was a box-office failure that earned less than half its $55 million budget.

Eastwood directed and starred in Space Cowboys (2000) with Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner. The original music score was composed by Eastwood and Lennie Niehaus. It was critically well-received and had a 79 percent rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

SPACE COWBOYS

Eastwood portrayed an ex-FBI agent chasing a sadistic killer (Jeff Daniels) in Blood Work (2002). The film grossed failed commercially grossing $26.2 million on a budget of $50 million.

Eastwood directed and scored the crime drama Mystic River (2003) starring Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins. The film was praised by critics and won two Academy Awards – Best Actor for Penn and Best Supporting Actor for Robbins with Eastwood obtaining nominations for Best Director and Best Picture. The film grossed $90 million domestically on a budget of $30 million. In 2003, Eastwood was named Best Director of the Year by the National Society of Film Critics.

MILLION DOLLAR BABY

The following year, Eastwood received critic acclaim for Million Dollar Baby. It won four Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Hilary Swank) and Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman). At age 74, Eastwood became the oldest of eighteen directors to have directed two or more Best Picture winners. He also received a nomination for Best Actor, as well as a Grammy nomination for his score, and won a Golden Globe for Best Director, which was presented to him by his daughter Kathryn, who was Miss Golden Globe at the 2005 ceremony. The New York Times lauded the film as a “masterpiece” and the best film of the year.

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS

Eastwood directed two films about World War II Battle of Iwo Jima (2006). The first, Flags of Our Fathers featured Eastwood's son, Scott Eastwood in his film debut. This was followed by Letters from Iwo Jima. It was the first American film that deals with the tactics of the Japanese soldiers on the island and letters they wrote home to their families. Both films received praise from critics and gathered several nominations at the 79^th Academy Awards, including Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Original Screenplay. At the 64^th Golden Globe Awards Eastwood received nominations for Best Director in both films. Letters from Iwo Jima won the award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Eastwood next directed Changeling (2008), based on a true story in the late 1920s. Angelina Jolie stars as a woman reunited with her missing son only to realize he is an impostor. The film grossed over $110 million, the majority coming from foreign markets. The film received nominations for Best Original Score at the 66^th Golden Globe Awards, Best Direction at the 62^nd British Academy Film Awards and director of the year from the London Film Critics Circle.

GRAN TORINO

Eastwood ended a four-year “self-imposed acting hiatus” by appearing in Gran Torino (2008), which he also directed, produced and partly scored with his son Kyle Eastwood and Jamie Cullum. It grossed $30 million during its opening weekend release. The eventual gross was $268 million in theaters worldwide.

Eastwood performed his 30^th directorial with Invictus (2009). Eastwood was nominated for Best Director at the 67^th Golden Globe Awards.

In the 2010 Eastwood-directed Hereafter, he again worked with Matt Damon.

In 2011, Eastwood directed J. Edgar with Leonardo DiCaprio.

In 2012, Eastwood starred in the baseball drama, Trouble with the Curve. Robert Lorenz worked with Eastwood as an assistant director.

Eastwood next directed Jersey Boys (2014). Eastwood also directed American Sniper, after Steven Spielberg departed from the project, a film about Chris Kyle.

His next film, Sully, starred Tom Hanks who successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in an emergency landing. The film was released in the United States in 2016 and grossed $238 million worldwide.

In 2019, directed and produced Richard Jewell, through Warner Bros. The film stars Paul Walter Hauser along with Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, and Olivia Wilde. The film was based on the life of heroic security guard Richard Jewell who was wrongly suspected in the 1996 Olympic bombing.

In 2020, it was announced that Eastwood would direct, produce, and star in Cry Macho for Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced in New Mexico.

PERSONAL LIFE & TRIVIA

Eastwood has been divorced twice. He has had numerous casual and serious relationships over his life span. He has eight children by six women. Eastwood does not discuss family with the media.

CLINT AND MAGGIE

Eastwood's first marriage was to Margaret Neville Johnson, a manufacturing secretary in December 1953. During the courtship he had an affair that resulted in his daughter, Laurie (born 1954), who was adopted by Clyde and Helen Warren of Seattle. Eastwood continued to have affairs while married to Johnson, including a 1959 to 1973 liaison with stuntwoman Roxanne Tunis that produced a daughter Kimber (born 1964).

Johnson tolerated the “open marriage” with Eastwood, and eventually had two children, Kyle (born 1968) and Alison (born 1972).

In 1975, Eastwood and married actress-director Sondra Locke began living together. She had been in a marriage of convenience since 1967 with Gordon Anderson, an unemployed homosexual. Eastwood finally divorced Johnson in 1984, but Locke remained married to Anderson right up until her death in 2018. When Locke and Eastwood separated in 1989, Locke filed a palimony lawsuit and later sued for fraud, reaching a settlement in both cases. Eastwood had a relationship with actress Frances Fisher in the mid-1990s, that produced a daughter Francesca (born 1993). Eastwood was married for a second time to news anchor Dina Ruiz, who gave birth to their daughter Morgan that same year. Ruiz and Eastwood's marriage lasted until 2014. Eastwood has been dating restaurant hostess Christina Sandera since 2014.

CLINT AND SONDRA

Eastwood is an avid golfer and owns the Teháma Golf Club. He is an investor in the world-renowned Pebble Beach Golf links west of Carmel and donates his time to charitable causes at major tournaments. Eastwood is an FAA licensed fixed wing and rotary craft private pilot and often flies his helicopter to the studios to avoid traffic.

While serving in the US Army at Fort Ord, Eastwood developed an interest in Carmel area real estate. He bought 283 acres of land in 1967 from Charles Sawyer along Highway 1 near Malpaso Creek, south of Carmel Highlands. He named his production company Malpaso Productions. Eastwood later bought another parcel, together totaling 650 acres. In 1995, Monterey County bought the land from him for $3.08 million and placed a permanent conservation easement on the Malpaso property. Using the proceeds from the sale, Eastwood bought the 134 acre Odello Ranch resort he owned, along with the neighboring Mission Fields residential neighborhood on the north side of the river, both of which flooded in 1994.

MISSION RANCH

In 2010, at age 80, Eastwood spent about $20 million to build himself a 15,949-square-foot compound in Carmel-by-the-Sea. His real estate portfolio also includes a 6,136-square-foot Spanish-style mansion in Bel-Air, the 1,067 acre Rising River Ranch near Cassel, an apartment in Burbank, as well as a large house located next door to his longtime primary Bel-Air residence. He owns a 5,700-square-foot house in Sun Valley, Idaho and a 1.13-acre oceanfront manor in Kihei, Hawaii. Eastwood previously occupied homes in Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Tiburon and Pebble Beach.

Eastwood has contributed to over 50 films over his career as actor, director, producer and composer. He started directing in 1971 and his debut as a producer was in 1982 with Firefox.

He wore the same serape without ever washing it, in all three of his “Man with No Name” Western films.
Elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. He was registered as a Republican but the position of mayor is non-partisan. He is now a Libertarian.
Recipient of John F. Kennedy Center Honors in 2000.
When he directs, he insists that his actors wear as little makeup as possible and he likes to print first takes. As a result, his films consistently finish on schedule and on budget. When directing, he simply says “okay” instead of “action” and “cut”.
His production company is Malpaso Productions, formed in 1968. The company's first feature film release was Hang 'Em High (1968).
Ex-wife Dina Ruiz (Dina Eastwood) is a former local television news anchor/reporter from Salinas, California. They met when she was assigned to interview him for KSBW-TV in 1993. In February 1995m ,Clint made his first public appearance with Dina at a golf tournament without every announcing that he and Frances had broken up. Clint is 35 years older than ex-wife Dina Eastwood.
Clint's favorite actors is James Cagney, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum and James Stewart.
Clint became so fond of British pubs and beer during his time in London filming Where Eagles Dare (1968) that he opened the Hog's Breath Inn with co-founders Paul E. Lippman and Walter Becker in 1972. The restaurant closed in 1999 and has since re-opened under new management.
He stood 6' 4” until recently having back problems he only stands at 6' 2”.
Clint, Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, Mel Gibson, Richard Attenborough and Kevin Costner are the only directors best known as actors who have own an Academy Award as Best Director.
Clint was President of jury at the Cannes Festival (1994).
Claimed that the trait he most despised in others was racism.
Boots he wore in Unforgiven (1992) are the same ones he wore in the TV series Rawhide (1959). They are now a part of his private collection and were on loan to the 2005 Sergio Leone exhibit at the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles.
Made six movies with late ex-partner Sondra Locke: The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), The Gauntlet (1977), Every Which Way But Loose (1978), Bronco Billy (1980), Any Which Way You Can (1980) and Sudden Impact (1983).
As a director, he has always refused to test screen his films before their release.
Clint objected to the end of Dirty Harry (1971) when Harry throws his badge away after killing the Scorpio Killer. Director Don Siegel convinced Eastwood that Harry threw his badge away as a symbol that he had lost faith in the justice system.
In 1972, Eastwood attended President Richard Nixon's landslide victory celebration in Los Angeles, along with John Wayne, Charlton Heston and Glenn Ford.
Was appointed to serve on the National Council of the Arts by President Nixon in 1972.
Clint is an avid collector of western art.
In 1969, Clint attended the celebration of John Wayne's 40-year career at Paramount Pictures, along with Lee Marvin, Rock Hudson, Fred MacMurray, James Stewart, Ernest Borgnine, Michael Caine and Laurence Harvey.
Clint had to fill in for Charlton Heston at the 44^th Annual Academy Awards (1972) until Heston arrived.
Clint received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Southern California.
Along with John Travolta and Tom Selleck, he attended the formal state dinner at the White House held by President Ronald Reagan to welcome Prince Charles and Princess Diana to the United States in 1985.
Sondra Locke wrote an autobiography titled “The Good, the Bad and the Very Ugly”, writing about her troubled relationship with Clint.
Sondra Locke filed a palimony suit when the couple split. The settlement included a West Hollywood home, financial payments and a contract with Warner Bros. To direct films.
Served as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea for one term for the salary of $300. Although press coverage was generally favorable, a small contingent insisted that Eastwood was a spoiled brat mayor and the town acted just like an indulgent parent.
Clint had affairs with actresses Marnie Van Doren, Inger Stevens, Jean Seberg, Jo Ann Harris, Jamie Rose, Rebecca Perle, Jill Banner, Catherine Deneuve and Susan Saint James; competitive swimmer Anita Lhoest; singer Keely Smith; restaurant critic Gael Greene; columnist Bridget Byrne; French model Cathy Reghin; WB story analyst Megan Rose; wildlife activist Jane Cameron Agee; former Carmel-by-the-Sea mayor Jean Grace; and socialite Joan Lundberg Hitchcock. Usually, Clint preferred unknown women he would not later accidentally meet. In his early 40s, he developed a habit of picking up young women from the Carmel tourist shops for encounters in his truck, usually parking it on Dolores Street. He also dated several women in Tucumcari, New Mexico while filming Rawhide.
Clint practices transcendental meditation twice a day and says he has been doing so for 40 years.
Clint was considered for the role of Rambo in First Blood (1982) before Sylvester Stallone was hired.
Declined to have a party for his 80^th birthday. He said his only plans to celebrate would be to go out for a drink with his wife.
Clint turned down the role of Harmonica in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), which went to Charles Bronson.
Clint and Warren Beatty are the only actor-directors to earn Best Actor and Best Director Oscar nominations for the same film two times.
Before becoming an actor, Clint worked as a logger, steel furnace stoker, and gas station attendant.
When Clint was 19, he received unwanted attention form a 23-year-old schoolteacher who stalked him after a one-night stand and threatened to kill herself.
Clint's cars included Audi, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and GMC Yukon. Lately he chooses to drive a Ford Crown Victoria.
Turned down the film The Bucket List (2007).
In addition to his multiple houses, Clint has an apartment behind his studio ofice in Burbank. IN Carmel he used to keep an apartment on the third floor of a building two doors down from the Hog's Breath Inn.
Clint has always been allergic to horses, which is why he is rarely seen close-up on horseback. When he had to ride horses in films, he would first have to sniff medication into his nose and lungs. When filming Bronco Billy (1980) it left him constantly miserable.
The only biographical book Clint has ever authorized is “Clint Eastwood: A Biography” (1996) by Richard Schickel. It provides extensive plot summary for each of Eastwood's movies, but leaves his life little documented and omits the existence of some of his families.
Personal physician Dr. Harry Demopoulos told Muscle & Fitness magazine in 1991 that Clint never eats fat, takes his antioxidants regularly, works out like a demon and gets plenty of sleep.
Clint started lifting weights at 19.
Clint was asked for permission about his name being used for the Marty character (Michael J. Fox) in Back to the Future Part III (1990). He consented and said he was tickled by the homage.
Clint was the unaccredited producer of Ratboy (1986).
Clint modeled sweaters in a 1972 Playboy layout with a bottomless Susan Blakely.
Three of Clint's leading ladies committed suicide: Inger Stevens, Jean Seberg, and Elizabeth Hartman.
Clint does not allow pets in the house because of his allergy to animal hair.
Clint is a fan of Paul Reubens and Benny Hill.
At the tourist shop in Carmel, fans can buy panties with the inscription “Make My Night”. As a boy, he collected snakes. One time he had 13 snakes.
One time, Clint took so much carotene his hands turned orange.
Clint does not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but does have his hands and footprints in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
Clint has always preferred women of small stature.
Clint got the role of Dirty Harry after Frank Sinatra suffered an arm injury.
In 1960, Clint was one of Lucille Ball's first choices to play her romantic lead in the Broadway musical “Wildcat”. Clint and others on the “A” list were not available, she settled for Keith Andes.
In 1997, Clint launched his own beer, “Pale Rider Ale”.
Clint has portrayed a pilot twice – Tarantula (1955) and Firefox (1982).
Clint was offered the role of K in Men in Black (1997), but turned it down.
Clint obtained a permit for a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver in 1983.
Clint walked out of an interview when Stephen Schaefer asked about his kids.
Clint was offered officer training while serving in the Army by superiors, but he stated he had no interest in a military career.
Clint is a competent pianist, a lifetime jazz enthusiast and Charlie Parker fan.
Clint won two Oscars for best director and one for best picture, but has never won an Oscar for acting.
On August 22^nd, 1987, Clint and Sondra were traveling with Harrison Ford when their private jet broke down during a Paris-to-Los Angeles flight and made an emergency landing in Bangor, Maine. Mechanics from California were flown out to Bangor to fix the plane and once repairs were finished, the group got back on board to continue the flight.
Clint's granddaughter Kelsey Hayford has a son, Wells.
Clint's mother, Ruth Wood, proved to be his 'lucky charm' because the only evenings she accompanied him to the 65^th and 77^th Academy Awards ceremonies, Clint won Best Picture Oscars and won Best Director for each – Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). On both occasions during his Oscar acceptance speeches, Clint thanked his mom in the audience.
Granddaughter Kelsey Hayford is a realtor in Tacoma, Washington. Previously, Kelsey had a job as the West Coast Sales Representative for Bruno Delgrange Saddles. Before this position, she was an assistant horse trainer for hunter/jumpers in Scottsdale, Arizona.
As of 2022, Clint has been in the motion picture business for 66 years.