Clint Eastwood

Son of Clinton Eastwood Sr. (1906-1970) and Ruth Runner (1909-2006). After her Clinton's death, Ruth remarried to John Belden Wood (1913-2004) from 1972 until his death.

Stepfather, John Belden Wood (born: November 24, 1913 - died: February 18, 2004 at age 90.) He was married to Clint's mother from 1972 until his death.

Some of his favorite movies are, The 39 Steps (1935), Sergeant York (1941), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) and Chariots of Fire (1981).

His favorite movie is John Ford's How Green Was My Valley (1941).

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945- 1985". Pages 294-302. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.

Eastwood's parents settled in Piedmont, California, where he attended Piedmont Jr. High School, then Piedmont High School from January 1945 to January 1946. Later, Eastwood enrolled at Oakland Technical HS; he was held back a year due to poor academic scores and graduated in 1949.

Worked as a lifeguard and swimming instructor for the US Army (1950-1954).

Got his role in "Rawhide" (1959) while visiting a friend at the CBS lot when a studio exec spotted him because he "looked like a cowboy."

Every year the PGA tour comes to Pebble Beach, California, to host a celebrity golf tournament where celebrities team up with the professionals. Clint has participated in this every year from 1962-2002 and has been the longest running participant. He now serves as Host.

In the late 1980s he discussed remaking the classic Sam Peckinpah western Ride the High Country (1962) with Charlton Heston.

Has 7 children by 5 different women: Kimber Eastwood (born 17 June 1964) with Roxanne Tunis; Kyle Eastwood (born 19 May 1968) and Alison Eastwood (born 22 May 1972) with Maggie Johnson; Scott Eastwood (born 21 March 1986) and Kathryn Eastwood (born 2 February 1988) with Jacelyn Reeves; Francesca Eastwood (born 7 August 1993) with Frances Fisher; and Morgan Eastwood (born 12 December 1996) with Dina Eastwood.

Gained popularity with his first three major films, Per un pugno di dollari (1964), Per qualche dollaro in più (1965) and Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966) (which weren't released in America until 1967-1968). Soon afterwards Jolly Films (which produced Per un pugno di dollari (1964)) came out with a film called "The Magnificent Stranger", which was actually two episodes of "Rawhide" (1959) edited together. Eastwood sued and the film was withdrawn.

Redubbed his own dialogue for the American releases of Per un pugno di dollari (1964) ("A Fistful Of Dollars"), Per qualche dollaro in più (1965) ("For A Few Dollars More"), and Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966) ("The Good, The Bad and The Ugly").

He claims that he wound up getting the role in Sergio Leone's Per un pugno di dollari (1964) because James Coburn, to whom the role was originally offered, wanted $25,000. Eastwood accepted the role for $15,000.

The genesis of his production company - Malpaso - had a curious origin. When Italian director Sergio Leone approached Eastwood about appearing in what would become the "Spaghetti Western" trilogy: Per un pugno di dollari (1964) (Fistful of Dollars), Per qualche dollaro in più (1965) (For a Few Dollars More) and Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966) (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), Eastwood was eager for a plum part but was advised against it by his agent, suggesting it would be a "bad move" (mal paso). Against all odds, the actor went ahead and accepted the "man with no name" role and his decision turned out to be a "good move". Eastwood never forgot the irony of the situation and thereafter adopted "Malpaso" as his production company name.

His performance as Blondie in Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966) is ranked #50 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Sergio Leone asked him and his Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966) co-stars Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef to appear in _Once Upon A Time in the West (1972)_ (qvA). They all declined when they heard that their characters were going to be killed off in the first five minutes.

Has been named to Quigley Publications' annual Top 10 Poll of Money-Making Stars 21 times, making him #2 all-time for appearances in the top 10 list. Only John Wayne, with 25 appearances in the Top 10, has more. Eastwood, who first appeared in the Top Ten at #5 in 1968, finished #2 to Wayne at the box office in 1971 after finishing #2 to Paul Newman in 1970. After his first two consecutive #1 appearances in 1972 and 1973, he dropped back to #2 in 1974, trailing Robert Redford at the box office. Clint was again #2 in 1979, 1981 and 1982 (topped by Burt Reynolds all three years), before leading the charts in 1983 and '84. He last topped the poll in 1993.

His production company is Malpaso Productions, which he formed in 1968. The company's first feature release was, Hang 'Em High (1968).

Met John Wayne for the first time at the Republican National Convention. [1968]

Was considered for the role of Harmonica in C'era una volta il West (1968).

Attended a celebration of John Wayne's 40-year career at Paramount Studios, along with Lee Marvin, Rock Hudson, Fred MacMurray, James Stewart, Ernest Borgnine, Michael Caine and Laurence Harvey. [1969]

Was offered Gregory Peck's role in Mackenna's Gold (1969), but turned it down to make Hang 'Em High (1968) instead.

Has been extremely health-conscious ever since his father, Clinton Sr., died of a stroke at age 64 on July 22, 1970.

He has always disliked the reading of political and social agendas in his films, which has occurred from Dirty Harry (1971) to Million Dollar Baby (2004). He has always maintained that all of his films are apolitical and what he has in mind when making a film is whether it's going to be entertaining and compelling.

When Don Siegel fell ill during production of Dirty Harry (1971), Eastwood stepped in as director during the attempted-suicide/jumper sequence.

In the late 1990s he said that Play Misty for Me (1971), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Bronco Billy (1980),Honkytonk Man (1982), Unforgiven (1992) and A Perfect World (1993) are the favorites of the films he had done.

He objected to the end of Dirty Harry (1971) when Harry throws his badge away after killing the Scorpio Killer, arguing with director Don Siegel that Harry knew that being a policeman was the only work for which he was suited. Siegel eventually convinced Eastwood that Harry threw his badge away as a symbol that he had lost faith in the justice system.

The producers of Dirty Harry (1971) originally didn't want Eastwood, since they felt he was too young at 41. After older stars like John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and Robert Mitchum turned the film down, Eastwood was cast. He last played Harry Callahan aged 57 in The Dead Pool (1988), which was the age the character was supposed to be in the first film according to the original screenplay.

His performance as "Dirty" Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971) is ranked #42 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Five of his movies were nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies: Dirty Harry (1971), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Unforgiven (1992), Mystic River (2003) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). "Unforgiven" made the list at #68, 30 places up from its original rank at #98.

Was named the #1 top money-making star at the box office in Quigley Publications' annual poll of movie exhibitors five times between 1972 and 1993. Bing Crosby, Burt Reynolds and Tom Hanks also have been named #1 five times, while Tom Cruise holds the record for being named #1 six times.

He attended President Richard Nixon's landslide victory celebration in Los Angeles, along with John Wayne, Charlton Heston, and Glenn Ford. [1972]

Was appointed to serve on the National Council of the Arts by President Richard Nixon. [1972]

Was named the top box-office star of 1972 and again in 1973 by the Motion Picture Herald, based on an annual poll of exhibitors as to the drawing power of movie stars at the box-office, conducted by Quigley Publications.

Had to fill in for Charlton Heston at The 44th Annual Academy Awards (1972) (TV) until Heston arrived. [1972]

Although he can handle pistols with either hand equally well, he is left-eye dominant, evident when he shoots a rifle as in Joe Kidd (1972) or Unforgiven (1992), but is right handed, as seen when he wears or handles one pistol.

At the The 45th Annual Academy Awards (1973) (TV), he presented the 1972 Best Picture Oscar to Albert S. Ruddy, the producer of The Godfather (1972). Thirty-two years later, they would jointly accept the 2004 Best Picture Oscar at the The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV), along with fellow Million Dollar Baby (2004) co-producer Tom Rosenberg.

Learned mountain climbing for The Eiger Sanction (1975) because he felt the scenes were too dangerous for him to pay a stuntman to do for him. He was the last climber up The Totem Pole in Monument Valley, and as part of the contract, the movie crew removed the pitons left by decades of other climbers. The scene where he was hanging off the mountain by a single rope was actually Eastwood, and not a stuntman.

He and former partner Sondra Locke made six films together: 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).

Six of his children have appeared in his films. Son Kyle Eastwood had brief parts as his son in The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) and as an orphan in Bronco Billy (1980), as well as a much larger role as his nephew in Honkytonk Man (1982). Daughter Alison Eastwood had brief parts as an orphan in Bronco Billy (1980) and as an art student in Absolute Power (1997), as well as larger roles as his daughter in Tightrope (1984) and as the love interest of John Cusack's character in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997). Daughter Francesca Eastwood played his daughter in True Crime (1999). In smaller roles, daughter Kimber Eastwood appeared in Absolute Power (1997); son Scott Eastwood appeared in Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Gran Torino (2008), and Invictus (2009); daughter Morgan Eastwood appeared in Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Changeling (2008). In addition, his wife Dina Eastwood briefly appeared in True Crime (1999) and Blood Work (2002), both times playing a reporter.

William Friedkin offered him the lead in Sorcerer (1977), but Eastwood didn't want to travel anywhere at that time. Jack Nicholson turned the film down for the same reason.

Mentioned in the theme song of the 1980s TV hit "The Fall Guy" (1981).

He and Burt Reynolds both had major influences on their respective careers. It was he who sent a copy of "Sharky's Machine" to Reynolds, which gave Reynolds the idea to turn the novel into a movie, Sharky's Machine (1981), which went on to garner excellent reviews. On the other hand, it was Reynolds who sent Clint a copy of "The Outlaw Josey Wales", later made into a film by Eastwood (The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)). Years later, Reynolds told him about "this great novel" called "The Bridges of Madison County", and some time later it was shot by Eastwood (The Bridges of Madison County (1995)).

Mentioned on T.G. Sheppard's hit single "Make My Day," which in the first half of 1984 reached #12 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart and also reached #62 on that magazine's Hot 100 singles survey.

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.

Elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It has often been claimed that he ran for office as a Republican. In fact, although he was registered as a Republican in California, the position of mayor is non-partisan. [1986]

Has his look-alike puppet in the French show "Les guignols de l'info" (1988).

His partner of fourteen years, Sondra Locke, filed a palimony lawsuit against him after their messy break-up in 1989. In exchange for dropping the suit, Eastwood set up a directing contract between Locke and Warner Bros. as a settlement. She sued him a second time for fraud in 1996, alleging that Eastwood had compensated Warner Bros. for the contract, and that the studio had absolutely no intention of ever making any films with her. The case was left in the jurors' hands in 1996, with analysts predicting that Locke would win. In response, Eastwood's lawyers suggested a settlement. The case is used in some modern law school contracts textbooks to illustrate the legal concept of good faith.

Former partner of Frances Fisher (1990-1995). They appeared together in Pink Cadillac (1989), Unforgiven (1992) and True Crime (1999), the latter which featured their daughter Francesca Eastwood. There could have been a fourth collaboration, had he accepted the lead role in In the Valley of Elah (2007), but he passed the part on to Tommy Lee Jones.

Turned down the title role in Dick Tracy (1990) that went to Warren Beatty.

Although he has been associated with violence throughout his career, he personally detests it and has carefully shown the horrific consequences of violence in his more recent films, such as Unforgiven (1992), A Perfect World (1993), Absolute Power (1997), Mystic River (2003) Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Gran Torino (2008).

The boots that 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, California. In essence these boots have book-ended his career in the Western genre.

He declined an offer from President George Bush to campaign for him in the Presidential election. He told an interviewer the next year, "I think what the ultra-right wing conservatives did to the Republicans is really self-destructive, absolutely stupid". [1992]

He directed 10 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Gene Hackman, Meryl Streep, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Marcia Gay Harden, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, Matt Damon, and himself (in Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004)). Hackman, Penn, Robbins, Freeman and Swank won Oscars for their performances in one of Eastwood's movies.

Cited as America's Favorite Movie Star by the Harris Polls conducted in 1993, 1994 and 1997. Tom Hanks and Harrison Ford are the only other actors to be cited as the #1 Movie Star as many times.

An accomplished jazz pianist, he performs much of the music for his movies, including the scene in the bar in In the Line of Fire (1993).

Attended the The 65th Annual Academy Awards (1993) (TV) with Frances Fisher, mother Ruth Wood, and stepfather John Belden Wood.

President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. [1994]

Served as President of the Cannes Jury when Pulp Fiction (1994) won but the film was not his personal choice: "On the jury here when 'Pulp Fiction' won, somebody said, 'Oh, Clint Eastwood was on the jury, so he voted for the American film.' But my sensibilities are European, here is where my success started. Actually, 'Zhang Yimou''s Huozhe (1994) was my favorite piece, but most of the European jurors seemed to like 'Pulp Fiction'.".

Was apparently such an organized director that he finished Absolute Power (1997) days ahead of schedule.

Turned down Tommy Lee Jones's roles in Men in Black (1997) and In the Valley of Elah (2007), the latter of which earned Jones a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

Received an honorary César Award in Paris, France, for his body of work. [1998]

Was offered Al Pacino's role in Any Given Sunday (1999), but turned it down because Warner Bros. wouldn't let him direct it also.

His 2 children by flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves (Scott Eastwood and Kathryn Eastwood) were products of a hidden affair between Reeves and himself that took place during the last three years of his cohabitation with Sondra Locke. Reeves raised the children in Hawaii, and Eastwood did not publicly acknowledged them until the end of 1999. The birth certificates of both children state "father declined".

Recipient of John F. Kennedy Center Honors. [2000]

Received the Career Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. [2000]

At the The 72nd Annual Academy Awards (2000) (TV) in 2000, presented the Best Picture statuette to American Beauty (1999).

Received an honorary Doctorate from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Wesleyan is also home to his personal archives. [2000]

His name is used as the title of the hit Gorillaz song and video "Clint Eastwood". [2001]

For many years he was the owner of the nation's largest known hardwood tree, a bluegum eucalyptus, until a larger version of the tree was discovered in 2002.

For two consecutive years he directed two out of the four actors who won Oscars for their performances: Sean Penn (Best Actor) and Tim Robbins (Best Supporting Actor) in Mystic River (2003)) in 2004, and Hilary Swank (Best Actress) and Morgan Freeman (Best Supporting Actor) for Million Dollar Baby (2004)) in 2005.

At a press conference for his movie Mystic River (2003), Eastwood condemned the Iraq war as a "big mistake" and defended Sean Penn's visit to Baghdad, saying he might have done the same thing but for his age.

Voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of California in 2003 and 2006.

On February 27, 2005, at age 74, he became the oldest person to win the Best Director Oscar for Million Dollar Baby (2004). His 96-year old mother was in attendance at the ceremony.

A sample of his whistling can be heard on the track "Big Noise" from his son Kyle Eastwood's jazz CD "Paris Blue" (2004).

He was the only nominee for the Best Actor Oscar in 2004 (for Million Dollar Baby (2004)) to play a fictitious character. All four other nominees portrayed real people in their respective films.

Announced that he would supply the voice for a "Dirty Harry" video game. [2005]

Premiere Magazine ranked him as #43 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature. [2005]

At the National Board of Review awards dinner in New York City, Eastwood joked that he would kill filmmaker Michael Moore if Moore ever showed up at his home with a camera (an evident reference to Moore's controversial interview with Eastwood's friend, actor and conservative activist Charlton Heston, for the movie Bowling for Columbine (2002)). After the crowd laughed, Eastwood said, "I mean it." Moore's spokesman said, "Michael laughed along with everyone else, and took Mr. Eastwood's comments in the lighthearted spirit in which they were given." Publicly, Eastwood has not commented further. [2005]

Presented the Golden Globe Award for Best Director to Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (2005).

His Per un pugno di dollari (1964) mannerisms were imitated in Canada, by the Tim Horton's restaurant chain, to promote the Southwest chicken sub. [2005]

Profiled in "Directors Close Up" by Jeremy Kagan. [2005]

Daughter Kathryn Eastwood served as Miss Golden Globe at The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (2005) (TV), where she presented him with the Best Director award for Million Dollar Baby (2004).

His performance as "Dirty" Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971) is ranked #92 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time. [2006]

Mentioned in theme song in The Adventures of George the Projectionist (2006).

He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts on February 25, 2010 for his services and contributions to the arts.

His signature character, "The Man With No Name", is portrayed by Timothy Olyphant as "The Spirit of the West" in Rango (2011).