Clint Eastwood is a Hollywood superstar, actor, film director, producer, composer, and politician.
A biography of this prolific public figure certainly sounds like the life of a man who's
seen and done it all.
At age 91, and still directing, producing, and starring in top Hollywood dramas, Eastwood
is an outright powerhouse of hard graft creativity, and it doesn't look like he's going to slow
down anytime soon.
But as with any high-profile superstar, Eastwood has had his fair share of controversies and
even a stint in politics.
So what does a brutally honest biography of Clint Eastwood look like?
The fame, the success, the good, the bad, and yes, even the ugly.
Join us as we dive deep into the life of this multi-Academy Award-winning Hollywood superstar.
You might just be surprised by the things you didn't know about Clint Eastwood.
Clint Eastwood before the fame
Born on May 31st, 1930, Clinton Eastwood spent much of his childhood on the move.
His father, Clinton Eastwood Sr. traveled with his family looking for work across California
during the Depression.
The family, which included his mother Ruth, and sister Jeanne, eventually settled in Piedmont.
Eastwood graduated from high school in 1949 and took on a multitude of jobs including
a steel-furnace stoker, hay baler, and truck driver.
Clint Eastwood had dreams to follow his passion for music and eventually enroll in a university
music program.
This, however, wouldn't be the path he'd follow, as at the age of 19, he was drafted into the
US army.
He served as a swimming instructor while stationed on the Monterey Peninsula at Fort Ord.
In 1953, after two years in the force, Eastwood left and moved to Los Angeles where he signed
up for classes at Los Angeles City College and earned money by working at a gas station.
Clint Eastwood’s break into the industry
Then, in the late Fifties, his big break came.
A studio exec strolling down the hall at US TV network CBS spotted the 6ft 4in hunk and
asked, "Are you an actor?".
The producer was looking for a rugged type to star in a cowboy program for TV called
Rawhide.
Clint took the job and stayed with the series for seven years.
While taking classes in acting, Eastwood screen-tested at Universal Studios, which led to a contract
as a $75-a-week bit player, despite his lack of acting experience.
It seems the benefits that come with being tall and handsome certainly paid off for Eastwood
and kicked off the beginnings of a Hollywood legend.
Eastwood’s early roles were bit parts in films, and a few years later in 1958, Eastwood
landed his big break.
He was cast as Rowdy Yates in the TV Western, Rawhide, and starred in the series for seven
years.
The character of Yates was a hotheaded young cowboy, and Eastwood proved himself to be
perfect casting for the role.
It was the best possible way for a young actor like Eastwood to learn the craft in the professional
world of television.
Eastwood’s talent and skill as an actor pushed his career forward in the 1960s, where
he was cast in the now-classic trio of Westerns, directed by legendary filmmaker, Sergio Leone.
Known today as the Dollars Trilogy, Eastwood traveled to Italy for the production of the
spaghetti Westerns, nicknamed because of their Italian production.
The trilogy of movies began with A Fistful of Dollars, then continued with For a Few
Dollars More, and concluded with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is considered one of the two greatest westerns ever made,
the other, Once Upon A Time In The West, starring Charles Bronson, was also directed by Leone
and praised for its stunning cinematography, riveting story, and powerful score by Ennio
Morricone.
The two films continue to be debated by film buffs and Western fanatics alike, on which
is the best Western of all time.
The Dollars Trilogy quickly gained popularity, particularly in Europe before growing its
audience in America.
This success was enough to turn Eastwood into an international star.
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Now, back to the brutally honest Clint Eastwood biography.
Clint Eastwood became a Hollywood legend
While Clint Eastwood will always be known firstly as a world-famous actor, his talent
and creativity spans way past this one occupation.
Eastwood is a filmmaker at heart, and in 1971 he made his directorial debut with Play Misty
For Me.
The film follows a disc jockey whose life is turned upside down after a romantic encounter
with an obsessed fan.
Eastwood starred in the movie opposite Jessica Walter and Donna Mills.
Eastwood would continue this pattern of production as an actor and director throughout his career.
1971 was a superb year for Eastwood’s career.
Not only did he make his directorial debut, but he starred in one of his most famous roles
to date, as Harry Callahan, a contentious San Francisco cop, in the gritty and violent,
Dirty Harry.
What made this iconic tough guy so important for Eastwood, was the fact that it wasn’t
in a Western, which he had become most associated with.
While Eastwood had built himself up as a tough guy on screen, his confidence and masculinity
had given him the willingness to show his more vulnerable, romantic, and comedic side
on screen.
Eastwood is a lover of jazz, which translated to his abilities as a composer in several
of his movies.
He showed the world his comedic talents opposite Jeff Bridges in 1974's Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
He showed off his talents as a more realistic and reserved performer in 1979's Escape from
Alcatraz, where he played the real-life convict, Frank Lee Morris.
Having starred in so many Westerns throughout his career, alongside the Dollars Trilogy,
there’s High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Two Mules for Sister Sara, and
many more, Eastwood took on the Western genre once again in 1992 with great acclaim.
With Unforgiven, Eastwood showed his true skill as a filmmaker, directing, producing,
and starring in the movie that was a beautiful deconstruction of the Western genre.
Unforgiven is a revisionist western which deconstructs the myth of the old west that
was particularly accentuated by Hollywood movies, including those starring Eastwood,
and older movies from the John Wayne and John Ford era.
Unlike the typical Western of the past, there are no real heroes in Unforgiven, with every
character being morally compromised in some way.
This includes the central character played by Eastwood, and even the sheriff, Little
Bill Daggett, played by Gene Hackman.
Unforgiven was so beloved that it earned the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director.
It was here that Eastwood's career was no longer just as an actor who also dabbled in
directing, but a genuine filmmaker with a tremendous understanding of film as an art
form.
Eastwood continued with his acting-directing projects, including A Perfect World opposite
Kevin Costner, The Bridges of Madison County opposite Meryl Streep, and Absolute Power
opposite Ed Harris, Laura Linney, and re-teaming with Unforgiven co-star, Gene Hackman.
Clint Eastwood was now a part of Hollywood royalty, not just on screen but off.
He had power in the industry, and his career would continue to flourish with some outstanding
movies.
In 2003, Eastwood decided to keep his focus behind the camera for the murder mystery thriller
Mystic River.
The movie starred Kevin Bacon, Laura Linney, Lawrence Fishburne, and earned Academy Awards
for Tim Robbins and Sean Penn.
Eastwood even composed the music for the film, with a hauntingly beautiful score that undoubtedly
surprised many to hear that it was created by an actor.
Once again, Eastwood stretched his creative muscles with great success.
He was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Screen Actors Guild the very same year.
Eastwood's creative power continued with the modern classic, Million Dollar Baby, where
he starred opposite Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, both of which earned Academy Awards,
alongside Eastwood claiming Best Picture and Best Director.
He continued with two World War II dramas, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo
Jima.
The thriller Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie, Gran Torino, starring Eastwood, and
Invictus, starring Matt Damon, and Morgan Freeman as former South African president,
Nelson Mandela.
In 2011, Eastwood directed possibly the biggest Hollywood star of today, Leonardo DiCaprio,
in J. Edgar, where DiCaprio played former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover.
Alongside his unstoppable filmmaking career, Eastwood took on the world of politics.
He was elected mayor of Carmel, California, back in 1986 and served two years.
Controversies around Clint Eastwood’s love life
While Clint Eastwood has continually proved himself as a powerhouse in Hollywood, the
filmmaker's love life has been one of controversy.
Eastwood has had two marriages in his life, alongside seven children with five different
women.
Two of his children were with his first wife, Maggie Johnson, a marriage that lasted twenty-five
years.
He also had a child with Roxanne Tunis in 1964, and two children with Jacely Reeves,
sometime in the 1980s.
Eastwoord also had a long-term relationship with actress Sondra Locke.
He had additionally had a relationship with actress Frances Fisher who he starred opposite
in Unforgiven.
They had a daughter in 1993.
Since 1996, Eastwood has been married to Dina Ruiz, a woman 35 years his junior, with whom
he has a daughter.
Is Clint Eastwood's unimaginably successful Hollywood career tainted by his controversial
love life, highlighting the unusual behavior of Hollywood celebrities?
Or, is he just an ordinary man living an unorthodox life?
Let us know in the comments section below, and don't forget to subscribe to Facts Verse
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