ACTOR · BORN 1930
Clint Eastwood
- Born
- 31 May 1930, San Francisco, California, USA
- Known for
- Million Dollar Baby (2004), Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966), Gran Torino (2008), Unforgiven (1992)
149 archived facts 8 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Clint Eastwood (born 31 May 1930) is an actor best known for Million Dollar Baby, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo and Gran Torino.
Clint Eastwood over the years
149 Interesting Facts About Clint Eastwood
Interesting Facts (22)
- #001
It's interesting, given his penchant for violence, that his name, Clint Eastwood, is an anagram for 'old west action'.
- #002
A sample of his whistling can be heard on the track "Big Noise" from his son Kyle Eastwood's jazz CD "Paris Blue" (2004).
- #003
Surprisingly, he does not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He does, however, have his hands and footprints in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. By sheer coincidence, Clint's handprint square touches corners with comedy legend Groucho Marx's handprint square. Groucho's granddaughter, Jade Marx, is Clint's ex-sister-in-law. When Jade started dating Dominic V. Ruiz (the younger brother of Clint's former wife Dina Eastwood), they viewed this as a "sign" of their relationship being written "in stone and in the stars".
- #004
Eerily, three of his leading ladies (Inger Stevens, Jean Seberg, Elizabeth Hartman) committed suicide.
- #005
As a director, he has always refused to test screen his films before their release.
- #006
Developed his movie voice by listening to audio recordings of Marilyn Monroe. He said he'd noticed Monroe's breathy whisper and he thought it was very sexy and since it had worked so well for her, he decided he'd "do" a male version of it himself.
- #007
William Goldman said of Eastwood that he was the only person to be a star in the '70s, '80s and '90s. By "star" Goldman means Variety's list of top ten actors of the decade.
- #008
Sworn in as parks commissioner for state of California at Big Basin Redwood Park, Santa Cruz, 8 June 2002. Holding up his new commissioner's badge, he told the crowd, "You're all under arrest.".
- #009
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.
- #010
Was apparently such an organized director that he finished Absolute Power (1997) days ahead of schedule.
- #011
Eastwood declined an offer from President George H.W. Bush to campaign for him in the 1992 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.".
- #012
According to Robert Daley, the head of Warner Bros. when Eastwood made 15 pictures there, none of those films ever included preview screenings because Clint "doesn't believe in the preview process".
- #013
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. According to Lippman, "I had to terminate three pretty good waitresses in the first few months of operation; not because they went to bed with Clint Eastwood, but because they either talked about it all over the premises, or came in the next day acting like they owned the place." The restaurant closed in 1999 and has since re-opened under new management.
- #014
Had a long-held obsession with New York Times film critic Pauline Kael because she never liked his work. After her review of The Enforcer (1976), Clint asked a psychiatrist to do an analysis of Kael from her reviews of his past work, which he had memorized verbatim. It concluded that Kael was actually physically attracted to Clint and because she couldn't have him she hated him. Therefore, it was some sort of vengeance, according to Clint.
- #015
Often directs using a hand-held wireless monitor, which allows him to be close to the actors while keeping an eye on the frame.
- #016
In a lawsuit filed on January 4, 1995, Mark Ryan, a registered California process server for Harris & Mason, contended that Warner Bros., at the direction of Eastwood, falsely imprisoned him in a van for 70 minutes, handcuffed him, refused to allow him to leave the WB lot and threatened to have him arrested.
- #017
At one point, he took so much carotene his hands turned orange.
- #018
On a return air trip from a prearranged tryst in Seattle, a two-seated plane on which he was aboard ran out of fuel and crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Point Reyes. Using a life raft, Eastwood and the pilot swam 2 miles to shore.
- #019
According to Robert Daley, "If they ever called a meeting of all the people Clint has screwed over, they'd have to hold it in the LA Coliseum.".
- #020
He was going to play the villain Two-Face on the Batman (1966) TV series, but the show was canceled before the episode began shooting.
- #021
As a boy he collected snakes. One time, he had 13 snakes.
- #022
Gained popularity with his first three major films, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) (which weren't released in America until 1967/68). Soon afterwards Jolly Films (which produced A Fistful of Dollars (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.
Production Story (30)
- #023
He and Burt Reynolds had major influences on each other's 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)).
- #024
He wanted to play Charles A. Lindbergh in The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) and penned a letter to director Billy Wilder in October 1954 requesting to meet in person to discuss his potential eligibility for the role. Eastwood had just done his first screen test for Universal Pictures but had yet to make his acting debut. The role ultimately went to an established star, James Stewart.
- #025
He was going to play the villain Two-Face on the Batman (1966) TV series, but the show was canceled before the episode began shooting.
- #026
He claims that he wound up getting the role in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964) because James Coburn, to whom the role was originally offered, wanted $25,000. Eastwood accepted the role for $15,000.
- #027
Ferris Webster worked exclusively as his film editor for 10 years, but the two had a falling out during postproduction on Firefox (1982).
- #028
He landed his breakthrough role in A Fistful of Dollars (1964) after Charles Bronson, Rory Calhoun, James Coburn, Henry Fonda, Ty Hardin, Steve Reeves, Tony Russel and Henry Silva all turned it down.
- #029
As a director, he has always refused to test screen his films before their release.
- #030
He had planned to star in Die Hard (1988) and originally owned the rights to the novel "Nothing Lasts Forever" on which the film is based, but opted to make The Dead Pool (1988) instead.
- #031
Had a falling out with longtime associate Fritz Manes during the filming of Heartbreak Ridge (1986). Manes was fired over the telephone by Eastwood's secretary. When Manes went over to Malpaso to collect his belongings, the locks on his office had been changed and his possessions were sitting outside next to a dumpster.
- #032
He turned down the role of Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now (1979) because he found the storyline "too dark." The role went to Martin Sheen.
- #033
He turned down the role of Harmonica in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), which went to Charles Bronson.
- #034
According to Robert Daley, the head of Warner Bros. when Eastwood made 15 pictures there, none of those films ever included preview screenings because Clint "doesn't believe in the preview process".
- #035
Sergio Leone asked him and his The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) co-stars Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef to appear in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). The idea was reportedly scrapped due to scheduling conflicts with other films, although some rumors state they declined when they heard that their characters were going to be killed off by Charles Bronson's character in the first five minutes. Leone filmed the scene instead with character actors Woody Strode, Jack Elam and Al Mulock.
- #036
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 58 in The Dead Pool (1988), which was only a year older than the character was supposed to be in the first film according to the original screenplay.
- #037
In 1960, Clint Eastwood was one of Lucille Ball's first choices to play her romantic lead in the Broadway musical "Wildcat." When he (and a few A-list marquee names) were not available, she settled on Keith Andes.
- #038
He got his role in Rawhide (1959) while visiting a friend at the CBS lot when a studio executive spotted him because he "looked like a cowboy."
- #039
The genesis of his production company, Malpaso Productions, had a curious origin. When Italian director Sergio Leone approached Eastwood about appearing in what would become the "Spaghetti Western" trilogy--A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)--Eastwood was eager to take it but was advised against it by his agent, suggesting it would be a "bad move" (mal paso). Against all advice, 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 adopted "Malpaso" as his production company name.
- #040
In 2017, 46 years after the release of The Beguiled (1971), Sofia Coppola remade the film. The Beguiled (2017) stars Colin Farrell in the role of John McBurney. Farrell shares the same May 31 birthday as Eastwood and was 41 at the time of its release, the same age Eastwood was in the original.
- #041
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.
- #042
He was interested in the prospect of playing Hank Rearden in a cinematic adaptation of "Atlas Shrugged" that Albert S. Ruddy was developing in the early '70s.
- #043
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.
- #044
Was offered Gregory Peck's role in Mackenna's Gold (1969), but turned it down to make Hang 'Em High (1968) instead.
- #045
His character's voice was provided by Enrico Maria Salerno in A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). For the trilogy's American release, Eastwood redubbed his dialogue in English.
- #046
Paul Haggis, who wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby (2004), offered Eastwood the role of Hank Deerfield in In the Valley of Elah (2007). Eastwood turned it down and recommended Tommy Lee Jones, who went on to receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance.
- #047
Was offered the role of James Bond in Live and Let Die (1973). He was flattered, but declined, saying that Bond should be played by an English actor.
- #048
Welterweight boxer Lavonne Ludian, who met Eastwood in the mid-'60s while working as a blackjack dealer in Reno, served as the inspiration for his hit film Million Dollar Baby (2004). She is profiled in the documentary Right to Fight (2023).
- #049
He wanted to direct Angels & Demons (2009) but didn't get the chance because Ron Howard was contractually obligated to direct it due to his contract from The Da Vinci Code (2006).
- #050
He claims that he wound up getting the role in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964) because James Coburn, to whom the role was originally offered, wanted $25,000. Eastwood accepted the role for $15,000.
- #051
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 58 in The Dead Pool (1988), which was only a year older than the character was supposed to be in the first film according to the original screenplay.
- #052
Turned down the role of Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now (1979) because he found the storyline "too dark." The role went to Martin Sheen.
Behind the Scenes (12)
- #053
He has always been allergic to horses, which is why, in his westerns, he is rarely seen in close-up on horseback. When he had to ride horses in films, he would first have to sniff medication into his nose and lungs. On Bronco Billy (1980) it left him constantly miserable.
- #054
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. In essence these boots have book-ended his career in the Western genre.
- #055
He often directs using a hand-held wireless monitor, which allows him to be close to the actors while keeping an eye on the frame.
- #056
When directing, he simply says "okay" instead of "action" and "cut."
- #057
For his role as a bare-knuckle fighter in Every Which Way But Loose (1978), Clint was trained by Al Silvani, Jake LaMotta's trainer, who was an adviser on Raging Bull (1980) and prepared Sylvester Stallone for Rocky (1976).
- #058
He wore the same sarape, without ever having washed it, in all three of his "Man with No Name" Westerns.
- #059
He learned mountain climbing for The Eiger Sanction (1975) because he felt the scenes were too dangerous 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, not a stuntman.
- #060
In general, he wraps films early and uses the actors' first takes. Most of his films are shot in the spring or summer and released around Christmastime.
- #061
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.
- #062
When Don Siegel fell ill during production of Dirty Harry (1971), Eastwood stepped in as director during the attempted-suicide/jumper sequence.
- #063
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).
- #064
Though he often smokes in his movies, he is a lifelong non-smoker offscreen.
Characters & Cast (7)
- #065
He developed his movie voice by listening to audio recordings of Marilyn Monroe. He said he had noticed Monroe's breathy whisper and thought it was very sexy, and since it had worked so well for her, he decided he would "do" a male version of it himself.
- #066
Whenever he was asked if he would make a Dirty Harry 6, he often joked that he could imagine Dirty Harry now long retired and fly-fishing with his .44 Magnum.
- #067
He has played the same character in more than one film three times: The Man with No Name in the Leone trilogy, Philo Beddoe in the Any Which Way movies, and Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry franchise.
- #068
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.
- #069
He wore the same sarape, without ever having washed it, in all three of his "Man with No Name" Westerns.
- #070
Sergio Leone asked him and his The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) co-stars Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef to appear in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). The idea was reportedly scrapped due to scheduling conflicts with other films, although some rumors state they declined when they heard that their characters were going to be killed off by Charles Bronson's character in the first five minutes. Leone filmed the scene instead with character actors Woody Strode, Jack Elam and Al Mulock.
- #071
Had planned to star in Die Hard (1988) and originally owned the rights to the novel "Nothing Lasts Forever" on which the film is based, but opted to make The Dead Pool (1988) instead.
Easter Eggs & References (7)
- #072
The character Shane Gooseman ("Goose" for short) from the animated space opera The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (1986) was based on him and his screen persona.
- #073
Was asked for permission about his name being used for Marty (Michael J. Fox) in Back to the Future Part III (1990). He consented and was said to be tickled by the homage.
- #074
His "Fistful" mannerisms were imitated in Canada by the Tim Horton's restaurant chain to promote the 2005 Southwest chicken sub.
- #075
His signature character, "The Man With No Name", is referenced by Timothy Olyphant's character, the "Spirit of the West", in Rango (2011).
- #076
Whenever asked if he would do a Dirty Harry 6, he often joked that he can imagine Dirty Harry now long retired, and fly-fishing with his .44 magnum.
- #077
In 1997, he launched his own beer 'Pale Rider Ale', with the ad line: 'You Didn't Expect Clint Eastwood to Make a Salad Dressing Did You?' on a western-style playbill poster.
- #078
At the 2005 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 actor/Second Amendment advocate Charlton Heston, for 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.
Deeper Meaning (3)
- #079
Although he has been associated with violence throughout his career, he personally detests it and has carefully shown the horrific consequences of violence in films such as Unforgiven (1992), A Perfect World (1993), Absolute Power (1997), Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Gran Torino (2008).
- #080
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.
- #081
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.
Career & Awards (20)
- #082
When The Variety Club honored Clint in 1986, hardly anyone in the audience knew him personally. He had never even met some of the celebrities who gave a speech. Yet everyone acted like good friends.
- #083
He was President of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
- #084
His mother Ruth Wood proved to be his 'lucky charm' on the only evenings she accompanied him to the 65th and 77th Academy Awards ceremonies, where Clint's Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004) won the Best Picture Oscars, and he won Best Director for each. On both occasions during his Oscar acceptance speeches, Clint thanked his mom in the audience, who was respectively 84 and 96 years old at the time of the events.
- #085
Early in his career he appeared in a "B" western, Ambush at Cimarron Pass (1958), in which he was billed third and leading lady Margia Dean was billed second. Years later, after Eastwood had become a superstar actor and director, Dean ran into him at a social function and teased him, "Just remember, I got top billing over you".
- #086
A slow bloomer in almost every regard, Clint was going on 19 when he left high school (in an era where some students graduated at 16), got his first big film role at age 34, waited until he turned 38 to start a family (not including illegitimate unmentionables), made his directorial debut at 41, and received his first Oscar nomination when he was nearly 63.
- #087
He served as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea for one term for the nominal 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. "We wanted to eliminate traffic and parking problems, not make more with hordes of tourists. He brought a lot of notoriety that we didn't need," said Jane Mayer, president of the Carmel Residents Association. "Some people thought he was charming, but I disagree. He didn't know anything about the issues. People are giving him credit for things that were on the table for years. He also hired a public relations woman and kept an unlisted phone number - he was totally inaccessible. I don't think that's being a good mayor." "It was a disaster," added former mayor Gunnar Norberg. "Eastwood turned a peaceful forest by the sea into Coney Island." Norberg claimed his blood pressure hit such heights when he was around Eastwood that his doctor refused to let him attend council meetings. Sondra Locke, Eastwood's cohabiting partner at the time, later said that she "knew he wasn't the dedicated mayor he pretended to be."
- #088
He was a contract player at Universal International in the mid-1950s. He and a younger actor named Burt Reynolds were both fired by Universal, though not on the same day. Eastwood was fired when the director didn't want to use him in a movie because of the wart above his top lip. Reynolds, who was serving as a stunt man, was fired after he shoved the director into a water tank during an argument over how to do a stunt fall.
- #089
He gained popularity with his first three major films, A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), which were not released in America until 1967/68. Soon afterwards, Jolly Films, which produced A Fistful of Dollars (1964), released a film called "The Magnificent Stranger", which was actually two episodes of Rawhide (1959) edited together. Eastwood sued and the film was withdrawn.
- #090
In 1997, he launched his own beer, 'Pale Rider Ale', with the ad line: 'You Didn't Expect Clint Eastwood to Make a Salad Dressing Did You?' on a western-style playbill poster.
- #091
He has a line of sportswear: Tehama Clint. At the tourist shops in Carmel, kinkier fans can buy panties with the inscription "Make My Night".
- #092
A July 1968 newspaper item by Dorothy Manners gives insight into his rapid rise to stardom: "Clint Eastwood is on his way to earning $750,000 per picture while the proverbial man in the street is still asking, 'Who's Clint Eastwood?' He's the hottest property sight unseen (almost) in Hollywood today." Clint was 38 years old.
- #093
He 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, Yimou Zhang's To Live (1994) was my favorite piece, but most of the European jurors seemed to like 'Pulp Fiction.'"
- #094
Every year the PGA Tour comes to Pebble Beach, California, to host a celebrity golf tournament where celebrities team up with the professionals. Clint participated in this every year from 1962 to 2002 and is the longest-running participant. He now serves as host.
- #095
The genesis of his production company, Malpaso Productions, had a curious origin. When Italian director Sergio Leone approached Eastwood about appearing in what would become the "Spaghetti Western" trilogy--A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)--Eastwood was eager to take it but was advised against it by his agent, suggesting it would be a "bad move" (mal paso). Against all advice, 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 adopted "Malpaso" as his production company name.
- #096
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. In essence these boots have book-ended his career in the Western genre.
- #097
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."
- #098
Has always been allergic to horses, which is why, in his westerns, he is rarely seen in close-up on horseback. When he had to ride horses in films, he would first have to sniff medication into his nose and lungs. On Bronco Billy (1980) it left him constantly miserable.
- #099
Paul Haggis, who wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby (2004), offered Eastwood the role of Hank Deerfiled in In the Valley of Elah (2007). Eastwood turned it down and recommended Tommy Lee Jones, who went on to receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance.
- #100
His mother Ruth Wood proved to be his 'lucky charm' on the only evenings she accompanied him to the 65th and 77th Academy Awards ceremonies where Clint's Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004) won the Best Picture Oscars, and he won Best Director for each. On both occasions during his Oscar acceptance speeches, Clint thanked his mom in the audience who was respectively 84 and 96 years old at the time of the events.
- #101
He was a contract player at Universal International in the mid-1950s. He and a younger actor named Burt Reynolds were released from their contracts and left the studio on the same day. They were both fired by the same director. Eastwood was fired when the director didn't want to use him in a movie because of the wart above his top lip. Reynolds, who was serving as a stunt man, was fired after he shoved the director into a water tank during an argument over how to do a stunt fall.
Life & Family (48)
- #102
He worked as a lifeguard at Kennydale Beach in Renton, Washington, for the summers of 1949, 1950 and 1953. "He never had to bring his lunch. He never had to do any of the normal duties like beach clean-up, because all the girls would do it for him," according to Penny Wade, chief of budget and personnel for King County Parks. "There are stories," Wade added. Two women who said they dated him the last summer he was there, Ruth Harr and Ruth Monk, would have only been 15 or 16 at the time, to Eastwood's 23.
- #103
The death of Eastwood's former common-law wife Sondra Locke at age 74 on November 3, 2018 was not publicized until opening day of his movie The Mule (2018) six weeks later. From Clint, there was complete silence. Coincidentally, the anniversary of Locke's death is also the birthday of Clint's late uncle, Melvin Runner.
- #104
He bans Coca-Cola from his sight, stemming from a long-ago discord with Columbia Pictures (Coca-Cola and Columbia Pictures were connected).
- #105
In a lawsuit filed on January 4, 1995, Mark Ryan, a registered California process server for Harris & Mason, contended that Warner Bros., at the direction of Eastwood, falsely imprisoned him in a van for 70 minutes, handcuffed him, refused to allow him to leave the WB lot and threatened to have him arrested.
- #106
Beginning in 1959, Eastwood was involved in a relationship with Roxanne Tunis, a regular extra/stuntwoman on Rawhide (1959). Their daughter Kimber Eastwood was born in 1964 as Kimber Tunis. Following Kimber's birth, Eastwood asked then-wife Maggie Johnson for a divorce. But within a matter of weeks afterward, Johnson fell very ill with hepatitis and had to be hospitalized. The pair reconciled, agreeing that it would be best if she turned a blind eye to his extramarital affairs (he also had a child in 1954 from a different affair), and in 1968, almost 15 years after they married, their first child together was born. Johnson was finally introduced to Tunis in 1972, outside Eastwood's presence, by a crew member on the set of Breezy (1973). The affair between Eastwood and Tunis is believed to have dissolved in the mid-seventies, around the time he and Sondra Locke got together. Tunis later appeared as an extra in Every Which Way But Loose (1978) as a member of the audience at LA's Palomino country-western club where Locke's character sings, but Eastwood didn't tell Locke about Kimber until 1983. She thought it was cruel that he admitted he was Kimber's father but never treated her accordingly.
- #107
Was neighbors and best friends with William R. Thompkins for roughly a decade, but in 1964 he banished Thompkins from his life, offering no explanation. "He dismissed Bill as if he had never existed," according to singer Kitty Jones' reminiscences. Thompkins died in a car crash in 1971.
- #108
He had a long-held obsession with New York Times film critic Pauline Kael because she never liked his work. After her review of The Enforcer (1976), Clint asked a psychiatrist to do an analysis of Kael from her reviews of his past work, which he had memorized verbatim. It concluded that Kael was actually physically attracted to Clint and because she couldn't have him she hated him. Therefore, it was some sort of vengeance, according to Clint.
- #109
Clint Eastwood's nephew, Craig W. Gronenthal, was fatally shot on April 15, 1998, at the Ash Street Card Club in Camarillo, California, following a dispute with co-worker Michael Gawlik. None of the papers mentioned that Gronenthal was related to a movie star.
- #110
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the mothers of Eastwood's children told biographer Patrick McGilligan: "There is no guilt with Clint. Anything that vaguely resembles guilt is channeled into anger. His anger is always intended to prove people wrong, or prove their behavior bad. And if people are wrong or bad, there is nothing for him to feel guilty about."
- #111
According to Robert Daley, "If they ever called a meeting of all the people Clint has screwed over, they'd have to hold it in the LA Coliseum."
- #112
In the late 1970s, Clint Eastwood and his then-partner Sondra Locke became ardent followers of husband-and-wife research scientists Durk Pearson and Sandy Shaw, who co-authored the 1982 self-help book "Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach". In that book, which promotes the theory that free radicals are a primary cause of aging and recommends antioxidant supplements to prevent the damage they supposedly do, Eastwood and Locke were written about as a pseudonymous celebrity couple (Mr. Smith & Miss Jones) using the principles. Locke died in 2018 at 74, Shaw died in 2022 at 78 and Pearson died in 2024 at 81, making Eastwood the only one to achieve remarkable longevity.
- #113
He 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. According to Lippman, "I had to terminate three pretty good waitresses in the first few months of operation; not because they went to bed with Clint Eastwood, but because they either talked about it all over the premises, or came in the next day acting like they owned the place." The restaurant closed for a time but has since re-opened under new management.
- #114
As a boy, he collected snakes. At one point, he had 13 snakes.
- #115
He practices transcendental meditation twice a day and said in 2013 that he had been meditating for the past 40 years.
- #116
He attended Glenview Elementary School, Crocker Highlands Elementary School and Frank C. Havens Elementary School, all located within a short distance of each other in Oakland and Piedmont. He was held back due to poor academic scores, but in at least one case, delinquent behavior was the reason he left one school to enroll in another. He went to Piedmont Junior High and attended Piedmont High School from January 1945 to at least January 1946. Eastwood was asked to leave Piedmont High for writing an obscene suggestion to a school official on the athletic field scoreboard, and burying someone in effigy on the school lawn, on top of other school infractions. He transferred to Oakland Technical High School, graduating on February 2, 1949.
- #117
He walked out on an interview with The Boston Herald's Stephen Schaefer when Schaefer asked about his kids.
- #118
On 22 August 1987, Clint and Sondra were traveling aboard a Gulfstream III with Harrison Ford when it developed an engine fire and stuck landing gear while inbound from Paris and was forced to land in Bangor, Maine. The charter company owning the G-3 sent another jet and mechanics to Bangor, and the group flew out on that plane the next day.
- #119
His ex-significant other Sondra Locke was legally married to homosexual Gordon Anderson from 1967 until her death in 2018, covering the whole time she and Eastwood were living together. While house hunting with Locke in the late seventies, Eastwood introduced himself as "Mr. Anderson," even when he happened to be wearing a Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) T-shirt. Locke recalled that the sales agents could barely keep a straight face and always looked at their feet when addressing him as such.
- #120
His episode of Biography (1987) (original air date: 10/5/03) only acknowledges four children, when he in fact has at least eight.
- #121
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.
- #122
Though he often smokes in his movies, he is a lifelong non-smoker offscreen.
- #123
Once punched his fist through a door, ripping his hand. The same day a palmist read his hand - still bleeding - and said she could tell what a 'tranquil' person he is.
- #124
He was sworn in as parks commissioner for the state of California at Big Basin Redwood Park in Santa Cruz on 8 June 2002. Holding up his new commissioner's badge, he told the crowd, "You're all under arrest."
- #125
Eastwood declined an offer from President George H.W. Bush to campaign for him in the 1992 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."
- #126
According to author Patrick McGilligan, in July 1993 Eastwood was confronted with the claims of a woman in her late thirties, originally from Washington State, who had researched her adoption and ascertained that he was her biological father. After having his lawyers and business managers check her out, so the story goes, Eastwood agreed to have dinner with the woman, Laurie Murray, who was married to a rich man and was happy to guard her anonymity - she just wanted to meet him - and promised to stay in touch. In L'album secret de Clint Eastwood (2013), McGilligan stated on camera: "We don't know how many children Clint has had with how many women." Besides Ms. Murray, since at least 2005 there is a rumor of unknown origin that Eastwood fathered a son named Lesly, born on 13 February 1959 to one Rosina Mary Glen. He also allegedly has a son named Patrick Meehan, whose non-biological father (also named Patrick) was the manager for Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Publicly, Eastwood has neither confirmed nor denied any of these claims.
- #127
He told Rolling Stone magazine in 1985, "I didn't really get involved in team sports because we moved so much," but actually, he didn't move at all between the ages of 10 and 19. In 1980, he told Tom Snyder that he "moved around quite a bit until I was about 15."
- #128
(March 20, 1951 - March 19, 1953) Was a lifeguard and projectionist of training films for the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Ord in Marina, California. According to former buddy Don Loomis, as told in "Clint: The Life and Legend" (2002) by Patrick McGilligan, page 49, Eastwood avoided being sent to combat in Korea by romancing one of the daughters of a Fort Ord officer, who might have been entreated to watch out for him when names came up for postings.
- #129
At the 2005 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 actor and Second Amendment advocate Charlton Heston for 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.
- #130
He doesn't use text messaging and prefers a landline when he talks on the phone.
- #131
When he was 19, he gained unwanted attention from a 23-year-old schoolteacher who stalked him after a one-night stand and threatened to kill herself.
- #132
Until his pride was displaced by the discovery of a larger version of the same tree in 2002, Eastwood used to be the proud owner of a tree believed to be the nation's largest known hardwood—a bluegum eucalyptus.
- #133
In the early 1980s, when his company Malpaso Productions began receiving a series of strange, threatening letters addressed to him and mailed from various California locations by someone who seemed to have inside knowledge of his life, he hired a private detective. The trouble was that the detective had an extremely long list of possible Clint enemies and ex-girlfriends but no real clues as to who might be the culprit. After a while, suspicion focused on Jane Cameron Agee, an off-and-on paramour of Eastwood's then married to actor James Brolin. Eastwood scoffed at the idea that it was her and thought it might be an actress friend of ex-mistress Roxanne Tunis, seeking some kind of revenge on him. One night he drove around the Hollywood Hills with Fritz Manes trying to find this woman's address. He tried to convince Manes that they should burgle her place and see if the lady's typewriter matched up with the letters. Manes said no, and the vile letters eventually waxed and waned.
- #134
On a return air trip from a prearranged tryst in Seattle, a two-seated plane on which he was aboard ran out of fuel and crashed into the Pacific Ocean near Point Reyes. Using a life raft, Eastwood and the pilot swam 2 miles to shore.
- #135
While promoting the reality series Mrs. Eastwood & Company (2012) on E!, Clint's then-wife Dina Eastwood told Chelsea Handler: "I hope we're still married when this is over!". Just two weeks after the show premiered, Clint and Dina separated.
- #136
His ex-wife Dina Ruiz (Dina Eastwood) is a former local television news anchor and reporter from Salinas, California. They met when she was assigned to interview him for KSBW-TV in April 1993. Dina admitted that she had seen "zero" of his movies. The pair didn't start dating right away, since Clint was expecting a baby with Frances Fisher. In February 1995, Clint made his first public appearance with Dina at a golf tournament, without ever announcing that he and Frances had broken up.
- #137
His first wife, Maggie, was born in 1931, although during the 1970s she was wrongly reported as five years younger than that. Longtime spouse-equivalent Sondra Locke was born in 1944 but always gave a younger birthdate, sometimes as much as twelve years younger. Unlike the women in his life, Clint has always been honest about his age.
- #138
In May 1989, Stacy McLaughlin filed a $100,000 lawsuit against Eastwood, claiming that on December 16, 1988, at the Burbank Studios, he "knowingly, intentionally and deliberately" rammed her Nissan Maxima with his quarter-ton pickup when she mistakenly parked in his parking space while dropping off a tape at his Malpaso Productions office. Eastwood, who contended that he was only trying to park his vehicle in its rightful space, paid $960 to repair the headlights and bumper of McLaughlin's car. She sought the additional money as punitive damages, claiming malice on Eastwood's part. The case went to court in July 1991, but a judge refused to grant the damages.
- #139
While serving in the Army, he was offered officer training by superiors who thought he had the right look. Eastwood, however, admitted that he had no interest in a military career.
- #140
One afternoon in the early 1970s, Eastwood and Paul E. Lippman were walking around San Francisco when a random woman on the street (who happened to be of short stature, just his type) sniffed, "Oh, you're Clint Eastwood . . . I hear you're a bum lay!" Clint, very stunned and at a total loss for words, stretched his neck muscles mightily, as he always did when stuck for a quick response, then finally managed, "Well . . . uh . . . where did you hear that?" To which she pertly answered, "Oh, it's all over town." After a few more neck stretches, Clint invited her for a drink at some club to discuss the matter, then spent the night at Sausalito's Alta Mira Hotel trying to prove otherwise. The next morning Lippman asked her if she still thought Clint Eastwood was 'a bum lay', and she held out a flat hand, palm down, and wiggled it.
- #141
Declined to have a party for his 80th birthday, explaining that at his age he doesn't like birthday parties for himself. He said his only plans to celebrate the occasion would be to go out for a drink with his then-wife.
- #142
Walked out on an interview with The Boston Herald's Stephen Schaefer when Schaefer asked about his kids.
- #143
Until his pride was displaced by discovery of a larger version of same tree in 2002, Eastwood used to be proud owner of tree believed to be the nation's largest known hardwood - a bluegum eucalyptus.
- #144
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the mothers of Eastwood's children told biographer Patrick McGilligan: "There is no guilt with Clint. Anything that vaguely resembles guilt is channeled into anger. His anger is always intended to prove people wrong, or prove their behavior bad. And if people are wrong or bad, there is nothing for him to feel guilty about.".
- #145
Personal physician Dr. Harry Demopoulos told Muscle & Fitness magazine in 1991 that Clint never eats fat, takes his antioxidants faithfully, works out like a demon and gets plenty of sleep, which is an area that is often neglected in a fitness program.
- #146
A sample of his whistling can be heard on the track "Big Noise" from his son Kyle Eastwood's jazz CD "Paris Blue" (2004).
- #147
Beginning in 1959, Eastwood was involved in a relationship with Roxanne Tunis, a regular extra/stuntwoman on Rawhide (1959). Their daughter Kimber Eastwood was born in 1964 as Kimber Tunis. Following Kimber's birth, Eastwood asked then-wife Maggie Johnson for a divorce. But within a matter of weeks afterward, Johnson fell very ill with hepatitis and had to be hospitalized. The pair reconciled, agreeing that it would be best if she turned a blind eye to his existing families (he also had a child in 1954 from a different affair), and in 1968, almost 15 years after they married, their first child together was born. Johnson was finally introduced to Tunis in 1972, outside Eastwood's presence, by a crew member on the set of Breezy (1973). The affair between Eastwood and Tunis is believed to have dissolved in the mid-seventies, around the time he and Sondra Locke got together. Tunis later appeared as an extra in Every Which Way But Loose (1978) as a member of the audience at LA's Palomino country-western club where Locke's character sings, but Eastwood didn't tell Locke about Kimber until 1983. She thought it was cruel that he admitted he was Kimber's father but never treated her accordingly.
- #148
Although Clint has often peddled the notion that he grew up poor, actually his family lived in a very wealthy part of town, had a swimming pool, belonged to the country club, and each drove their own car.
- #149
Voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of California in 2003 and 2006.
Related pages
- Escape from Alcatraz — Clint Eastwood comes up in the facts on that page
- Richard Roundtree — Clint Eastwood comes up in the facts on that page
- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil — Clint Eastwood comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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