Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series Rawhide, Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy of spaghetti Westerns during the mid-1960s and as antihero cop Harry Callahan in the five Dirty Harry films throughout the 1970s and 1980s. These roles, among others, have made Eastwood an enduring cultural icon of masculinity.[6][7] Elected in 1986, Eastwood served for two years as the mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
Eastwood's greatest commercial successes are the adventure comedy Every Which Way but Loose (1978) and its action comedy sequel Any Which Way You Can (1980).[8] Other popular Eastwood films include the Westerns Hang 'Em High (1968), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) and Pale Rider (1985), the action-war film Where Eagles Dare (1968), the prison film Escape from Alcatraz (1979), the war film Heartbreak Ridge (1986), the action film In the Line of Fire (1993), and the romantic drama The Bridges of Madison County (1995). More recent works include Gran Torino (2008), The Mule (2018), and Cry Macho (2021). Since 1967, Eastwood's company Malpaso Productions has produced all but four of his American films.
An Academy Award nominee for Best Actor, Eastwood won Best Director and Best Picture for his Western film Unforgiven (1992) and his sports drama Million Dollar Baby (2004). In addition to directing many of his own star vehicles, Eastwood has directed films in which he did not appear, such as the mystery drama Mystic River (2003) and the war film Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), for which he received Academy Award nominations. He also directed the biographical films Changeling (2008), Invictus (2009), American Sniper (2014), Sully (2016), and Richard Jewell (2019).
Eastwood's accolades include four Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, three César Awards, and an AFI Life Achievement Award. In 2000, he received the Italian Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion award, honoring his lifetime achievements. Bestowed two of France's highest civilian honors, he received the Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1994, and the Legion of Honour in 2007.
Eastwood was born on May 31, 1930, at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, to Ruth (née Margret[b] Runner; 1909–2006) and Clinton Eastwood (1906–1970). During her son's fame, Ruth was known by the surname of her second husband, John Belden Wood (1913–2004), whom she married after the death of Clinton Sr.[10] Eastwood was nicknamed "Samson" by hospital nurses because he weighed 11 pounds 6 ounces (5.2 kg) at birth.[11][12] He has a younger sister, Jeanne Bernhardt (b. 1934).[13] He is of English, Irish, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry.[14] Eastwood is descended from Mayflower passenger William Bradford, and through this line is the 12th generation born in North America.[15][16][17] His family relocated three times during the 1930s as his father changed occupations.[18][19] Contrary to what Eastwood has indicated in media interviews, they did not move between 1940 and 1949.[20][21] Settling in Piedmont, California, the Eastwoods lived in an affluent area of the town, had a swimming pool, belonged to a country club, and each parent drove their own car.[22] Eastwood's father was a manufacturing executive at Georgia-Pacific for most of his working life.[23] As Clint and Jeanne grew older, Ruth took a clerical job at IBM.[24]
Eastwood attended Piedmont Middle School,[25] where he was held back due to poor academic scores, and records indicated he also had to attend summer school.[20] From January 1945 until at least 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 burning an effigy on the school lawn, on top of other school infractions.[26] He transferred to Oakland Technical High School and was scheduled to graduate mid-year in January 1949, although it is not clear if he did.[21] "Clint graduated from the airplane shop. I think that was his major", joked classmate Don Kincade.[21] Another high school friend, Don Loomis, echoed "I don't think he was spending that much time at school because he was having a pretty good time elsewhere."[21] Fritz Manes, a boyhood friend two years younger than Eastwood, said "I think what happened is he just went off and started having a good time. I just don't think he finished high school."[21] Biographer Patrick McGilligan notes that high school graduation records are a matter of strict legal confidentiality.[21] According to the author, Eastwood's school principal had to call his management first before deciding whether to be interviewed, and "whoever answered the phone at Malpaso advised him against talking to me, and he didn't".[27]
Eastwood held a number of odd jobs, including lifeguard, paper carrier, grocery clerk, forest firefighter, and golf caddy.[28] Eastwood said that he tried to enroll at Seattle University in 1951,[29] but instead was drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War.[30] "He always dropped the Korean War reference, hoping everyone would conclude that he was in combat and might be some sort of hero. Actually, he'd been a lifeguard at Fort Ord in northern California for his entire stint in the military", said Eastwood's former longtime companion Sondra Locke.[22] Don Loomis recalled hearing that Eastwood was 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.[31] While returning from a prearranged tryst[31] in Seattle, he was a passenger on a Douglas AD bomber that ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean near Point Reyes.[32][33] Using a life raft, he and the pilot swam 2 miles (3.2 km) to safety.[34] Eastwood was discharged in February 1953.[35]
According to a CBS press release for Rawhide, Universal-International's camera crew was shooting in Fort Ord when an enterprising assistant spotted Eastwood and invited him to meet the director,[36] although this is disputed by Eastwood's unauthorized biographer, Patrick McGilligan.[37] According to Eastwood's official biography, the key figure was a man named Chuck Hill, who was stationed in Fort Ord and had contacts in Hollywood.[36] While in Los Angeles, Hill became reacquainted with Eastwood and managed to sneak him into a Universal studio, where he introduced him to cameraman Irving Glassberg.[36] Glassberg arranged for an audition under Arthur Lubin, who, although very impressed with Eastwood's appearance and stature (then 6 ft 4 in [193 cm]), disapproved of his acting, remarking, "He was quite amateurish. He didn't know which way to turn or which way to go or do anything."[38] Lubin suggested that he attend drama classes and arranged for Eastwood's initial contract in April 1954, at $100 per week.[38] After signing, Eastwood was initially criticized for his stiff manner and delivering his lines through his teeth, a lifelong trademark.[39]
In May 1954, Eastwood made his first real audition for Six Bridges to Cross, but was rejected by Joseph Pevney.[40] After many unsuccessful auditions, he was eventually given a minor role by director Jack Arnold in Revenge of the Creature (1955), a sequel to the recently released Creature from the Black Lagoon.[41] In September 1954, Eastwood worked for three wee