Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. arrived at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco on the 31st of May 1930. Nurses nicknamed him Samson because he weighed more than most newborns of that era. His parents lived in the Lake Merritt neighborhood of Oakland during his early years. The family moved three times throughout the 1930s as his father changed jobs. Ruth Eastwood worked a clerical job at IBM while her husband served as a manufacturing executive for Georgia-Pacific. Eastwood attended Piedmont Middle School where poor academic performance held him back. Records show he also attended summer school to improve his grades. He transferred to Oakland Technical High School after writing an obscene suggestion on a scoreboard and burning an effigy on the lawn. He graduated from that school on the 2nd of February 1949.
Eastwood attempted to enroll at Seattle University in 1951 but was drafted into the United States Army instead. While returning from a tryst with an officer's daughter, he rode a Douglas AD bomber that ran out of fuel near Point Reyes. He and the pilot swam to safety using a life raft. He was discharged in February 1953. An assistant spotted him at Fort Ord and invited him to meet a director. Universal-International hired him under Arthur Lubin in April 1954 for $100 per week. Critics called his early acting amateurish and noted he delivered lines through his teeth. He appeared uncredited in Tarantula and played Jonesy in Francis in the Navy. Universal terminated his contract on the 23rd of October 1955. He joined the Marsh Agency before switching to Kumin-Olenick in 1956. Eastwood landed small roles in ABC series and guest spots on Maverick opposite James Garner.
Filming began on the CBS western series Rawhide in Arizona during the summer of 1958. The show reached the top twenty ratings within three weeks. It peaked at number six between October 1960 and April 1961. Eastwood earned $750 per episode initially but received $119,000 as severance pay when the show ended. Eric Fleming rejected an offer to star in A Fistful of Dollars in late 1963. Richard Harrison suggested Eastwood to Sergio Leone instead. Eastwood signed a contract for $15,000 plus a Mercedes-Benz car upon completion. He later said he wanted to escape playing conventional white hat heroes. Leone insisted he smoke cigars despite being a nonsmoker. The film opened in the United States on the 18th of January 1967. For a Few Dollars More followed on the 10th of May 1967. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly arrived on the 29th of December 1967. Critics called the films cheapjack or excruciatingly dopey yet they turned Eastwood into a major star.
Play Misty for Me commenced filming in Monterey in September 1970. It became his directorial debut and starred him alongside Jessica Walter. The script involved a jazz disc jockey whose relationship with a listener turns murderous. Critics praised the film and his directing skills. Dirty Harry released in December 1971 earned $22 million domestically. The character Harry Callahan used a Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver. His line Go ahead make my day appeared in Sudden Impact during 1983. That film grossed $70 million worldwide. Eastwood directed High Plains Drifter in 1973 which received mixed reviews but succeeded at the box office. He also made Breezy starring William Holden and Kay Lenz. The Gauntlet came out in 1977 featuring Pat Hingle and Bill McKinney. Every Which Way but Loose ranked as the second highest-grossing film of 1978 despite critical panning. Escape from Alcatraz followed in 1979 based on Frank Lee Morris's true story.
Eastwood delayed Unforgiven until he was old enough to play an aging ex-gunfighter. Scripts existed for the project as early as 1976 under different titles. The film won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. It opened in 1992 and became a major commercial success. Jack Mathews called it the finest classical western since John Ford's The Searchers. In 2004, Million Dollar Baby won four Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor. At age 74, Eastwood became the oldest director to win two or more Best Pictures. Hilary Swank won Best Actress while Morgan Freeman took Best Supporting Actor. A.O. Scott of The New York Times called the film a masterpiece. He also received a Grammy nomination for his score on that film.
Flags of Our Fathers released in 2006 focused on men who raised the American flag on Mount Suribachi. Letters from Iwo Jima dealt with Japanese soldiers' tactics during the same battle. This second film depicted the war entirely from the enemy perspective. Both films received praise and garnered several nominations at the 79th Academy Awards. Letters from Iwo Jima won Best Foreign Language Film. Changeling came out in 2008 starring Angelina Jolie as a woman reunited with her missing son only to find an impostor. The film grossed over $110 million mostly from foreign markets. Sully starred Tom Hanks as Chesley Sullenberger who landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River. It became another commercial success earning over $238 million worldwide. American Sniper followed in 2014 based on Chris Kyle's memoir. That film grossed more than $350 million domestically and over $547 million globally.
Eastwood won election as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, in April 1986. He earned $200 per month which he donated to the Carmel Youth Center. While in office he helped make ice cream legal to consume on city streets. Public restrooms were added to the beach and a library annex was built. He served for two years before declining a second term. Governor Gray Davis appointed him to the State Park and Recreation Commission in 2001. Arnold Schwarzenegger reappointed him in 2009. Eastwood endorsed Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential election. He delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention to an empty chair representing Barack Obama. On the 22nd of February 2020, he announced support for Democrat Michael Bloomberg instead.
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Common questions
When was Clint Eastwood born and where did he arrive?
Clinton Eastwood Jr. arrived at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco on the 31st of May 1930. Nurses nicknamed him Samson because he weighed more than most newborns of that era.
What high school did Clint Eastwood graduate from and when?
Eastwood graduated from Oakland Technical High School on the 2nd of February 1949 after transferring there following disciplinary incidents involving a scoreboard and an effigy.
How much money did Clint Eastwood earn per episode for Rawhide initially?
Eastwood earned $750 per episode initially while filming began on the CBS western series Rawhide in Arizona during the summer of 1958. He later received $119,000 as severance pay when the show ended.
Which film won four Academy Awards including Best Picture for Clint Eastwood in 2004?
Million Dollar Baby won four Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor in 2004. At age 74, Eastwood became the oldest director to win two or more Best Pictures.
When was Clint Eastwood elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea and what salary did he receive?
Eastwood won election as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, in April 1986. He earned $200 per month which he donated to the Carmel Youth Center before serving for two years.