Early life and work of Clint Eastwood
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Clint Eastwood was born on May 31, 1930, in San Francisco, California, to Clinton Eastwood Sr. and Margret[1] Ruth (née Runner).
Early life
Eastwood was unusually large at birth, weighing 11 lb 6 oz (5.16 kg), and was nicknamed "
Eastwood was a weak student and records indicate he had to attend summer school.
By early 1949 his father moved to a plant in
]Military service
In March 1951, Eastwood was drafted by the United States Army and assigned to Fort Ord in California, where he was appointed as a lifeguard and projectionist of training films.[17] 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.[18] To supplement his $67 a month salary he held a part-time job on a loading dock for the Spreckels Sugar Refining Company. He visited Carmel for the first time and remarked "someday I'd like to live here".[19]
On 30 September 1951, while returning from a prearranged tryst with a girlfriend in Seattle,
During his military service Eastwood became friends with future successful TV actors
Early work
Becoming an actor
According to the CBS press release for Rawhide,
Universal Studios: Training and development
In May 1954, Eastwood made his first real audition, trying out for a part in
Following this, Eastwood and his wife moved into an apartment at Villa Sands at 4040 Arch Drive off Ventura Boulevard to be closer to the Universal lot, also occupied by fellow Universal actresses Gia Scala and Lili Kardell.[44] It also gave Eastwood an opportunity to continue his swimming as it had notable swimming facilities, and the apartment block became a venue for many swimsuit photo shoots, including a memorable one of Anita Ekberg in a leopard skin bikini.[44] In 1954, he agreed to play the part of a scarecrow in the annual Christmas musical for children of employees of Universal studio.[45] Meanwhile, Eastwood was coached by Jess Kimmel and Jack Kosslyn, and UCLA professor, Dr. Daniel Vandraegen who specialized in correcting bad speech. Eastwood had an early tendency to speak almost in a sibilant whisper and was advised to project his voice. These traits never fully went away, but actually worked in his favor in his later films, especially as the Man with No Name in which he often hissed his lines through clenched teeth.[45] Although Clint was self-conscious on camera, he demonstrated a strength in displaying anger onscreen, and in one improvised scene during training with Betty Jane Howarth, it left her in tears.[46]
At this time, Eastwood was likened to Gary Cooper and he resembled a tall, rangy version of James Dean with his high forehead and unruly quiff.[47] Eastwood was a great admirer of Dean and his rebel image.[47] However, one day he was introduced to James Dean at Lili Kardell's apartment and Dean showed little enthusiasm, prompting Eastwood to yank him to his feet and snort, "Goddamn it, fellow, stand up when I speak to you", although he was apparently kidding.[47] Eastwood also met Charlton Heston for the first time at a gym, mistaking him for Chuck Connors.[48]
In September 1955, Eastwood worked for three weeks on Arthur Lubin's
On the recommendation of Betty Jane Howarth, Eastwood soon joined new publicity representatives, the Marsh Agency, who had represented actors such as
Without the contract of Lubin in the meantime, however, Eastwood was struggling.[54] He was advised by Irving Leonard financially and under his influence changed talent agencies in rapid succession, the Kumin-Olenick Agency in 1956, and Mitchell Gertz in 1957. He landed a small role as temperamental army officer for a segment of ABC's Reader's Digest series, broadcast in January 1956, and later that year, a motorcycle gang member on a Highway Patrol episode.[54]
In 1957, Eastwood played a cadet who becomes involved in a skiing search and rescue in the 'White Fury' installment of the
During this period, Eastwood applied for assorted day jobs, dug pools and began working out hard in the gym.[55] He attended further acting classes held by Jack Kosslyn whose students also included people like Nick Adams, Irish McCalla, Jamie Farr and Jeanne Baird and other developing actors. Eastwood also displayed an early toughness in real life when on one evening Eastwood, his wife, Floyd Simmons and another couple had gone to dinner at Trader Vic's and were threatened at gunpoint before entering the restaurant by a gang of Latin thugs. Although his friends turned to flee, Clint stood his ground and growled, "Go on and pull that trigger, you little son of a bitch, and I'll kill you before I hit the ground".[56] The thugs ran off.[56] On another occasion, Clint and friend Fritz Manes were at a bar on Highland Avenue where Clint's long, wavy hair caught the attention of a group of sailors who taunted him and called him a "Hollywood faggot".[56] One of them landed a punch to Eastwood's face, but Eastwood surprised them, putting two of the men in hospital and injuring the others.[57]
Eastwood was credited for his roles in several more films. He expressed interest in auditioning for the film The Spirit of St. Louis, a Billy Wilder biopic about aviator Charles Lindbergh. He was rejected and the role in the end went to James Stewart who just put on makeup to make him look younger. He did however have a small part as an aviator in the War film Lafayette Escadrille, and played an ex-renegade in the Confederacy in Ambush at Cimarron Pass, his biggest screen role to date opposite Scott Brady. His part was shot in nine days for Regal Films Inc. Out of frustration, he dismissed the film as "probably the lousiest Western ever made", and said, "It was sooo bad. I just kept sinking lower and lower in my seat and just wanted to quit".[58] Around the time the film was released Eastwood described himself as feeling "really depressed" and regards it as the lowest point in his career.[58] He seriously considered quitting the acting profession and returning to school to start doing something with his life.[58]
Rawhide (1959–1965)
Floyd Simmons recommended that Eastwood sign with his agent Bill Shiffrin, who informed Clint that CBS were casting an hour-long Western series, urging him to attend the studio. There he met up with
Filming began in Arizona in the summer of 1958. His rivalry onscreen with Eric Fleming's character, Gil Favor, was reportedly initially echoed offscreen between the two actors. However, Eastwood has denied that the two ever had a scuffle and especially after Fleming's death by drowning in Peru some years later, has revealed he had much respect for his co-star.[61] The writer, Charles Marquis Warren, however, described Eastwood's co-star as, "a miserable human being, not only a lousy performer but a colossal egotist".[62] Although Eastwood was finally pleased with the direction of his career, he was not especially happy with the nature of his Rowdy Yates character. At this time, Eastwood was 30, and Rowdy was too young and too cloddish for Clint to feel comfortable with the part. Although boyishness was a key element in his casting, Eastwood disliked the juvenile overtones of the character and privately described Yates as "the idiot of the plains"[63] According to co-star Paul Brinegar, who played Wishbone, Eastwood was, "very unhappy about playing a teenager type".[64]
Eastwood soon ended his contract with Bill Shiffrin and hired Lester Salkow as his talent agent between 1961 and 1963. In regards to his contracts though, it was Irving Leonard and the attorney
It took just three weeks for Rawhide to reach the top 20 in the TV ratings and soon rescheduled the timeslot half an hour earlier from 7.30 -8.30 pm every Friday, guaranteeing more of a family audience.
Despite his busy schedule, soon after singing "A Drover's Life" on Rawhide and later "Beyond the Sun", Eastwood would have a strong desire to pursue his major passion, music. Although jazz was his main interest, he was also a country and western enthusiast.[71] He went into the studio and by late 1959 had produced the album Cowboy Favorites which was released on the Cameo label.[71] The album included some classics such as Bob Wills's San Antonio Rose and Cole Porter's Don't Fence Me In and despite his attempts to plug the album by going on a tour, it never reached the Billboard Hot 100.[71] Later in 1963, Cameo producer Kal Mann would bluntly tell him that "he would never make it big as a singer".[72] Nevertheless, during the off season of filming Rawhide, Eastwood and Brinegar, sometimes joined by Sheb Wooley would go on touring rodeos, state fairs and festivals and in 1962 their act entitled Amusement Business Cavalcade of Fairs earned them as much as $15,000 a performance.[72] Brinegar also accompanied Eastwood on his first trip outside the country in early 1962 to Japan to increase their publicity, leaving his wife at home.
By the third season of Rawhide, the Hollywood press began to speculate on Eastwood tiring of the series and that he was anxious to move on. A July 1961 article by Hank Grant in
Notes
- Alameda Naval Air Station near Oakland. Zmijewsky says it was Mather Air Force Base at Sacramento. The Navy's accident report says it was San Diego, with a stop at McClellan Air Force Basein Sacramento.
- ^ Accounts of the crash location also differ slightly. Schickel says "they could see the cliffs at Point Reyes, three or four miles away". Zmijewsky says it was north of Drake's Bay and two miles offshore. The Navy's accident report indicates that it was west of Kehoe Beach.
References
- ^ Margret R Runner birth registration
- ^ Schickel 1996, p. 21.
- ^ guardian.co.uk Gentle man Clint, November 2, 2008.
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 22
- ISBN 0-8166-1958-1.
- ^ adherents.com The Religious Affiliation of actor/director Clint Eastwood.
- ^ Zmijewsky, p. 13
- ^ CBS Evening News interview, February 6, 2005.
- ^ a b c d McGilligan (1999), p. 34
- ISBN 978-0-688-15462-2.
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 35
- ^ a b c McGilligan (1999), p. 37
- ^ a b McGilligan (1999), p. 40
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p.41
- ISBN 0-8230-7744-6.
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p.43
- ^ Eliot, p. 23
- ^ McGilligan, p. 49
- ^ McGilligan (1999), pp. 48–49
- ^ McGilligan (1999), pp. 49
- ^ a b c Schickel 1996, pp. 51–55.
- ^ "Accident Report: AD-1Q BU#409283 Eastwood". U.S. Navy. 1951.
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 50
- ^ Zmijewsky (1982), p. 16
- ^ Prado, Mark (April 19, 2018). "Clint Eastwood's downed plane off Point Reyes subject of search". marinij.com. Marin Independent Journal. Retrieved April 21, 2018. (includes text reprint of its original October 1, 1951 newspaper report on the incident)
- ^ Holm, Walt. "The Hunt for Clint Eastwood's AD-1 Skyraider". openexplorer.nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
- ^ Schickel 1996, p. 50.
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p.54
- ^ a b McGilligan (1999), p. 55
- ^ a b Zmijewsky (1982), p. 17
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 54
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 56
- ^ "Clint Eastwood Is Extremely Close With His Kids! Meet the ‘Gran Torino’ Star’s 8 Children". Closer. May 2, 2022.
- ^ Clint Eastwood's 8 Children: Everything to Know
- ^ Zmijewsky (1982), p. 19
- ^ a b c d McGilligan (1999), p. 52
- ^ a b c McGilligan (1999), p. 60
- ^ a b McGilligan (1999), p.84
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p.61
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 62
- ^ a b c d McGilligan (1999), p. 63
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 64
- ISBN 978-1-4396-4072-2.
- ^ a b McGilligan (1999), pp. 65–66
- ^ a b McGilligan (1999), p. 72
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p.77
- ^ a b c McGilligan (1999), p. 73
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 78
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 79
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 80
- ^ a b McGilligan (1999), p. 81
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p.86
- ^ McGilligan (1999), pp. 82–3
- ^ a b c d e McGilligan (1999), p. 85
- ^ a b c McGilligan (1999), p. 87
- ^ a b c McGilligan (1999), p. 90
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 91
- ^ a b c McGilligan (1999), p. 93
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 94
- ^ a b McGilligan (1999), p. 95
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 100
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 101
- ^ Reader's Digest Australia: RD Face to Face: Clint Eastwood Archived July 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p.102
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p.104
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p.105
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p.108
- ^ a b c d e McGilligan (1999), p. 110
- ^ a b c McGilligan (1999), p. 111
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 113
- ^ a b c McGilligan (1999), p. 114
- ^ a b McGilligan (1999), p. 115
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 124
- ^ McGilligan (1999), p. 125
Bibliography
- McGilligan, Patrick (2002). Clint: The Life and Legend. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-29032-0.
- Schickel, Richard (1996). Clint Eastwood: A Biography. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-679-42974-6.
- Zmijewsky, Boris; Lee Pfeiffer (1982). The Films of Clint Eastwood. Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-0863-9.