Unlike his character The Man with No Name, Clint Eastwood is a legendary star with a name that’s celebrated around the world.
Emblematic of masculinity in his films, Eastwood’s charm and ruggedly handsome features captured the hearts of millions of fans. And though the star is aging, he is a beloved actor with a devoted tribe who love him.
After concerns that Eastwood set off into the blazing sunset, he recently re-appeared again while directing his upcoming movie, Juror #2, a thriller that some say is his swan song.
When his last film, Cry Macho, bombed at the box office, Clint Eastwood–who turned 93 on May 31–is hoping for one final box office hit, should this be his last, before aging hindres his ability to perform completely
Oftentimes seen on screen with a broad-brimmed hat resting on his head, the legendary Eastwood was launched into stardom with his stellar performances in Westerns.
Earning five Academy Awards and Golden Globes as both a director and actor, Eastwood had his big break in 1959 with the western drama series, Rawhide as cattle driver Rowdy Yates. Eastwood played Rowdy for seven seasons in the show that ended in 1965.
In the mid 1960’s, Eastwood became an international superstar with his performance as The Man with no Name, the poncho-wearing cowboy in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy of Spaghetti Westerns (westerns filmed in Europe).
The three films were Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), introducing Eastwood as the tough guy gunning down the bad boys.
Immediately after, Eastwood played the lead role as the “antihero” in the five Dirty Harry films, which emphasized his character typical of traditional masculinity at the time.
In 1971, the same year the first Dirty Harry was released, also made his directorial debut with Play Misty for Me.
“I like being in films, I like making films and I started directing films because I thought, one day I’m going to look up on screen and say, ‘That’s enough Eastwood, you’d better do something else.’ So I thought, If I direct, I can let other people be on screen,” said the Letters from Iwo Jima director.
His diverse creative talents involved him in westerns, action, comedy and dramas like the neo-noir crime drama Mystic River (2003), the romantic drama Bridges of Madison County (1995) the multiple award-winning sports drama Million Dollar Baby, and the 1978 comedies Every Which Way but Loose, the first of two where he co-starred with Clyde, a saucy orangutang. He also directed and produced 2014’s Jersey Boys, which is based on the Tony Award-winning stage musical. Other notable films he’s credited for are Oscar-nominated pictures like Invictus, American Sniper and Sully.
When speaking with the LA Times, Eastwood explained that, at first, “The whole point of directing was something you can do as an older guy.” He was 41 when he directed his first movie. But now, “I just like it. I have nothing against other directors, but I might have a whole different take on things, and I don’t want to be thinking, ‘Why did I give it to him?’”
Eastwood’s personal life–includes two marriages, many partnerships, and a brood of babies from various women–has seen as much action as his professional world.
The actor had two children, Kyle (born 1968) and Alison (born 1972), with his first wife, Maggie Johnson (1953 to 1984).
While married to Johnson, the Pale Rider had an affair with the flight attendant Jaclyn Reeves and sired two more children, Scott Reeves (born 1986) and Kathryn, (born 1988).
In 1984, produced from an affair with actress Roxanne Tunis, Kimber Eastwood was born.
The lady’s man was involved in another relationship Sandra Locke, whom he shared the screen with in six films, including the western Outlaw Josey Wales in 1976 and Any Which Way You Can (1980).
Eastwood and Locke were together from 1975 to 1989 and when that ended, he was with Francis Fisher, whom he appeared with in Pink Cadillac, where he played a bad boy bounty hunter.
In 1992, Fisher had her breakout role in Unforgiven, a film Eastwood starred and directed. The critically acclaimed film, considered the greatest Western in cinema history, won four Academy Awards, Eastwood taking home his second for Best Director after his win in 1988 for Bird.
While Eastwood was with Fisher, he had daughter Francesca, who was born in 1993.
In 1996 the cowboy casanova married news anchor Dina Ruiz, who gave birth to Morgan in 1996. The two of them divorced in 2014.
Though the exact number of children Eastwood sired is unknown, of the ones the public is aware: Kyle is a bassist for the Kyle Eastwood Quartet, Kimber is a makeup artist, and Scott, Alison, Kathryn, Francesca and Morgan are actors.
Eastwood is also the doting grandfather of five.
Skipping out on family and public events, an online news source revealed that Eastwood hadn’t been seen in more than one year.
The last film he appeared was the Neo-Western drama Cry Macho, which recouped only $16 million of the $33 million spent to produce the film.
Though the film flopped, it gave him the opportunity to ride a horse for the first time in 30 years–since Unforgiven–and to throw some punches. “It might not be as good as I’ve thrown in the past but it was fun to do it,” he said about his punches. Referring to the horse riding, Eastwood, who’s settled down at his Carmel ranch, added, “The wrangler was worried. She was saying, ‘Be careful, be careful now.’ She was scared I’d end up on my rear end. But if you treat the horse like a buddy, he’ll take care of you.”
As for projects after Cry Macho, Eastwood said, “I don’t have anything percolating at the moment,” but he adds “I didn’t have anything percolating before this one. If something comes along where the story itself, the telling of it, is fun, I’m open to it.”
And along came the legal thriller Juror #2, which stars Nicholas Hoult, Kiefer Sutherland and Toni Collette.
Fans were thrilled when in late June, he was spotted in Savannah, Georgia, filming scenes for his upcoming movie.
And though he looked frail, fans immediately jumped in with their comments, praising the man for his talents and for his strength as a 93-year-old.
One writes, “What a legend he is. Although it is so hard to see him this frail, I take comfort in knowing that he’s had the privilege to live much longer than so many people get to. I’m sure it’s his last hoorah and that he’s getting to enjoy doing what he loves til the very end.” While others shared, “The legend himself! Love me some Clint!” and, “93 years old and still amazing as ever. A true legend for sure!”
But filming of Juror #2 was suspended July 14 when the American actors’ union SAG–AFTRA went on strike over ongoing labor disputes. The 2023 SAG–AFTRA and WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) have led to the biggest interruption in the American TV and film industries since COVID-19 stopped production in 2020.
Still, it’s nice to catch a glimpse of Eastwood, doing what he does best.
“I love what I do,” he said in 2018. “I’ll probably keep on going. I feel good, but it depends on material. I probably wouldn’t do something just because it was marginal–I have to kind of think it has some validity and has some relationship to today. With a lot of other people, was it that their health went bad or did they just get bored with it? I often wonder, because I haven’t gotten bored with it.”
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Clint Eastwood is so legendary and one of the few left from that era whose contributions to Hollywood made it what it is today. It’s really hard to imagine a world without Clint Eastwood and we really hope he keeps going!
