Clint Eastwood (Born Clinton Eastwood, Jr. 31.05.30)
Clint Eastwood is an American actor, director and producer, best known for his work in the 'Dollars' and 'Dirty Harry' series'.
Net Worth: According to Celebrity Net Worth in 2014, Clint Eastwood has a net worth of 375 million USD.
Childhood: Clint Eastwood was born in San Francisco, California, to Margret Ruth and Clinton Eastwood, Sr. The family moved to Piedmont, California, and Eastwood attended Piedmont Junior High School. He intended to attend Piedmont High School, but he cycled across the school field and tore up some of the wet turf. He was subsequently asked not to enrol at the school. He attended Oakland Technical High School instead, where he was encouraged by the school's drama teachers to take part in the school plays, although he refused. Eastwood enrolled at Seattle University in 1951, but was unable to attend as he was drafted by the United States Army and sent to Fort Ord in California. He managed to keep out of the Korean War and spend his time working at the fort as a lifeguard. While returning home one weekend, the Douglas AD bomber he was traveling on ran out of fuel and crashed in the sea, causing him and the pilot to have to swim 3 miles to safety.
Career: While working at Ford Ord, Universal Studios used the location for filming. A member of the production team spotted Eastwood, and had him meet the series' director. He was soon hired by Universal and put on a weekly wage. He made his acting debut in 1955, by appearing in 'Revenge of the Creature'. In 1958, after appearing in several other films, Eastwood landed his break-out role in the CBS television series 'Rawhide'. The series first aired in January 1959, and went on for eight seasons. This was apparently the most gruelling part of Eastwood's career, as he had to work six days a week for twelve hours a day. 'Rawhide' lead actor, Eric Fleming turned down the role for an Italian-made Western movie named 'A Fistful of Dollars'. This proved as the greatest news for Eastwood, as he was offered the role instead. The movie was directed by Sergio Leone and filmed in a remote part of Spain. The film was a complete departure from the nobility of 'Rawhide', and ushered in the age of the 'Spaghetti Western'. 'A Fistful of Dollars' was released in 1964, and was followed up immediately by 'For a Few Dollars More' in 1965, and 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' in 1966. The trilogy was then released in the US over the course of 1967. While US critics panned the films, they cemented Eastwood's movie star status through their popularity. Eastwood went on to create his own production company, Malpaso Productions, using his profits from 'The Dollars Trilogy', to help fund his next movie, 'Hang 'Em High'. This film received high praise from critics and drew in a large amount of money for Eastwood, although his salary was doubled when he returned to Universal for 'Coogan's Buff'. In 1971, Eastwood made his directorial debut with 'Play Misty for Me', which gained critical praise. In the same year, he appeared in 'Dirty Harry', the first in what would by a five-film-series. The character of Dirty Harry has been cited as possibly Eastwood's most recognisable character. It also, like the 'Dollars' trilogy, gave rise to the new, reimagined anti-hero police genre. Following this appearance, Eastwood was offered the role of James Bond after Sean Connery left the franchise, however he turned down the role, stating that it should go to a British actor instead. 1973 saw the first western film to be directed by Eastwood. 'High Plains Drifter' received moderate reviews, and Eastwood went on to appear in ''Breezy' in the same year, as well as a sequel to 'Dirty Harry', in the form of 'Magnum Force'. Throughout the 1980s, Eastwood starred in a number of movies including various 'Dirty Harry' sequels, concluding with 1988's 'The Dead Pool' which served as the final film in the series. No Eastwood films were shown in 1991 due to an ongoing legal dispute suggesting the star intentionally crashed into a woman's car. In 1992, Eastwood directed and starred in his final Western movie, 'Unforgiven'. The film was nominated for nine academy awards, winning four; one of them being Best Director for Eastwood. This served as the first time Eastwood had been nominated for an Academy Award. After a self-imposed four year acting hiatus, Eastwood returned to the screen to appear in 'Gran Tornino' in 2008, which would itself be followed by a further four years without acting. 2011 saw the release of Eastwood's biopic about FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, entitled 'J. Edgar'. In 2014, Eastwood directed both 'Jersey Boys' and 'American Sniper'.
Personal Life: Eastwood has been married twice, first to Maggie Johnson between 1953 and 1984, and then to Dina Eastwood in 1996. He also has seven children born between 1964 and 1996.
Biography by Contactmusic.com
Doris Day and Rod Taylor in The Birds (1963).
