Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood is a big screen western star who got his start on the small screen. His early years in Hollywood were a struggle limited to a succession of bit parts. All that changed in 1958 when he signed on to play Rowdy Yates in the CBS western series Rawhide. By 1963 he’d tired of the traditional ‘white hat’ western character and jumped at the chance to play the enigmatic anti-hero Man with No Name in Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Western film, A Fistful of Dollars. The film was followed by For A Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach. The Dollars trilogy, as it would be known, made Eastwood a star.
Western film credits include Hang ‘Em High (’68), Two Mules for Sister Sara (‘70), Joe Kidd (‘72), High Plains Drifter (‘73), The Outlaw Josey Wales (’76) and Bronco Billy (’80) in which Eastwood plays a character most closely identified to himself. Pale Rider (’85) was based on the western classic Shane, the title referencing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Eastwood saved the script for Unforgiven (’92) until he was old enough to play the lead part in his last Western.
Unforgiven is considered the fourth best Western film of all time behind Shane, High Noon and John Ford’s classic The Searchers. Distinguished company indeed. NYT film critic Vincent Canby summed up Eastwood’s performance for which he won Best Actor, “Tall . . . Lean . . . mysteriously possessed . . . the presence of some fierce force of nature, which may be why the landscapes of the mythic, late 19th century West become him . . . “
With 40 Academy Award nominations and 13 wins, 32 Golden Globe nominations and 8 wins Clint Eastwood’s acting and directing career reads like a Hollywood highlight reel for the last sixty years. Play Misty for Me (’71), Heartbreak Ridge (’86), The Bridges of Madison County (’95), Million Dollar Baby (’04), Flags of Our Fathers (’06), Letters from Iwo Jima (’06), Gran Torino (’08), Invictus (’09), J. Edger (’11), American Sniper (’14) and Sully (’16).
Clint Eastwood’s personal life was every bit as prolific as his professional performance. Call it a ‘zest’ for life, or as Dirty Harry once said, “Go ahead. Make my day.” ‘Nuf said.
Next Week: Lee Van Cleef
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Ride easy,
Paul
Western film credits include Hang ‘Em High (’68), Two Mules for Sister Sara (‘70), Joe Kidd (‘72), High Plains Drifter (‘73), The Outlaw Josey Wales (’76) and Bronco Billy (’80) in which Eastwood plays a character most closely identified to himself. Pale Rider (’85) was based on the western classic Shane, the title referencing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Eastwood saved the script for Unforgiven (’92) until he was old enough to play the lead part in his last Western.
Unforgiven is considered the fourth best Western film of all time behind Shane, High Noon and John Ford’s classic The Searchers. Distinguished company indeed. NYT film critic Vincent Canby summed up Eastwood’s performance for which he won Best Actor, “Tall . . . Lean . . . mysteriously possessed . . . the presence of some fierce force of nature, which may be why the landscapes of the mythic, late 19th century West become him . . . “
With 40 Academy Award nominations and 13 wins, 32 Golden Globe nominations and 8 wins Clint Eastwood’s acting and directing career reads like a Hollywood highlight reel for the last sixty years. Play Misty for Me (’71), Heartbreak Ridge (’86), The Bridges of Madison County (’95), Million Dollar Baby (’04), Flags of Our Fathers (’06), Letters from Iwo Jima (’06), Gran Torino (’08), Invictus (’09), J. Edger (’11), American Sniper (’14) and Sully (’16).
Clint Eastwood’s personal life was every bit as prolific as his professional performance. Call it a ‘zest’ for life, or as Dirty Harry once said, “Go ahead. Make my day.” ‘Nuf said.
Next Week: Lee Van Cleef
Return to Facebook to comment
Ride easy,
Paul
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