Clint Eastwood Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Here’s a look at the life of Clint Eastwood, a filmmaker, actor, producer, director and composer.

Personal

Birth date: May 31, 1930

Birth place: San Francisco, California

Birth name: Clinton Eastwood Jr.

Father: Clinton Eastwood Sr., corporate executive

Mother: Margaret Ruth (Runner) Wood, homemaker

Marriages: Dina Ruiz (1996-2014, divorced); Margaret “Maggie” Johnson (1953-1984, divorced)

Children: with Dina Ruiz: Morgan; with Frances Fisher: Francesca; with Jacelyn Reeves: Kathryn and Scott; with Maggie Johnson: Alison and Kyle; with Roxanne Tunis: Kimber

Education: Attended Los Angeles City College

Military service: US Army 1951-1953

Other Facts

Produced, directed, starred in and composed music for six films: “Heartbreak Ridge,” “Unforgiven,” “The Bridges of Madison County,” “Space Cowboys,” “Million Dollar Baby,” and “Gran Torino.”

Eastwood has 11 Academy Awards nominations with four wins. He is also the recipient of the Irving G. Thalberg Award presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Has received one Emmy nomination and one Grammy nomination.

Timeline

1955 – His first film role, “Revenge of the Creature.” Other bit parts that same year include roles in “Lady Godiva” and “Francis in the Navy.”

1959-1965 – Stars in TV western “Rawhide” as Rowdy Yates.

September 12, 1964 – The Italian release of “A Fistful of Dollars,” the first of three “spaghetti westerns” Eastwood would star in for director Sergio Leone. The film is released in the United States in January 1967.

1967 – Starts Malpaso Productions, a film production company.

November 12, 1971 – Directorial debut “Play Misty for Me,” in which Eastwood also stars, opens.

December 23, 1971 – “Dirty Harry,” the first of five films as Inspector Harry Callahan of the San Francisco Police Department, is released.

December 9, 1983 – “Sudden Impact,” the fourth Dirty Harry film, is released. It includes the now famous line, “Go ahead. Make my day.”

1986-1988 – Mayor of Carmel, California.

March 29, 1993 – Winner of the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture for “Unforgiven.”

March 27, 1995 – Receives the Irving G. Thalberg Award.

May 1995 – Founds Malpaso Records, a jazz label.

2000 – Is a Kennedy Center Honors recipient.

2002-2008 – Serves on the California State Park and Recreation Commission.

February 27, 2005 – “Million Dollar Baby” wins Eastwood the Best Director and Best Picture Academy Award.

2006 – Produces and directs two World War II films about the Battle of Iwo Jima told from the perspective of both the Japanese and American soldiers. “Letters from Iwo Jima” is the Japanese story of fighting to the death, and “Flags of Our Fathers” tells the story of the six men that raise the American flag on Mount Suribachi.

February 17, 2007 – Is named a knight in France’s Legion of Honor and is inducted into the Legion by French President Jacques Chirac.

November 3, 2009 – Is named a commander of the French Legion of Honor.

August 28, 2012 – As a surprise guest at the Republican National Convention, Eastwood ad-libs a speech in the form of a conversation by speaking to an empty chair that is “standing in” for President Barack Obama.

December 9, 2019 – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution criticizes Eastwood’s film, “Richard Jewell,” saying that the movie’s producers took dramatic license and portrayed AJC journalist Kathy Scruggs, who died in 2001, as having traded sex for information from a FBI source, and having done so due to being exploited by the newspaper — accusations the paper denies. The film is based off a Vanity Fair story on Jewell, a security guard who was falsely accused of the pipe-bombing at Centennial Park during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

February 21, 2020 – In an interview published in The Wall Street Journal, Eastwood backs Democratic candidate Michael Bloomberg for president.

October 1, 2021 – Eastwood is awarded $6.1 million in a lawsuit filed against Mediatonas UAB, a company from Lithuania advertising cannabidiol (CBD) products by using Eastwood’s unauthorized name, image and likeness.

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