Part I : Clint Eastwood Lesser Known Facts through the Decades

1930s

Clint Eastwood was born on May 31, 1930 in San Francisco and was named after his father Clinton. At 11 pounds 6 ounces, the hospital nurses nicknamed him Samson. Plenty of bounce in his beginnings, the depression had the family continually moving in search of work and Eastwood attended eight different grammar schools. They eventually settled in Oakland.

1940s

As a teenager, Clint went to Oakland Technical High School after getting expelled from Piedmont High. The change over resulted in his first taste of acting, and apparently the future icon didn’t like the discipline very much. The young man did like playing jazz piano however, and intended to make a life as a musician. It’s not clear whether he graduated but Clint planned to attend Seattle University.

1950s

Eastwood chose to enter the workforce instead. He was a firemen, a caddy and worked in a grocery store, among other things. But the Korean War interrupted Clint’s 9-5 and actually put him pool side. The soldier served as swim instructor at Fort Ord in Northern California.

Eastwood did have a war time brush with death, though. Aboard a bomber, the plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the shark invested waters off Point Reyes, California. He survived the impact and was able to swim several miles to shore.

Unscathed, Eastwood went onto marry swimsuit model Maggie Johnson. They met on blind date and tied the knot six months later. The duo separated in 1975 and divorced in 1984.

After discharge, Eastwood attended Los Angeles City College and developed a fascination for actors. He landed a screen-test with Universal and inked a contract. Revenge of the Creature and Francis in the Navy were among his first bit parts.

Of course, Clint’s big break came in 1958. He secured the role of Rowdy Yates in Rawhide and took home an astounding $750 a week.

1960s

Rawhide put Clint to work six days a week for 12 hour shifts. A grueling grind, he was never really crazy about the role. “In Rawhide, I did get awfully tired of playing the conventional white hat. The hero who kisses old ladies and dogs and was kind to everyone."

His 1962 appearance in Mr. Ed must have been especially dismaying. However, the series did give Eastwood a nudge toward his future. The Oscar winner directed several trailers, but the producers balked on his many requests to direct an entire episode.

Inevitably, the ratings declined, and the show was cancelled in the middle of the 1965-66 season. Eastwood still received the balance of his weekly $119,000 salary, and the best was yet to come.

Sergio Leone was launching his Man with no Name trilogy, and we all know the story. Although, the director was hoping for the likes of a Henry Fonda or Charles Bronson but the low budget affair could not afford an A-lister, according to John Farr.

Leone then turned to Eastwood’s co-star in Rawhide. As fate would have it, Eric Fleming turned down the roll and died soon after. So after a recommendation from Richard Harrison, Eastwood stepped in, and the $15,000 lump sum sufficed.

Clint was finally getting to play the type of role he craved. “I wanted to play it with an economy of words and create this whole feeling through attitude and movement. It was just the kind of character I had envisioned for a long time, keep to the mystery, and allude to what happened in the past. It came about after the frustration of doing Rawhide for so long. I felt the less he said, the stronger he became, and the more he grew in the imagination of the audience.”

Still, Eastwood wrapped up the shoot without much expectation. He went back home, and afterwards, a Variety article about about a film called Per un Pugno di Dollari caught his attention. The film getting acclaim in Rome and Naples, Clint didn’t make the association.

For a Fistful of Dollars in English, and Sergio Leone anglicizing his name to Bob Robertson on the credits didn’t help. More press followed but Eastwood didn’t make the connection until Leone called to make the sequel, according to Damon Wise of the Independent.

On the other hand, American critics weren’t on board at first. The financial returns said otherwise, and the third film actually grossed the most at $8 Million.

In turn, the Italian director pined for a fourth collaboration but Eastwood declined Once Upon a Time in the West. A bitter Leone later retorted that Eastwood had two expressions anyway: "With or without a that.”

They did later reconcile but the windfall allowed Eastwood to branch out to producing and directing. Malpaso Productions’ first feature was Hang ‘em High and earned the actor/director $400,000 and 25% of the gross.

Coogan’s Bluff came next, and Eastwood closed the 60’s with his one and only musical. Paint Your Wagon failing at the box office, it did gain a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Part II is on the way

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