The new book Clint: The Man and the Movies—A Comprehensive Biography of Hollywood’s Most Iconic Actor-Director is a wonderful and absorbing account of the life of a Hollywood legend. Clint Eastwood, 95, may be one of the most well-known men in America, but Clint author, Shawn Levy, writes with such insight and nuance that it’s like getting to know the star of Dirty Harry and Unforgiven all over again.
Eastwood was born in 1930 in San Francisco. A troublemaker as a child who was held back in school, he was noticed by a talent scout in 1954 and landed a role on the TV series Rawhide. In 1963, Eastwood was cast in an Italian-made western called A Fistful of Dollars (1964), filmed in Spain by director Sergio Leone. The film was a hit and led to other westerns — For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Hang ‘Em High. Eastwood went on to become an iconic face and figure in the Dirty Harry movies, and won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture for 1992’s Unforgiven.
