Eastwood, Clint 1930-
US actor and director

Born in San Francisco, he was athletic and worked as a lumberjack and lifeguard before being signed to a standard Universal contract, making his film debut in Revenge of the Creature (1955). He found television fame in Rawhide (1958-65) and then became an international star with three Italian-made 'spaghetti' westerns as the laconic gunslinger, The Man with No Name, beginning with Per un Pugno Di Dollari (1964, A Fistful of Dollars). In the USA his box-office status was confirmed in adventure films and as tough detective Dirty Harry (1971). He was actor-director for the first time in the thriller Play Misty for Me (1971). Later films include Bronco Billy (1980), Pale Rider (1985), Heartbreak Ridge (1986), Bird (1988), Unforgiven (1992), for which he won a Best Director Academy Award, In the Line of Fire (1993) and The Bridges of Madison County (1995). From 1986 to 1988 he was Mayor of Carmel, where he now lives.