Random Unbelievably Macho Stories About Clint Eastwood (14 items)

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  (#2) He Did His Own Stunts In The Climbing Film 'The Eiger Sanction'

  According to Eastwood's long-time stunt double Buddy Van Horn, Eastwood was always eager to complete his own stunts. "He's a pretty physical guy and likes to do his own stunts," Van Horn said. "Some of the things he does were pretty easy to get banged up. I've tried to talk him out of it sometimes but not very successfully most of the time." One film in which Eastwood did many of his own stunts was The Eiger Sanction, a film which required several intense mountain climbing sequences. While training turned out to be extremely difficult for Eastwood, he forced himself to be successful. "Then he reacted characteristically - he got pissed off," remembered climbing advisor Mike Hoover. "He pulled in his chin and gritted his teeth and with absolutely no technique at all, just blood and guts, he moosed his way up."

  After one crew member who was an experienced climber perished after being struck by a falling rock, Eastwood considered shutting down production. Others working on the film, including several climbers, urged him to continue so the fallen climber's passing and the work he had completed would not be meaningless. Continuing on, however, required Eastwood to complete one of the most dangerous stunts in the film; dangling over an abyss, cutting his line, and falling. In order to make it look like his character cut his line and fell to his doom, Eastwood had to cut the rope he dangled from while trusting his safety line would keep him safe. Of course, the actor would only fall a few feet and movie magic would fill in the rest, but for Eastwood, the stunt was psychologically difficult. "I could see this pasture way down below, and I could hear the cowbells ringing," he remembered. "And I thought, 'Why am I not sitting out there with those cows sunbathing?'"
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  (#12) He Successfully Ran For Mayor Of Carmel-By-The-Sea in 1986

  In 1985, Eastwood got into a dispute with the city council of Carmel, CA, about an office building he wanted to erect on property in town. Eastwood sued and won a settlement that entitled him to build within the city limits, but only if he used less glass than wood. Despite winning, the conservative and traditional mindset of the council and many of Carmel's citizens angered Eastwood. The town was so modest, it didn't have street signs or allow the sale of ice cream cones. In 1986, Eastwood decided to run for mayor so he could change things about the town to make it more modern and open to new ideas, developments, and businesses. He won by a landslide and as first act in office, he allowed residents to sell and buy ice cream cones once again. 

  Eastwood's win brought more tourists to town, angering some of Carmel's residents who now had to fight for parking spaces and deal with traffic jams. He did not give his more famous role as an actor more attention than his duties as mayor, however, and worked to improve Carmel during his term. He created more stairways to create more beach access, built up the collection of the local library, and built more toilets for public use. When his term ended, Eastwood decided not to seek reelection, instead wanting to focus on his family. After stepping down, he continued to manage the Mission Ranch, a historic establishment he saved from being torn down by developers and restored with his own money.
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  (#10) He Became A Director And Composer Because He Thought He Could Do A Better Job

  Eastwood's love of music led him to sign on to star in 1969's Paint Your Wagon, a western musical co-starring Lee Marvin. Although he had no problem with singing, multiple production problems led him to become disgruntled with the filmmaking process on the movie. "They started out with a real dramatic story and then made it [fluffy]," he said. "When they changed it around, I tried to bail out. It wasn't my favorite. I wasn't particularly nervous about singing on film. My dad was a singer, and we'd have sing-arounds."

  Delayed production, problems with the demands of the original playwright, Marvin's drinking habits, and budget issues all frustrated Eastwood. In later interviews, he claimed the film showed him "how not to make a movie," and he vowed if he ever directed a film, he'd do a better job. Years later, he had his chance. Believing he could do things better helped Eastwood step not only into the role of director but also as a composer. "I had a lot of composers come in and work for me and they always wanted to dramatize certain things and take it over the top sometimes and I didn't want it over the top," he said. "So I did a couple myself to see if I could get it the way I wanted it better without having to explain it to someone else at great detail."
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  (#5) He's Spent Hundreds Of Hours Flying His Own Helicopter Around

  While working on Paint Your Wagon in Oregon in 1969, Eastwood traveled to the set each day in a helicopter. Spending so much time in the aircraft led Eastwood to develop an interest in flying, and he managed to convince the pilot to let him take the controls. Despite his interest, other projects and opportunities kept Eastwood from working toward earning a pilot license, something he eventually came to regret. In the 1990s, Eastwood met helicopter pilot and movie aerial coordinator Craig Hosking who taught him to fly during breaks in their separate filming schedules. Once Hosking felt Eastwood had logged enough hours, he allowed him to fly solo, and Eastwood earned his pilot license. He purchased a Aerospatiale AStar helicopter for himself at an air show in Paris and has since flown several hundred hours. "...I've seen Clint choose to take the helicopter somewhere - even on long trips - when he could have taken a corporate jet," Hosking remembered.

  Eastwood claims to love the freedom the helicopter brings him. "You can go and stop places where you normally wouldn't go," he said. "I can land on a friend's property and have lunch, or stop in little meadows and take a walk or run on the way to somewhere." He also said he enjoyed the anonymity of flying solo with no one on the ground being able to identify the celebrity flying over their heads. Despite the macho persona Eastwood built up over his career and the fact he's able to fly his own personal helicopter with ease, the delicate details of the world he witnesses from the pilot seat bring him joy. "...There's nothing prettier than flying low over the spring wildflowers when they're in bloom," he said.
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  (#9) He Directs Movies Without Rehearsals And Ignores The Studio's Suggestions

  When Eastwood is making a movie, it's his movie and no one is allowed to interfere. He doesn't create shot lists when making his films, nor storyboards, nor hold rehearsals. He refuses to say "Cut" at the end of a shot or "Action" in an attempt to get the most out of his actors. "When you say 'Action' even the horses get nervous," Eastwood said. Morgan Freeman claimed Eastwood would "shoot a foot of film until the script is done" and then refuse make any changes once the film is complete, no matter what notes the studio might give him.

  According to one story, a screenwriter attempted to give him suggestions after a test screening only to be completely shut down by Eastwood. "If they're so interested in the opinion of a grocery-store clerk in Reseda, let them hire him to make the movie," Eastwood reportedly said.
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  (#1) He Survived A Plane Crash In The Pacific Ocean

  Having been drafted into the Army during the Korean War, Eastwood took advantage of the fact he could get free military airplane rides. "In those days, you could wear your uniform and get a free flight," he said. Traveling from Seattle to Monterey in 1951, 21-year-old Eastwood found himself the only passenger in Douglas AD bomber. Unfortunately, the trip did not go smoothly. "Everything went wrong," he remembered. "Radios went out, oxygen ran out and they finally... The pilot flew it around for quite a while, and we ran out of fuel up around Point Reyes, California. And went in the ocean." Although everyone escaped the water landing alive, they had to swim more than a mile to the shore.

  To make matters worse, the water was frigid since the incident happened in late fall, and there were potentially dangerous creatures in the water. "Found out many years later that it was a white shark breeding ground, but I'm glad I didn't know that at the time or I'd have just died, just had apoplexy or something," Eastwood said. Throughout the experience, Eastwood knew perishing was a possibility, but he decided to focus on the positives he could identify. "I just thought in the back of my mind... Well some people have made [it] through these things so maybe we'll have a luck and when we hit the water," he recalled. "And the water felt much more comfortable because in the air the sound of the engine not running was very disconcerting."

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