American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood

There was a book published by Ominbus Press in 1977 called Clint Eastwood: All American Anti-HeroClint Eastwood, All-American Anti-Hero: A Critical Appraisal of the World's Top Box Office Star and His Films. This fan book traces Eastwood's career up to the Gauntlet in 1977. Although Marc Eliot's book American Rebel takes Eastwood up to present date, we as fans and readers, don't really glean any more insight into Clint Eastwood `the man.'
In fact, Clint Eastwood: All American Anti-Hero offers more social commentary on his work and the cultural impact of his films.
Marc Eliot paints a philandering, narcissistic portrait that Evelyn Draper (Jessica Walter's Borderline character in Play Misty For MePlay Misty for Me) would love to carve up. Do I personally want to know all the sordid, acrimonious details of Clint's split with Sandra Locke? No... leave that grist for TMZ gossip mill. Many times throughout the book Eliot glosses over an Eastwood film and then returns back to Clint's philandering, and after all the tumultuous affairs, the book ends with a "and they all lived happily ever after ending." If this were a screenplay, there would be many major plot holes. It's like the opening scene in High Plains DrifterHigh Plains Drifterwhere Eastwood dissolves into the scene on horseback, only American Rebel never fully pulls focus and leaves so much of Eastwood's life a blur.
Is Clint Eastwood an American Rebel? Sure, he lives his life on his own terms and his life personifies the all American dream, the Horatio Alger, rags to riches story... He has worked hard and once said that his father told him that "you don't get anything for nothing," and although Clint said he rebelled, he never rebelled against that.
He has an amazing story to tell... I only hope Clint Eastwood tells it in his own words one day...

As a fan of Clint Eastwood since `Rawhide' days, but still knowing very little about him, this book made for interesting reading. With that said, I cannot vouch for accuracy, but readability and style. The structure of the book is good and pleasingly laid out, making it easy and interesting to read. Each chapter starts with a black and white picture and Eastwood quote. Eliot deals with Clint's 3 personas: 1. The man with no name, 2. Dirty Harry, 3. The good natured red neck...all loners.
There is much written about Clint's myriad affairs and dalliances. There is some biographical information, and his time in the army is touched upon where he spent his hitch as a swimming instructor. There are some mentions of his love of jazz and piano playing.

Much of the book is written about his films and the surrounding events and happening with each of them. The book ends with his successful `Grand Torino' at age 78, after 50 years in the television and motion picture business.
Many pages have footnotes to further explain incidents or information about a person mentioned. The author uses many quotes from other articles and sources both of Eastwood's and his contemporaries.
The index is a bit difficult to deal with. For example you go to look up a movie title and they for the most part are not there, but you have to know to look under Eastwood, Clint (motion pictures) or else the name of the co star and the information will be listed there just not under a title itself.
Marc Eliot has written an interesting examination about one of the more private men in Hollywood .

Completely inaccurate book. And the author embellishes lies or just didn’t do his reasearch . In one chapter the author claims Clint Eastwood’s Blood Work was outgrossed by Simone a film starring Al Pacino. Blood work opened ahead of Simone and outgrossed it 3-1. Since it’s a false claim it means the Book is intended to view Clint with a negative bias .

Clint Eastwood has long been a favorite actor of mine, so when I heard about the new biography, I was anxious to read more about this amazing man. Boy did I learn a lot too! Despite the fact that Clint Eastwood was a womanizer, probably a lousy husband and a not very involved father, no one could say that the man did not have talent and that he worked hard to accomplish what he did in his 50 years on screen. Probably one of the most iconic stars in Hollywood, he starred in westerns, thrillers, drama, romance and comedies. Some other interesting facts for me were:

* He was married to just two women: Maggie Johnson (former swimsuit model) from 1953 - 1984) and his present wife Dina Ruiz (a former anchor woman and 35 years younger than him) from 1996 - present.
* He has (7) children from (5) different women: (2) from his first wife, (1) from his present wife, (2) from airline stewardess, Jacelyn Reeves, (2) with Frances Fisher, a British born American actress, and (1) by former exotic dancer Roxanne Tunis.
* He also had a (14 year) relationship with Sondra Locke who starred in several movies with him.
* Nominated for 5 Academy Awards and acted in more than 40 films.

Not wanting to give out too much information about Eastwood and his life, let me just say that, in my opinion, if you are an Eastwood fan and want to find out more details about him and his acting career, this book might be a good biography to start with. My understanding is that Clint Eastwood was not interviewed for this book, so the information contained within came from multiple sources and interviews. I cannot say whether the information is accurate or not since I knew very little about Eastwood prior to reading this book. I liked the book and would RECOMMEND it.

I grew up with Clint Eastwood movies and especially remember his spaghetti westerns as a teen. This is the first bio of Clint that I have read. (Many have already gone into detail about the book's contents so I won't repeat all that.) Surprisingly, this bio was a page turner. The author did a great job of sharing facts in a way that wasn't dry but instead a good satisfying read. The book was well balanced in covering Clint's career and personal life. Clint's personal life with numerous women was a reality and needed to be included. I didn't feel however that Eliot went overboard in this area. Clint is who he is. (Really, is he that much different from other Hollywood stars when it comes to relationships?!)

I found the stories behind each movie's making extremely interesting and have to admit that as I read through the book, I went and re-watched each movie that I could get my hands on. I was disappointed though that there was little coverage of Grand Torino which I feel was Clint's absolute best movie as Director and Actor. Yet I was pleased to read Eliot's comments on it not being nominated for any Oscars: "...to the surprise of many and shock of some, both Clint films [GT and Changeling] were all but ignored....there was nothing for Clint's direction of either film, or even more outrageous, for his performance in Grand Torino...neither of [the nominated films] held either the resonance or the grand career summation that Clint's Grand Torino did."

Clint was my untarnished idol going into this read, but by the end of the read my idol was tarnished. So no he's not perfect (what Hollywood icon is), but he is still one of film's greatest legends and he is still my American Rebel.

My biggest complaint about the book is the copious number of footnotes - some which could have easily been integrated into the book. Don't neglect to read the "Author's Note and Acknowledgements" at the end of the book for good insight into why the book was written. Actually, I'd recommend reading it first.

If you're a Clint fan, this book needs to be part of your Clint collection! Now if Clint would just write an autobiography and give us HIS insight into his movies.....

This is an enjoyable read about one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history.

Clint Eastwood is an icon as a result of his movie acting and director roles. This book details Eastwood's life from the young man through the glory years of his movie making to the latter years of being a director. It is definitely not a book lavishly praising Eastwood, the author makes no bones about Clint being a ladies man, being cold to people who have outlived their usefulness to him and for being tough on fellow actors.

The result is an even-handed biography of an interesting and complex man, well worth your time in reading it.

American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood by Marc Eliot is a quick and easy read about one of the true giants of the film industry. The book focuses more the films Mr. Eastwood has made more than his day-to-day life. Mr. Eliot provides glimpses into his life but they mostly are looks at his marital infidelities. For someone as private as Mr. Eastwood is, it would have been more interesting to dig into what make the man tick in addition to his movie roles, but overall, the book is a decent read.

The definitive overview of Clinton Eastwood Jr. The man we all know as "Clint". This excellent book follows his career from the beginning through Gran Torino in a fair and engaging way. Marc Eliot truly captures the truth of who Eastwood is. This book is a must for every film library.

The story of Eastwood's personal life is well done, but I would have appreciated more on Eastwood's creative life as an actor and auteur. Most of his groundbreaking 1960s-1970s films receive a few pages of surface details but almost no analysis (Eastwood's or the author's) of his work or the creative process behind it. Surely a whiole book could be written about Eastwood's participation in those early Sergio Leone films. Presumably Eastwood had some thoughts about the characters, the scripts, the cinematic style? How about Eastwood participation in the box-office dud, "Paint Your Wagon"? The film is mentioned almost in passing, but the book's list of Eastwood-related musical recordings omits any reference to Clint's three songs on the soundtrack to the film, and the film is not even included in the book's index. The book is worth reading but it's not the definitive biography I had hoped for.

I'm always interested in anything about Clint Eastwood, so I was very happy when this book came out. Unfortunately, it's a mixed bag. It has several factual errors and the author seems to have an agenda. Marc Eliot seems more interested in the sordid aspects of Clint's personal life, and quite often skims over his actual films to obsess (and obsess) about Clint's many girlfriends, especially the Sondra Locke story. Clint is not a perfect person by any stretch of the imagination, but this book often reads like a sleazy, tabloid story in which the author is more interested in the salacious rather than the substance of Eastwood's remarkable, diverse, and epic career (which is still going strong, and going stronger now more than ever).

The factual errors that I found were the following:

1. Unforgiven was not shot in less than a month, as stated by the author, but in 52 days.
2. Clint's character in The Eiger Sanction wasn't a member of the clergy, but an art professor/dealer.
3. Sergio Leone, at first, wasn't enthusiastic about Eastwood in the lead for A Fistful of Dollars. Leone wanted Charles Bronson and/or James Coburn, but Coburn was too expensive, and Bronson couldn't make heads or tails of the script, which was in badly translated English. While Leone liked Clint, he eventually had to warm up to him, but Leone did.

Eliot writes that Clint's career is on the decline in several spots in the book. Clint has had a few films bomb, but he's never been really that down and out like Eliot portrays him as. Everytime Clint was down, he got back up right away. It seems that Marc Eliot is reluctant to admit that Clint is really a great film artist, even though Eliot does mention that Clint outshines his contemporaries by miles.

Overall, this book is decent, but it hardly touches on Clint's actual filmmaking. While Clint's personal life should be touched upon, here it's an obsession of the author, and it negates the impact of the book.

When finishing this book, I went from loving Clint Eastwood, the movie star, to losing all respect and regard for Clint Eastwood, the man. The author did a great job bringing to light all sides of this highly successful, but highly complicated and narcissistic American icon. I will gladly give the book (5) stars, but the actor only (1).

Ideally a biography of a contemporary artist should evaluate three areas: The facts of a human life, the artist's practical management of his career and the success or failure of the artist's creative efforts. Eliot's book on Cary Grant had success in all three areas, and convincingly penetrated Grant's mind sufficiently to say some cogent things about how Grant approached his art as he became the quintessential movie actor. Eliot does not succeed nearly so well with Eastwood.

Eliot recites the facts of Eastwood's life, mostly garnered from the public record (except for his obsessive enumeration of Eastwood's love affairs). Eliot's chronicle of Eastwood's efforts as manager of his own career is the strongest part of the book and the least complementary to Eastwood (the words "self-centered" and "ruthless" leap to mind).

Eliot has nothing to say, however, about Eastwood's artistic achievement. His coverage of the films consists mostly of plot summaries with little analysis. Much of the critical commentary, such as it is, is quoted from various reviewers and writers ranging from putative heavyweights such as Kael, Sarris and Crist to lesser lights such as Rex Reed. Eliot's own proffered insights are not enlightening (to say that many of Eastwood's films are about angry loners and that this may be linked to Eastwood's own loner personality is not a stunning revelation).

I do not suggest that analysis of Eastwood's artistry is easy or simple. Eastwood's career has been prolific, long and varied and any analysis must consider all of its aspects (acting, directing and producing) over time. Not only has Eastwood's technical ability evolved into mastery, but the artistic stance of "Million Dollar Baby," "Mystic River," and "Gran Torino" seem, on the surface at least, utterly different from "Dirty Harry," "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Coogan's Bluff." But Eliot seems to find the body of work impenetrable.

Rebel with a Cause and Warts
Does anyone NOT like the iconic Clint Eastwood we see on the screen? The man of few words and plenty of action. The tall rugged man who smites the evil doers and then rides off into the sunset. The John Wayne of the Vietnam generation. But is this the real Clint Eastwood? Marc Eliot examines the man and the legend in his informative American Rebel biography. He cracks the screen persona to let us see the real man of Carmel, California, and what we find is a talented shrewd businessman who is more like Dirty Harry and The Man with No Name than we could have realized. An actor who grew in his trade to become an academy awarded director and producer. All the while building a business empire following his instincts. Still, he is flawed in his own personal life leaving lovers and children in his wake as he stormed through Hollywood to become probably the most famous actor of the last 50 years.

Marc Eliot is able to bring all this complexity about Clint Eastwood to the printed page in a format easily read and comprehended. I liked how he followed Mr. Eastwood's life through his movies. How he showed the phenomenal growth of Mr. Eastwood in his trade while at the same time lagging in personal development in regard to family and female friends. How Clint Eastwood took daring chances with his career and almost always came out on top. Mr. Eastwood is more than just a man, he is an American icon. Yet, he is someone to have a beer with while sitting around shooting the breeze. A complex man yes, but a simple man who, like John Wayne, is able to represent what is good and honorable about America. To Clint Eastwood the good guy always wins.

Marc Eliot does a good job of presenting Clint Eastwood in toto, warts and all. He does it by following Mr. Eastwood cinematic career starting as a bit player in Hollywood through his grumpy old man heroism in Gran Torino. He examines Eastwood on multiple levels and in the end finds a complex man who has grown not only through his trade but also through his personal life to the man we know today. A great actor, a terrific businessman, and the patriarch of a complex extended family. But best of all, Mr. Eliot points out that Clint Eastwood has no intention of slowing down. He is as busy as ever and intends to stay that way.

Strong Recommend. Excellent biography of an American movie icon and business genius. Well written and allows us to see Clint Eastwood on many different levels. Mr. Eastwood is a complex man that Marc Eliot is able to simplify on the written page. Good job Marc Eliot.

Ideally a biography of a contemporary artist should evaluate three areas: The facts of a human life, the artist's practical management of his career and the success or failure of the artist's creative efforts. Eliot's book on Cary Grant had success in all three areas, and convincingly penetrated Grant's mind sufficiently to say some cogent things about how Grant approached his art as he became the quintessential movie actor. Eliot does not succeed nearly so well with Eastwood.

Eliot recites the facts of Eastwood's life, mostly garnered from the public record (except for his obsessive enumeration of Eastwood's love affairs). Eliot's chronicle of Eastwood's efforts as manager of his own career is the strongest part of the book and the least complementary to Eastwood (the words "self-centered" and "ruthless" leap to mind).

Eliot has nothing to say, however, about Eastwood's artistic achievement. His coverage of the films consists mostly of plot summaries with little analysis. Much of the critical commentary, such as it is, is quoted from various reviewers and writers ranging from putative heavyweights such as Kael, Sarris and Crist to lesser lights such as Rex Reed. Eliot's own proffered insights are not enlightening (to say that many of Eastwood's films are about angry loners and that this may be linked to Eastwood's own loner personality is not a stunning revelation).

I do not suggest that analysis of Eastwood's artistry is easy or simple. Eastwood's career has been prolific, long and varied and any analysis must consider all of its aspects (acting, directing and producing) over time. Not only has Eastwood's technical ability evolved into mastery, but the artistic stance of "Million Dollar Baby," "Mystic River," and "Gran Torino" seem, on the surface at least, utterly different from "Dirty Harry," "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Coogan's Bluff." But Eliot seems to find the body of work impenetrable.

Rebel with a Cause and Warts
Does anyone NOT like the iconic Clint Eastwood we see on the screen? The man of few words and plenty of action. The tall rugged man who smites the evil doers and then rides off into the sunset. The John Wayne of the Vietnam generation. But is this the real Clint Eastwood? Marc Eliot examines the man and the legend in his informative American Rebel biography. He cracks the screen persona to let us see the real man of Carmel, California, and what we find is a talented shrewd businessman who is more like Dirty Harry and The Man with No Name than we could have realized. An actor who grew in his trade to become an academy awarded director and producer. All the while building a business empire following his instincts. Still, he is flawed in his own personal life leaving lovers and children in his wake as he stormed through Hollywood to become probably the most famous actor of the last 50 years.

Marc Eliot is able to bring all this complexity about Clint Eastwood to the printed page in a format easily read and comprehended. I liked how he followed Mr. Eastwood's life through his movies. How he showed the phenomenal growth of Mr. Eastwood in his trade while at the same time lagging in personal development in regard to family and female friends. How Clint Eastwood took daring chances with his career and almost always came out on top. Mr. Eastwood is more than just a man, he is an American icon. Yet, he is someone to have a beer with while sitting around shooting the breeze. A complex man yes, but a simple man who, like John Wayne, is able to represent what is good and honorable about America. To Clint Eastwood the good guy always wins.

Marc Eliot does a good job of presenting Clint Eastwood in toto, warts and all. He does it by following Mr. Eastwood cinematic career starting as a bit player in Hollywood through his grumpy old man heroism in Gran Torino. He examines Eastwood on multiple levels and in the end finds a complex man who has grown not only through his trade but also through his personal life to the man we know today. A great actor, a terrific businessman, and the patriarch of a complex extended family. But best of all, Mr. Eliot points out that Clint Eastwood has no intention of slowing down. He is as busy as ever and intends to stay that way.

Strong Recommend. Excellent biography of an American movie icon and business genius. Well written and allows us to see Clint Eastwood on many different levels. Mr. Eastwood is a complex man that Marc Eliot is able to simplify on the written page. Good job Marc Eliot.

Marc Eliot has written an interesting biography of Clint Eastwood, but he makes ONE appalling error along the way. On page 150, Mr. Eliot writes that Don Siegel never made a film called "Drazzle" with Michael Caine. You would think that Eliot would know better. In fact, Don Siegel did make a film with Michael Caine called "The Black Windmill." Clearly, research is not Mr. Eliot's forte. While it is an entertaining read, a lot that Eliot writes about has been covered in previous books, most notably Richard Schickel. If Mr. Eliot or his publishers decide to re-issue this bio in the future, they ought to fix this glaring error.

This biog of CLINT EASTWOOD is an interesting read, but could have been better. As stated before, a lot of facts on his films are erroneous. Granted, EASTWOOD is an extraordinary talent, especailly behind the camera, but I would not like to know him. According to Eliot, EASTWOOD seems very egotistical and difficult who was a user of people who woked for him and especailly women. My God, just how many women did EASTWOOD have to conquer. He must be a very insecure of his sexuality. There is definately something wrong with a man who goes from woman to woman. He may have sired seven children, but he certainly wasn't a father. Eliot should have gone more into this aspect of his physic. Would have liked to know more about the kids and what THEY thought of their Dad. Suprised none have them wound up over dosing or self destructive as he did not seem like a "stay-at-home" father. A man whose career comes before anything or anyone should not have children. The relationship between SONDRA LOCKE and himself is incredibly bizzare. They deseved each other. This book really makes EASTWOOD look like a heel. A talented one for sure, but a real heel.
The index in particular is inadequate....just as EASTWOOD is as a human being.