On one of our most important American days of commemoration, it seems fitting that the great American icon Clint Eastwood would become the country's newest octogenarian today (link to story below). Born May 31, 1930, Eastwood was a kid during World War II and was pushing 40 during the height of the Vietnam War. The war era with which his life as a young man did coincide was that of the Korean War. Eastwood was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950, where he served for four years with the Army Special Services at Ford Ord, California. It was during that period that he met several established motion picture and television actors (also serving in the Army), who encouraged Eastwood to move to LA in 1954, following his Army service, to pursue an acting career. And the rest is history...Eastwood is my all-time favorite motion picture actor (and dude can do a bit of directing as well, if you'd never noticed). Here's a countdown of my Top 10 favorite Eastwood films (which I found very difficult to compile, since I limited myself to just ten):
# 10: Dirty Harry ("You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?")
# 9: Escape From Alcatraz ("There's always the possibility that some a$$hole will be offended, isn't there?")
# 8: High Plains Drifter ("A lot faster than you'll ever live to be.")
# 7: Pale Rider ("There's a lota sinners hereabouts. You wouldn't want me to leave before finishing my work, would ya?") (BTW, one of my favorite words, "leastways," comes from Eastwood's dialogue in this film)
# 6: Bronco Billy ("Are you for real?" "I'm who I want to be.")
# 5: Heartbreak Ridge ("My name's Gunnery Sergeant Highway, and I've drunk more beer, and banged more *****, and pi$$ed more blood, and stomped more ass than all of you numbnuts put together.")
# 4: Fistful of Dollars ("I don't think it's nice, you laughin'.")
# 3: Unforgiven ("I've killed just about everything that walks or crawled at one time or another. And I'm here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you did to Ned.")
# 2: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ("I've never seen so many men wasted so badly.")
# 1: The Outlaw Josey Wales ("I guess we all died a little in that damn war.")
(Honorable mention, just outside my Top 10: Two Mules for Sister Sara ("The least you can do is take off your hat!" "Haven't got time for that.")). (And Caveat: I have Gran Torino on DVD, but shame on me for not yet ever having watched that film. From everything I've read and heard, it probably makes my Top 10 -- if I ever get around to watching it, "leastways").
http://www.examiner.com/x-21681-Celebrity-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m5d31-Clint-Eastwood-turns-80-Hollywood-legend-wont-be-celebrating-To-Make-My-Day-VIDEO
http://www.examiner.com/x-21681-Celebrity-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m5d31-Clint-Eastwood-turns-80-Hollywood-legend-wont-be-celebrating-To-Make-My-Day-VIDEO
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