The Consistency of Change
Carmel’s Legendary Clint Eastwood!
It was 25 years ago that Clint Eastwood first agreed to appear on the cover of my magazine, then called Carmel Style. He and then wife Dina were very gracious and helpful to me, as that cover story launched what is now Carmel Magazine.
I remember seeing him in the early 1990s walking on Dolores Street in Carmel with John Madden. Two giants in their respective industries and both local residents. Nobody bothered them, yet many people watched them from across the street. These days people would be snapping photos with their phones and posting them on social media as if they had seen Sasquatch.
When we did the photo shoot for that cover of Carmel Style, we were told he would have about 20 minutes, so we would need to work quickly. The writer, photographer and I met Clint and Dina at Mission Ranch. That was my first opportunity to speak with him in person. Starstruck but trying to act cool and calm, this was my chance to ask him some questions about his personal favorite films and to thank him for meeting with us.
I remember him saying there were many films that stood out for different reasons. He liked “The Outlaw Josey Wales” for the character actors, especially Chief Dan George, and enjoyed working with Morgan Freeman in the Academy Award-winning movie “The Unforgiven.” That day was special because we ended up having more than an hour with him; he was extremely generous with his time.
He has been so prolific throughout his award-winning, multifaceted career and—at 93—is still making movies. An icon and a legend, he continues to amaze me on many levels.
I had a mutual friend who was close with Clint for many years. He was a KGO Radio host named Dr. Bill Wattenburg. He often invited my family up to his cabins in Greenville, California, to stay as long as we wanted and enjoy the Sierras and nearby Lake Almanor. Clint had stayed there often as well and had cast Dr. Bill in bit parts in three of his films. One was “Pink Cadillac,” which was filmed up in Greenville on location at those same cabins. Dr. Bill told me a story about an incident on set that he would never forget because it once again showed him the kind of man he knew Clint Eastwood to be.
They were in the middle of filming a scene of “Pink Cadillac” and there was a small group of townspeople watching the action. Clint noticed a young boy in the audience who was with his grandfather. The boy was wearing a pair of broken glasses. Clint stopped the scene much to the displeasure of the director, Buddy Van Horn. He walked over to the boy and his grandfather and asked why the boy was wearing broken glasses? The boy’s grandfather responded that he did not have enough money to replace them. Clint then said that he would take them into town to the optometrist and get him a new pair of glasses. The director was furious, as the set was shut down for hours until Clint returned, resulting in a very expensive delay.
Here we are a little before Clint Eastwood has his 94th birthday and we are honored to have an amazing exclusive interview with Clint and six of his children. I cannot thank his kids enough, as they have all been so generous with their time, sharing their own personal stories of their dad. Each one of the kids is amazing. I am truly humbled to have this story and thank our writer Brett Wilbur, all the kids who participated and, most of all, I would like to express my extreme gratitude to Clint Eastwood.