Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood’s Dating History: From Maggie Johnson to Dina Eastwood

Clint Eastwood’s love life has made plenty of headlines over the course of his decades-long career.

When Eastwood entered the Hollywood scene in the 1950s, he was newly married to his first wife Maggie Johnson. Their marriage would go on to become his longest relationship to date, although it had its fair share of ups and downs — as well as a few affairs. Since then, Eastwood has had a number of high-profile relationships and flings, several of which have resulted in children.

Eastwood welcomed a total of eight children with various partners, including Johnson, Titantic actress Frances Fisher, whom he dated for nearly six years, and his second wife, Dina Eastwood, among others. His marriage to Dina lasted over 17 years. Their relationship ultimately ended in divorce in 2014, but since then, Eastwood has found love again.

Eastwood began dating his current partner Christina Sandera around 2015.

Here’s a look back at Clint Eastwood’s dating history.

Maggie Johnson

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Eastwood first met Maggie Johnson in May 1953 when she was a student at the University of California, Berkeley. At the time, Eastwood had recently been discharged from the military and was planning on attending Los Angeles City College, according to Richard Schickel’s Clint Eastwood: A Biography. Before starting school, Eastwood visited a friend in nearby San Francisco. His friend set Eastwood and Johnson up on a blind date — even though Johnson had a boyfriend at the time. Johnson recalled that she was impressed by Eastwood.

“I came down the stairs of the sorority house, and [Clint] had his back to me. When he turned around, I was amazed at what he looked like. Plus, he was understated and that kind of appealed to me,” Johnson told Schickel.

Eastwood said they “hit it off right away” and went on several more dates. But despite their connection, Eastwood was also seeing other people. Before moving to L.A., he fathered a child with another woman in Seattle. By the time he arrived in L.A. that fall, he was still dating Johnson, who had graduated college and moved in with her family in nearby Alhambra, California. It wasn’t long before the couple began discussing marriage. Eastwood admitted that he was hesitant, but he eventually decided to propose. The couple tied the knot on Dec. 19, 1953 — just a few months before his daughter Laurie Murray was born and placed for adoption, unbeknownst to Eastwood.

Although Eastwood agreed to be married, the couple soon hit bumps in the road. The actor went as far as to call their first year of marriage “terrible” as he often still wanted to “do as [he] pleased.” Then, in the late ’50s, he began an extramarital affair that resulted in his second child, Kimber Lynn, born in 1964.

It’s unclear if Johnson was aware of the affair, although in Clint Eastwood: A Biography, the couple’s friend Fritz Manes said that Johnson had once asked if he thought her husband was “playing around.” Manes admitted to lying about Eastwood’s affairs to reassure her, and Johnson said she preferred not to “dwell on it.” Looking back on their relationship years later, Eastwood told Playboy that he believed Johnson was “a woman who knows how much room I need.”

The couple went on to welcome their own children: Their son Kyle Eastwood arrived in 1968 and their second child, Alison Eastwood, was born in 1972. The family eventually relocated to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, where they spent seven years building their dream home. It was there that the couple’s marriage fell apart, amid rumors of Eastwood’s affair with his costar Sondra Locke. Eastwood said he and Johnson often argued about the home’s construction and eventually found themselves drifting apart.

In 1979, several years into Eastwood’s affair with Locke, the couple officially called it quits. When they officially divorced in 1984, Johnson reportedly received a $25 million settlement. Since then, the pair have remained on good terms and stayed friends throughout the years. She was even by his side with their children when Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1986.

In July 2022, their daughter Alison opened up about the former couple’s relationship, revealing that they were still celebrating holidays together and lived just a mile away from each other.

“I’m so thankful that both of them are friends. We all celebrate Thanksgiving together,” Alison told Fox News. “Their lives are intertwined, and it’s been great. And they’ve always gotten along really well. … I give my mom a lot of credit for being somebody who said, ‘We have a family together, regardless of whether we’re married or not. We want the kids to know that we get along, and we’re friends still.’ That was especially important to both of my parents. Family came first.”

Roxanne Tunis

PAUL HARRIS/GETTY
While Eastwood was still married to Johnson, he met stuntwoman Roxanne Tunis on the set of Rawhide, which began in 1959. The pair soon began an affair, which would reportedly go on for 14 years.

Tunis became pregnant, and in 1964, she gave birth to their daughter Kimber Lynn Eastwood. Eastwood has claimed that, at the time, he didn’t know that Tunis was pregnant and he wasn’t told about the baby until a year after her birth. He later said in Clint Eastwood: A Biography that learning the news made him feel like he got the “wind knocked out” of him.

Eastwood made arrangements to take care of Kimber, but he did not see her often, only visiting her every “three or four months.” Tunis continued to see Eastwood, visiting him on sets and in his office, though it’s not known when their affair ended.

Sondra Locke

Eastwood first met actress Sondra Locke in 1972 when she was auditioning for his film Breezy. At the time, Eastwood was still married to Johnson, and Locke was married to her childhood best friend Gordon Anderson. Although she didn’t get the part, she was later cast in Eastwood’s film The Outlaw Josey Wales in 1975 — and the pair began an affair. In her autobiography, The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly: A Hollywood Journey, Locke alleged that Eastwood said “there was no real relationship left” between him and Johnson.

Eastwood and Locke’s relationship continued after filming wrapped, and Locke said she even moved into one of his homes. By the time they filmed The Gauntlet, rumors of a romance were swirling. Despite the headlines, the pair publicly maintained that they were just friends; Locke said that she had the “greatest amount of respect, admiration and fondness” for Eastwood.

“Everybody would love for us to say, ‘It’s all true, we’re madly in love,’ ” Locke told PEOPLE in 1978. “But people will believe whatever they want to believe. Even if it were true — which it isn’t — I certainly wouldn’t talk about it.”

The following year, Eastwood and Johnson separated. Locke alleged in her autobiography that, by then, she had had two abortions and a tubal ligation, as Eastwood told her he didn’t want any more children, per Vanity Fair, though Eastman denied the allegations.

Locke and Eastwood’s relationship continued for the next decade, growing more and more toxic. Throughout it, Locke remained legally married to and in a platonic relationship with Anderson, who was gay.

Over the course of their turbulent relationship, Eastwood had affairs with both Jacelyn Reeves and Frances Fisher. By the end, the former couple were barely seeing each other, and in April 1989, Eastman allegedly moved all of Locke’s belongings into storage and changed the locks on the doors of their home, according to the Washington Post.

Shortly after, Locke filed a palimony lawsuit against Eastwood, alleging that she suffered “humiliation, mental anguish … severe emotional and physical distress and … mental and physical harm” during their relationship. She asked for a $1.3 million share of the wealth amassed during their relationship as well as several of their properties, including one that had been leased to Anderson. The lawsuit sat in limbo for over a year; in the meantime, Locke was being treated for breast cancer. In 1990, it was finally agreed upon that, in exchange for Locke dropping the suit, Eastwood would secure her a $1.5 million development deal at Warner Bros., award her the house where Anderson lived and pay her $450,000 plus monthly support payments.

Five years later, however, Locke sued Eastwood for fraud and breach of financial duty because all of the projects she brought to the studio were rejected, alleging that this was his way of keeping her from working. The pair settled out of court for an undisclosed amount in September 1996, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In November 2018, Locke died of cardiac arrest related to breast and bone cancer. She and Anderson remained married and close friends until her death.

Reflecting on the relationship, she told the Washington Post, “My biggest misfortune, my greatest regret, is that I wish I’d cut my time with Clint in half. I wouldn’t say I wish I never had the relationship, but I wish I’d found a way, I’d understood who he was, where it would end, five or six years earlier so I could have gotten on with things.”

Jacelyn Reeves
While Eastwood was still dating Locke, he met flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves. Although not much about their relationship is known, they welcomed two children during their time together. In 1986, Reeves gave birth to their son Scott Eastwood; in 1988, they welcomed daughter Kathryn Eastwood.

Frances Fisher

KEVIN WINTER/GETTY
In late 1988, while Eastwood was dating Locke and having an ongoing affair with Reeves, he met actress Frances Fisher. The pair first crossed paths when she was cast in Pink Cadillac, although they didn’t meet until the film’s pre-production party. Fisher said it was love at first sight when she entered the room on roller skates and saw Eastwood.

“He looked right at me, the way he does every other woman in the world, but it got to me too. I mean, when he turns it on, he can turn it on, and I just went, ‘Oh my God, look at that.’ There was a human being there — I just saw such beauty in his presence. And I felt like a big piece of the puzzle had fallen in place,” Fisher shared in Clint Eastwood: A Biography.

They spent time together throughout filming and back in L.A. when they returned home. Eastwood and Locke’s split made headlines shortly after in late 1989, and Fisher was surprised, as he had not mentioned the relationship. The pair began to date quietly and eventually moved in together. By 1992, they were attending red carpet events together. Fisher told PEOPLE their relationship was “steady … serious and we have a lot of fun.” In Eastwood’s biography, Fisher recalled that all was well as long as she knew he was faithful.

In August 1993, Eastwood and Fisher welcomed their daughter Francesca Ruth Eastwood. They went on to have what Fisher called a “miraculous” period of family time together.

But by the end of 1993, their relationship had begun to dissolve. Between personal conflicts, Fisher’s discovery of Eastwood’s children with Reeves and paparazzi shots of Eastwood kissing another woman, Fisher moved into the guest house. By spring 1995, the couple had fully separated.

“With relationships, with people, you’re attracted to somebody for a reason. You follow it through, and if you can’t get past the honeymoon stage and get into the deeper meanings of why you’re together … you’re doomed to just stop when things start getting tough,” Fisher told the L.A. Times shortly after their split.

The former couple are now on good terms, and have even appeared at red carpet events together. In 2004, Fisher told SFGate, “I believe when you have loved someone, if you don’t destroy it with pettiness, then the love is always there.”

Dina Eastwood

GARETH CATTERMOLE/GETTY
While Eastwood was dating Fisher, he met news anchor Dina Eastwood, née Dina Ruiz, who was local to Carmel-by-the-Sea. After she interviewed him in 1992, they crossed paths again at a local event.

“We got along really well and I guess we flirted a little bit because she took the film back to KSBW and one of her associates said, ‘You’re going to marry him,’ ” Eastwood told Carmel Magazine of their first meeting. “Then we were attending a function out at Spanish Bay and [one of the hosts] said, ‘Do you mind sitting with Dina Ruiz?’ I said, ‘No! Not at all!’ We ended up holding hands and doing all that kind of nonsense.”

In early 1995, they were photographed kissing at a golf tournament — but they didn’t become a couple until after he and Fisher had split.

In September 1995, Eastwood proposed, and in December, he took her to a courthouse in Hailey, Idaho, to get their marriage license. In March 1996, while Dina was on a girl’s trip in Las Vegas, Eastwood organized a wedding ceremony to take place at his friend Steve Wynn’s nearby estate. In just 48 hours, the wedding was planned and the couple were saying “I do.” Dina later told PEOPLE it was her “dream wedding.”

Shortly after their nuptials, Eastwood and Dina learned they were expecting their first baby. In December 1996, they welcomed their daughter Morgan Eastwood. The couple remained married while raising Morgan; in her 2007 interview with Carmel Magazine, Dina shared that the longest they’d ever go apart was “maybe 10 days.”

“He’s the least pretentious person I’ve ever met. And I love that he’s so conscientious about nature and letting things remain as they are,” she told the outlet. “When Morgan was a little girl she liked to go in our yard to look at the flowers and he’d say, ‘Please don’t pick the flowers, let them live.’ … He’s one of those people who takes bugs outside. I call him Saint Francis of Assisi.”

In 2012, the couple shared insight into their lives on Mrs. Eastwood & Company. The reality show chronicled Dina’s life with Morgan and stepdaughter Francesca but only occasionally featured Eastwood. Sources later told PEOPLE that Eastwood was “furious about the show” as it “went against everything he stands for.”

By June of that year, in the middle of the show’s airing, their marriage had fallen apart. Those close to the couple told PEOPLE that, although they were still living in the same house, they were sleeping in different rooms. Dina reportedly began leaning on her old friend, Scott Fisher, for support. He had been living in Australia and was going through a divorce.

Although Dina said her relationship with Scott was platonic, his ex-wife, Erica Fisher, was concerned about the nature of their relationship and reached out to Eastwood in early 2013. By March, Eastwood and Erica were dating — a revelation that left Dina in “total shock.”

Dina filed for legal separation from Eastwood in September 2013, asking for joint custody of Morgan and spousal support. She asked her followers on Twitter not to speak negatively of Eastwood, writing that he is a “wonderful, good natured, brilliant person.” In October 2013, Dina officially filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Following their split, Dina shared on Bethenny Frankel’s talk show that she and Eastwood were still on good terms.

“He’s lovely, he hasn’t done much. It’s other people around him have done things that have blown me away and again my future ex-husband has done nothing [wrong],” she told Frankel, per E! News. “He is the sweetest, he is a loving, kind, low-key person so my intuition was still great on marrying a good person.”

In July 2016, Dina married Scott Fisher in Santa Barbara, California.

Erica Tomlinson-Fisher
While Eastwood was still married to Dina, Erica Tomlinson-Fisher reached out to him. At the time, she was finalizing a divorce from her husband Scott — a longtime friend of Dina. Dina and Scott had reconnected, and Erica was concerned about the nature of their relationship.

After their initial conversation, the pair began speaking on the phone often. In March 2013, they began dating. While they never made their relationship public, Erica was photographed in L.A. with Eastwood, in photos obtained by the Daily Mail. It’s not known how or exactly when their relationship ended.

Christina Sandera

DAVID M BENETT/DAVE BENETT/GETTY
Following his split from Erica, Eastwood met hostess Christina Sandera. The couple made their red carpet debut at the Oscars in 2015, according to the New York Times. In 2018, Sandera joined Eastwood and his family — including his kids, his granddaughter and his first wife, Maggie Johnson — at the L.A. premiere of his film The Mule. Since then, they’ve kept their relationship low-key. They reportedly live together in Carmel.

Clint Eastwood

Mystic River: Why Clint Eastwood’s Best Movie Still Holds Up Today

A filmmaker of Clint Eastwood‘s caliber is going to have a filmography full of gems. Primarily known for his work in Westerns, biopics, and military dramas, every so often, Eastwood steps outside his comfort zone and delivers in a genre that would seem completely unexpected on paper. That happened in 2003 with Mystic River, a neo-noir murder mystery drama that seems a bit forgotten or overlooked, even though it was a financial success and earned six Academy Award nominations. It represents Eastwood at his very best, breathing vivid life into complex characters as he examines a plethora of themes that range from loyalty, friendship, revenge, and, ultimately, forgiveness.

Mystic River is based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane, and it follows the lives of three childhood friends, Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn), Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon), and Dave Boyle (Tim Robbins), living in Charlestown, Boston in 1975. Dave is kidnapped by two men claiming to be police officers, and he’s sexually abused by them over a four-day period until he escapes. The traumatic event shapes the three friends, and they ultimately lead very different lives twenty-five years later.

Jimmy is an ex-con that now owns a convenience store in the neighborhood, Sean works for the Massachusetts State Police as a detective, and Dave is your everyday blue-collar worker that still lives with the trauma of being abducted and raped. Their lives are forced together once again through tragedy when Jimmy’s daughter Katie (Emmy Rossum) is found murdered, and friendship is tested when all signs point to Dave being the murderer.
Mystic River Is a Departure From Clint Eastwood’s Other Work

Sean Penn held back by cops in Mystic River Warner Bros.

Eastwood tackles the material in Mystic River with a sure and confident hand. It also represents a unique departure from some of his other films. Much of the action takes place under the cover of darkness, and Eastwood is able to find beauty in that darkness. The filmmaker focuses on a character’s eyes or the gleam of a weapon, for instance, as darkness permeates most of the scene.

For the scenes that take place during the day, the filmmaker opts for tight close-ups that linger over the emotions of his impressive cast. There is something uncomfortably intimate about Mystic River, and that has much to do with the subject matter. None of this story is particularly easy to digest, and Eastwood adds to that discomfort with his choices to frame scenes in such a way that’s almost intrusive. The audience feels a growing sense of dread and tension as more of the story unfolds.
Using Lehane’s novel and Brian Helgeland’s screenplay as a blueprint, Eastwood profoundly explores generational trauma and how the sins of the past can leave a permanent mark on our present. Even though the abuse only happened to Dave, the effects of the event leave a mark on all three friends, with Dave being the primary victim and the others feeling a sense of survivor’s guilt for not being subjected to it themselves.
The ordeal forever changes their union because they’re never quite able to look at each other the same way again, as each friend deals with the trauma differently. Jimmy is stunned by the act of abuse but can’t give Dave the support he needs, which then bleeds into their present when Jimmy begins to suspect that Dave had something to do with his daughter’s murder. He doesn’t want to consider that his friend would do something like this because of the trauma he endured as a child, but as evidence mounts against him, Jimmy has to decide if friendship and loyalty overshadow his need for vigilante justice. The story is rich with so many complexities that make it some of Eastwood’s most compelling work as a filmmaker.

Eastwood also takes his time with the story and lets it unfold as it should. Mystic River is very nuanced, and he knows he’s dealing with heartbreaking subject matter that requires patience and respect. The story is grounded in so much reality that Eastwood seems keenly aware that a viewer might be an actual victim of this kind of abuse themselves, so he delicately approaches the topic and gives it the emotional weight it deserves.
He also shows the uncomfortable side of abuse where the victim, unfortunately, can be shamed because of the event. Dave becomes an outsider later in his life, even with his close friends, something that sadly comes along with this kind of trauma. Eastwood approaches all of this responsibly and provides a very balanced outlook to all the events transpiring on screen.
Mystic River has become known for its powerhouse performances, and Eastwood pulls the very best from his ensemble cast. While the scenes with the young actors are brief in the beginning, they set the tone of who these people will be twenty-five years later. Dave becomes the outcast because of the event; Jimmy lacks empathy and doesn’t trust authority, while Sean becomes the grounded one of the bunch and a police officer in an attempt to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again.

Clint Eastwood Pulls Powerhouse Performances From His Cast

Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, and Kevin Bacon do a great job conveying the unspoken tension between all three of these characters. There is a sense of loyalty, but so much has taken place over the years that it has forced them all to lead very different lives. As a group, they are uniformly excellent. You feel the history between the characters and the bonds that were broken, only to be reopened by a new traumatic event.
On their own, Penn gives the performance of a lifetime as Jimmy, and it’s not a shock that this turn finally earned him his first Academy Award for Best Actor. Penn is a dominant presence in all of his scenes, and there is a sense of uncertainty whenever he’s around because you don’t know exactly what move he will make.

That’s not to say he doesn’t display layers. All of that bravado is broken once he finds out his daughter is murdered. It’s hard to pinpoint a director’s best scene on film, but what Eastwood pulls out of Penn during the “Is that my daughter?” sequence represents some of his very best work as a filmmaker.
Robbins also received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work here, representing a much-deserved win. As Dave, Robbins is the tragic and emotional heart of the story. The viewer feels instant empathy for Dave due to what he went through as a child, but you’re also left questioning everything when it seems like Dave could be the one who murdered Katie.
Robbins keeps you on your toes throughout, making you question his innocence while also seeing the tenderness in him as he interacts with his own child, who is just about the age he was when he was abused. As for Bacon, of the three male leads, he gives the most subdued performance, but it suits the character. He’s trying to make everything right and keep it all together. It’s a subtle performance that carries its own emotional weight.

Eastwood also makes the supporting roles worthy of attention. Marcia Gay Harding, as Dave’s wife Celeste, puts in powerful work here that earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, while Laura Linney more than holds her own with Penn as his second wife, Annabeth. In addition, Laurence Fishburne also fills in as Sgt. Whitey Powers in another excellent part.
Mystic River is a haunting and poetic motion picture that showcases a director laying it all out on the table. Eastwood gives the audience everything he has as a director and pours it out across the screen in a film that is just as powerful twenty years after its initial release.

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood’s Most Iconic Non-Western Role Was Only Possible Because Of This Actor

SUMMARY

Clint Eastwood’s role in Dirty Harry is considered one of his most iconic, and the film is a classic in the crime genre.
Paul Newman initially turned down the role of Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry but recommended Clint Eastwood for the part.
Newman declined the role due to his liberal beliefs, and Eastwood’s portrayal of Callahan differed from Newman’s perspective, but both respected each other.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Although Clint Eastwood first built his impressive career on Western movies like The Man with No Name franchise and The Outlaw Josey Wales, the actor’s biggest non-Western role in Dirty Harry is one of his most iconic, and it might have never happened without this one actor. Clint Eastwood began acting in the 1950s, and over several decades, became a staple in the Western genre. What makes Eastwood stand out is the fact that he has not only appeared in countless films, but has also directed them himself. Films like Unforgiven and Gran Torino have defined his career. However, Dirty Harry is by far one of Clint Eastwood’s best films.

In 1971, Clint Eastwood starred in the neo-noir action film Dirty Harry. The film, and its adjoining sequels, follow Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan, a rugged detective that is on a hunt for a psychopathic serial killer named Scorpio. The Dirty Harry franchise lasted from 1971 to 1988, and has since been considered a classic. In fact, Dirty Harry was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress because of its cultural significance. However, this film might have been vastly different if Clint Eastwood had never been in it, and scarily enough, this definitely could have happened back in 1971.
Paul Newman Rejected Dirty Harry Before Suggesting Clint Eastwood For The Role

Dirty Harry 2

Dirty Harry went through many production challenges before it was actually made, and one of those included casting the iconic detective. In the film’s early stages, the role was offered to actors such as John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Steve McQueen, and Burt Lancaster. However, for various reasons, including the violence that permeates the film, these actors all declined. For a time, Frank Sinatra was attached to the project, but he also eventually left the production. In reality, Clint Eastwood wasn’t even in the cards for portraying Dirty Harry, but his big break came when Paul Newman was offered and declined the role.

Paul Newman, like many amazing actors before him, was offered the role of Harry Callahan, but ultimately said no. However, what makes his refusal stand out among the rest is that he recommended another actor that could be perfect for the role: Clint Eastwood. At this time, Eastwood was in post-production for his first film Play Misty for Me, meaning his career was taking something of a turn. Also, unlike his predecessors, Eastwood joined up with Dirty Harry, just as Newman thought he would. Because of his Western roots, the violence and aggression that made up Dirty Harry didn’t bother Eastwood at all.

Why Paul Newman Turned Down Dirty Harry

Paul Newman holding a gun.

Paul Newman turning down the leading role in Dirty Harry may not seem too surprising considering the host of other actors that also declined the movie, but Newman definitely had his reasons. While previous actors had condemned the movie for its incredible violence and themes of “the ends justify the means,” Newman refused to take the role because of his political beliefs. Since Harry Callahan was a renegade cop, intent on catching a serial killer no matter the cost or the rules that would be broken, Newman saw this character as too right-wing for his own liberal beliefs.

Paul Newman was an outspoken liberal during his life. He was open about his beliefs, so much so that he even made it onto Richard Nixon’s enemies list due to his opposition of the Vietnam War. Other issues that Newman spoke out for included gay rights and same-sex marriage, the decrease in production and use of nuclear weapons, and global warming. As a result of his politics, Newman quickly denied the role of Harry Callahan. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly as reported by Far Out Magazine, Clint Eastwood commented that he didn’t view Callahan in the way Newman did, but still respected him as an actor and a man.

Would Dirty Harry Have Been So Successful Without Clint Eastwood?

Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry Callahan

Ultimately, it’s hard to say whether Dirty Harry would have been successful without Clint Eastwood. Arguably, any big-time actor could have made the film succeed solely based on their fame. However, one aspect of Dirty Harry and its carousel of actors is that the movie had various scripts, all with different plots. So, if Dirty Harry had been in a different location with a different serial killer and a different lead actor, there’s a chance it wouldn’t have been nearly as successful. In the end, Dirty Harry is a signature for Clint Eastwood, and most likely, audiences are lucky that it was made the way it was.

Clint Eastwood

The story of how Clint Eastwood prevented Ron Howard from embarrassment

A star of American cinema both in front of and behind the camera, Ron Howard is often forgotten when recalling the greatest directors of modern cinema, yet his contributions to the art form remain unmatched. Working with the likes of Tom Hanks, Chris Hemsworth, Russell Crowe and John Wayne, Howard has brought such classics as Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind and Rush to the big screen.
Entering the industry in the late 1950s and 1960s, Howard started his career as an actor, making a name for himself in shows like Just Dennis and The Andy Griffith Show before his role in 1970s Happy Days would catapult him to national acclaim. His directorial debut would come at a similar time, helming 1977’s Grand Theft Auto, the ropey first movie in a filmography that would later become known for its abundance of quality.
Known for his acting talents, Howard wouldn’t become a fully-fledged director in the eyes of the general public until the 1980s, when he worked with Tom Hanks on 1984’s Splash and George Lucas for the 1988 cult favourite Willow.
With hopes of becoming the new Star Wars, Willow was instead a peculiar fantasy tale that told the story of a young farmer who is chosen to undertake the challenge to protect a magical baby from an evil queen. Starring the likes of Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley, the film failed to make a considerable dent in pop culture at the time, largely being ridiculed by critics and audiences alike.
Screened at the Cannes Film Festival, the movie was spared humiliation by none other than Clint Eastwood, who saw the craftsmanship behind the picture, as described by Ron’s daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard.
Speaking to Daily Mail, the actor recalled: “My dad made a film called Willow when he was a young filmmaker, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival and people were booing afterwards. It was obviously so painful for him, and Clint, who he didn’t know at that time, stood up and gave him a standing ovation and then everyone else stood up because Clint did”.
Dallas Howard, who worked with Eastwood on the 2010 movie Hereafter, became very fond of Eastwood as a result, looking up to him as an exemplary Hollywood talent. “Clint puts himself out there for people,” she added, “As a director he is very cool, very relaxed, there’s no yelling ‘action’ or ‘cut’. He just says: ‘You know when you’re ready.’ I told my dad he should do that!”.
Take a look at the trailer for Howard’s 1988 fantasy flick below.