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A new biography of Clint Eastwood has shed fresh light on the Hollywood legend’s complicated private life and his unconventional views on marriage.
The book, Clint: The Man and The Movies by film critic and author Shawn Levy, explores Eastwood’s journey from rising star of 1960s television to one of the most revered actor-directors in cinema history. But beyond his celebrated screen roles and directorial triumphs, Levy delves into Eastwood’s personal life, particularly his resistance to monogamy and his long history of romantic entanglements.
According to Levy, Eastwood, now 94, never embraced the traditional ideals of marriage. “His friends were aware that he considered marriage to be a form of confinement,” writes the author. “And he gave himself free rein when it came to other women.”
Mariner Books
The book details how his first marriage to Maggie Johnson, whom he wed in 1953, was marred by infidelity almost from the start. Eastwood reportedly had numerous affairs throughout their marriage, some of which became public knowledge at the time. Maggie and Clint formally separated in the late 1970s and divorced in 1984.
Levy recounts that many of Eastwood’s most high-profile romances began on set. While filming The Outlaw Josey Wales, he became involved with co-star Sondra Locke, a relationship that lasted 14 years and ended in a bitter legal battle. The biography also touches on his well-documented romance with TV news anchor Dina Ruiz, whom he married in 1996. She was 33 years his junior, and the pair split in 2014.
Over the decades, Eastwood reportedly fathered at least eight children with six different women, a fact that kept tabloids busy for years and added to his reputation as a Hollywood ladies’ man.
Yet Levy also paints a picture of a man deeply committed to his craft. From his breakout role on the TV series Rawhide, to the Dollars trilogy with Sergio Leone, and directing Oscar-winning films like Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby, Eastwood built one of the most enduring careers in show business.
“Clint Eastwood has always been something of a contradiction,” Levy explains. “Stoic yet emotional, fiercely independent yet surprisingly traditional in some ways. This book is an attempt to understand the man behind the myth.”
While some fans may be surprised by the revelations, others will see them as part of the larger-than-life persona Eastwood has always projected, a rugged individualist who lived by his own rules, both on screen and off.
Clint: The Man and The Movies is out now in hardback and digital formats.
