Clint Eastwood in popular culture

American film actor and film director Clint Eastwood has had a lasting influence on popular culture, and either his name, characters or acting mannerisms have been emulated or parodied.

In film and television

Clint Eastwood is the name used by Marty McFly in "Back to the Future Part III" (1990), which parodies a western, though the other characters do not find it intimidating. Marty also used a piece of metal as a bulletproof vest in a duel with Buford Tannen (as foreshadowed in Part II when Biff is watching "A Fistful of Dollars" in his hot tub). When McFly returns to the future, it is thought that he died in the process, and as such a ravine is named "Eastwood Ravine" after him. Two Japanese people in the film "Crocodile Dundee II" mistook the main character, Mick Dundee, for Clint Eastwood. In the 1994 parody film "", Eastwood's iconic squint is emulated by Leslie Nielsen as he walks into Alcatraz prison, in the way that Eastwood does in Escape from Alcatraz (1979).

Actor Jeremy Bulloch has stated that he based his portrayal of the Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett on Eastwood. As he put it:"Something Awful" featured a four part article titled "Four Days in Winter", focused on a mercenary hired to protect teenagers on an MTV series. There are overt references to Eastwood, such as the main character carrying a .44 Magnum and yelling "Do you feel lucky?". An MTV cast member also says to him "We hear you have a famous grandfather". At the conclusion he reveals his identity saying "My name is Eastwood" before being gunned down.

Eastwood's portrayal of the "Man With No Name" is also credited as an inspiration for the character Master Chief in the popular "Halo" series. [cite web|author=Xerxdee, J.|date=2005-08-23|url=http://blog.tiedtheleader.com/article/560/a-visit-from-the-master-chief-himself|title=A Visit from the Master Chief Himself|work=tiedtheleader.com|accessdate=2008-06-24]

Professional wrestler The Undertaker portrayed Clint Eastwood in his "Dirty Harry" persona in advertisements leading up to the WrestleMania 21 Pay Per View event.

In literature

Stephen King stated in interviews, as well as in forewords and afterwords for the respective books, that one of the inspirations for Roland Deschain, a.k.a. Roland of Gilead, the Gunslinger in his popular "The Dark Tower" opus, is Clint Eastwood. He said that Roland is meant to embody a gritty, melancholy persona, like that of Eastwood's "The Man With No Name" in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly".

In music

Reggae/dub musician Lee Perry recorded a song entitled "Clint Eastwood" in 1969 Virtual band. There is a reggae deejay called Clint Eastwood who made an album with General Saint called "Two Bad DJ" in 1981. Gorillaz recorded songs called "Clint Eastwood" and "Dirty Harry". Gorillaz' frontman Damon Albarn released an album called The Good, the Bad and the Queen with the help of Paul Simonon, Simon Tong, Tony Allen, and Dangermouse. Rock band "The Transplants" make reference to "Hang 'Em High" and "A Few Dollars More" in some of their songs. The theme song to the television show "The Fall Guy", "The Unknown Stuntman", references Eastwood with the line "I'm the unknown stuntman that makes Eastwood look so fine."

Adam and the Ants chant Clint Eastwood's name as part of the chorus of "Los Rancheros", which appeared on their 1980 album titled "Kings of the Wild Frontier". He also dressed up as Eastwood's character from "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly" in the music video for his song "Prince Charming". There is also a demo version of a song by them called "Dirty Harry" that appears on the remastered version of "Strip".

Van Halen's song, "Hang 'Em High", from their 1982 release "Diver Down", is inspired by Eastwood and Def Leppard used the famous speech from "Dirty Harry", as an introduction to their concerts on several tours. Beastie Boys released the High Plains Drifter in 1989.

A Swedish metal band from the 1980s was named after him: The Clint Eastwood Experience. The band featured members of Dismember and Entombed. In the computer game "", one of the characters in the second allied mission (which is set in Hollywood) is named Flint Westwood. The character is also named for the game's produced, Westwood Studios.

In video games or animation

Eastwood appears as an audio-animatronic in the Disney's Hollywood Studios Theme Park at Walt Disney World on one of the park's most iconic attractions, The Great Movie Ride, along with other classic actors. In the computer game "", there is a mention of the "East Clintwood Institute, named after the famous movie star". The final boss in the computer game "Fallout 2" is called Frank Horrigan, a reference to Clint Eastwood's character in the movie "In the Line of Fire". There are several references to Eastwood the Polish post-apocalyptic role-playing game Neuroshima. Eastwood, in cybernetic form, is the main character/driver in the game Nitro for the Commodore Amiga and Atari-ST computers, by Psygnosis (1990).

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