The short lived tale of Pale Rider Ale

Pale Rider Ale first became available in August 1997. It was first served up through Clint’s once owned restaurant on Carmel’s San Carlos Street, The Hog's Breath Inn. The beer was of course named after Clint's 1985 Western Pale Rider. "Proudly brewed for Clint Eastwood by his friends at Celis Brewery" proclaims the attractive label. Bottled by Celis Brewery, an Austin, Texas, subsidiary of the Miller Brewing Company, Pale Rider Ale was first introduced into the Carmel-Monterey area before eventually going on sale throughout the West. But for Clint, this wasn’t just another business venture; instead it was produced for a charitable cause. All of Eastwood's proceeds from Pale Rider Ale sales were distributed and shared among his favourite charities around the country, including the Carmel Youth Centre and the Boys and Girls Club of the Monterey Peninsula.

It’s hard to ignore what fellow actor and close friend Paul Newman had done for charity through his pasta sauce and vinegar dressings. In fact, over $500 million has been generated for charity since 1982. "I'm not really in the beer business," Eastwood said, "Anything that I make from this will go to charity, like Paul Newman does with his spaghetti sauce."

In typical light-hearted style, Clint made good use of his image and used his friend Newman’s success to help promote the new Ale. The result was a cleverly designed promotional poster with a tagline proclaiming - ‘You Didn't Expect Clint Eastwood to Make a Salad Dressing Did You?

A lot of names were tested at first before finally settling on the Pale Rider brand name. Everyone's first choice for the beer's name was simply "Hog's Breath", named after the famous Carmel restaurant. That name could not be cleared and was simply due to fact there were many other bar's across the country which shared the same name.

Clint himself preferred "The Beer with No Name", which was of course a play on the anonymous antihero he portrayed in the three "Spaghetti Westerns" he made between 1864-1966.

After all of the legal tangles of getting the name chosen were straightened, Clint helped in testing the beer to get the taste just right. "I don't drink much. When I do, I prefer a beer or a glass of wine. But testing wasn't all that tough," Eastwood jokingly said.

Sample taste tests were held at the famous jazz festival that Clint did at Carnegie Hall in early 1997, it was also sampled again at a cast party in Savannah during the shooting for his film, 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.'

Unfortunately, the Pale Rider Ale story was rather short lived - for reasons that have not really been revealed. But in 2000, Celis Brewery discontinued producing Pale Rider Ale.

(Left, Clint wearing a Pale Rider Ale shirt)

Review:

While that Bud may be for you, this beer is for Clint. The beer is a medium golden in colour and produces a  healthy head of foam with a moderately paced pour. Nose is very light here. So far, everything here is shouting light bodied American beer, and the first sip cements this opinion. 

The beer is drinkable, but light bodied, and a refreshing first beer of the night. Sort of a Bud or Miller with a little ale fruitiness, just a touch mind you. Clint boasts that five hop varieties are used, but I would say in limited quantities, as the finish is balanced slightly towards the sweet side. The beer is clean and crisp, and is a good example of an accessible, light ale.

Memorabilia and collectables:

Material relating to Pale Rider Ale remains collectable, however – it is often hard to find. My own collection only consists of the sturdy and well-made 6 pack holder (held by Clint in photo left) and an original T-Shirt which I have to say, I have never seen for sale or on any auction site. The occasional beer bottle, bottle top or beer glasses sometimes make an appearance – but hardly regularly. The poster relating to Paul Newman’s salad dressing (17.25" x 24.5") is also a rare one, so rare in fact, it’s extremely hard to find a good enough image anywhere on the web. 

There was also a very rare vinyl pub banner produced. The description read - The banner is stamped from the Celis Brewery, Austin, TX with the unique # 0A8816 WM 90. The banner (48" wide x 36" high) is stitched all around, with brass eyelets for hanging. The banner caption reads: "Its spirited nature and smooth drinkin' style just might take you by surprise. Proudly brewed for Clint Eastwood by his friends at Celis Brewery, Austin, Texas. All of Clint Eastwood's proceeds from the sale of this product are being donated to selected charities."

Below: The Pale Rider Ale poster relating to Paul Newman's salad dressing

Below: The very rare vinyl pub banner for Pale Rider Ale

Below: 2 different examples of Pale Rider Ale glasses

Below: A rare publicity photo used for promotional purposes 

Below: The front (breast pocket) and impressive reverse of the original Pale Rider Ale T-Shirt   

                             

Below: Clint samples his product at The Hog's Breath Inn, Carmel, Tuesday, July 22nd 1997

Updated 14/01/2018 Below: I was lucky enough to add this original and unused Beer bottle label to my collection - a nice little item to look out for

Below: This stunning poster recently appeared on the auction market. It is certainly a rare piece and one I have never seen before. At over $200 it does not come cheap. I will report back if the poster sells and with the final price.

Hang ‘em high composer Dominic Frontiere dies aged 86

It was with great sadness that I learnt today of composer Dominic Frontiere’s passing. He died on Thursday aged 86. Born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1931, Frontiere became musical director at 20th Century Fox. He scored several films under the tutelage of Alfred and Lionel Newman, while also recording jazz music. An association with director and producer Leslie Stevens led to several projects, such as his innovative blend of music and sound effects for TV’s The Outer Limits. He scored several iconic themes of the '60's such as The Rat Patrol, Branded, The Flying Nun, and for producer Quinn Martin The Invaders, The Fugitive, and Twelve O’clock High.

After scoring for TV shows, he went on to compose the music for Clint Eastwood’s first American film Hang ‘em high. The film’s title theme became a top-10 hit for the group Booker T. & the M.G.'s and was successfully covered by Hugo Montenegro. Frontiere also composed the soundtrack to the 1971 motorcycle documentary On Any Sunday, which featured Steve McQueen and was directed by Bruce Brown.

Frontiere became head of the music department at Paramount Pictures in the early 1970s, where he again worked on television and film scores, while concurrently orchestrating popular music albums for, among others, Chicago. Throughout the 1970s he continued to score films including Hammersmith is out, The Train Robbers, Freebie and the Bean, Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold, Brannigan and The Gumball Rally. In 1980 he won a Golden Globe for his score to The Stunt Man.

Our sincere condolences go out to his wife Robin, and his five children. Rip Sir

Merry Christmas!

I can’t believe how quickly this year has passed? In January we will be celebrating 11 years, where did the time go? Nevertheless, it’s been quite a Clintful year. Sully was of course released, but failed to ignite the Oscars in any of the major categories. We sadly lost some great friends from the Eastwood family circle such as Richard Schickel, Robert James Waller, Alessandro Alessandroni, Don Rickles, Glen Campbell, Harry Dean Stanton, Fats Domino and Mel Tillis. 

Throughout 2017 I’ve continued to try and post some interesting pieces wherever time has permitted. We celebrated September with an Eiger Sanction month, a film that still remains a firm favourite with many fans. Among other new posts, I’m very proud of our ‘Eastwood’s UK trip of June 1967’ article which I believe is still the most complete on the web, with more images seemingly still filtering through. We also set up a major Gallery (or two) featuring press stills from Where Eagles Dare, and an original piece on Clint’s early recording career. My restoration project on the photos by Foto Vaselli is a slow one and will continue into 2018, but I hope people have found it both rewarding and worthwhile. We also celebrated Clint returning to Cannes this year and of course, we have tried to cover all of the pre-production news (since April) on Clint’s upcoming film The 15:17 to Paris. I should also say that aside from new posts, I am permanently adding to existing posts, additional information and many, many hundreds of additional photos so keep checking them out. 

As always, I would like to thank everyone for visiting. Numbers continue to grow and it looks as if we will be passing the magic 1,000,000 mark in 2018. There is still so much material to post – and tons of treasures from the past that still need to be scanned and prepped for the Archive. It’s all very time consuming, but I continue to try and make this the best possible resource on the web.

I would also like to thank everyone who is kind enough to help and share – genuine people who possess the same sense of passion and for them is also a labour of love.

My sincere appreciation to you all.

Finally, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas as well as health and happiness, and to the main man, keep doing what you do best, beers to you Sir.

~The Clint Eastwood Archive~  

Flashback: Clint Eastwood’s time at Beaver Lake, Sammamish Plateau 1953

Most fans may already know or at least be familiar with these two pictures of Clint which first appeared in the Seattle Times on June 27th 1953. However, the story has often been fragmented and briefly touched upon by many authors in several books. I saved this story many years ago which was written by Phil Dougherty under its original title - Clint Eastwood Swam Here.

The article appeared in the Sammamish Review, April 13, 2011, pp. 1-2 and was later published on the web. I felt that Phil Dougherty’s account brought all of the available information together rather nicely, so I’ve chosen to reproduce it here (with thanks) for fans who may not be too familiar with these events.

Clint Eastwood Swam Here

Ever hear that Clint Eastwood taught lifeguard training classes at the National Red Cross Aquatic School held at Beaver Lake one summer? It’s true, and a little research not only adds details to the story but provides pictures of a young Eastwood at Beaver Lake just before his leap from obscurity to celebrity.

Eastwood was born in San Francisco in 1930. He graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1949, about the same time his parents moved to Seattle. He opted not to follow, instead working various jobs up and down the West Coast, including working as a lifeguard and later teaching lifeguard training classes.

But he did spend some time in Seattle. He was a lifeguard at Renton’s Kennydale Beach in the summer of 1949 or 1950, and even then had no trouble attracting women. George Wyse, the athletic supervisor for King County who hired Eastwood for the Kennydale gig, explained years later in an interview: "He was a nice-looking young kid, well-built. He drew quite a gang of young ladies around him" (McGilligan).

Eastwood was drafted into the army some months after the Korean War broke out in the summer of 1950.  But he stayed stateside during the war, and by the summer of 1953 was back in Seattle and living with his parents at 1917 33rd Avenue S, near Colman Park. In June 1953 he taught lifeguard training at the Red Cross Aquatic School at Beaver Lake.

The Red Cross Aquatic Schools offered training in first aid, lifesaving, small craft handling, and water safety techniques, but the schools were limited to participants who either planned to teach these skills or work as lifeguards. It was quite a coup in 1939 when Gus and Lulu Bartels, owners of Beaver Lake’s Four Seasons Resort, successfully negotiated with the Red Cross to select Beaver Lake as its permanent Northwest location for its aquatic school. In 1954, the year after Eastwood’s stint at Beaver Lake, the Issaquah Press reported that there were only five such schools in the country.  Ten-day classes were held at Beaver Lake in mid-to-late June for many years between 1939 and 1956, though it’s not clear whether they were held there every single year.

The 1953 aquatic school began on June 16 and ended on June 26. Thirty-nine trainees from as far away as Utah participated, representing police departments, Northwest industries, and youth groups. Participants plunked down $45 ($375 in 2011 dollars) for the course. This also covered room and board at the resort, which had been purchased in 1950 by Dick and Ruth Anderson and renamed Andy’s Beaver Lake Resort (usually just called Andy’s).  Trainees could choose to specialize in first aid or water safety work.

Eastwood evidently taught both classes, and two pictures of him at work appear in the Seattle Times on June 27, 1953.  One shows him demonstrating artificial respiration with a group of other instructors, while the other is a pleasing close-up of Eastwood demonstrating a pair of "water wings," wet knotted pants with its legs filled with air, that serve as an effective flotation device in the absence of a life vest.  Water safety instruction at the school also included survival techniques using a dishpan and using heavy boots.

The weather was cool and rainy for nearly the entire course.  And the classes weren’t easy. The instructors were "lifebuoys" and the trainees "scum," and the lifebuoys kept the scum on their toes, for example delighting in keeping them out in a cold wind and rain for almost two hours while drilling them on the intricacies of canoe instruction.

But it wasn’t all work and no play. A couple of evenings both lifebuoys and scum joined together for costume parties, and meals were occasions for joking and singing. Another evening near the end of the course the lifebuoys initiated the scum, officiated by a freshwater King Neptune. The school may have also put on a public demonstration of water safety and first aid techniques on Sunday, June 21. Press accounts describe such Sunday public demonstrations during other years, including 1954, but don’t mention it in 1953.

Eastwood returned to Kennydale Beach after the aquatic school ended and worked as a lifeguard there for at least some part of the summer of 1953.  But his life soon changed. By the end of 1953 he was married and living in Los Angeles -- and you know the rest of the story. And what otherwise would be a long-forgotten Red Cross training course at Beaver Lake  instead became a singular thread in the tapestry of Sammamish history. 

Original link can be found here

Flashback, Sundance Film Festival 1990 – Clint’s tribute to Leone

I’ve had a couple of pictures of Clint at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival for some time now. I’ve been meaning to post them for years, but I always like to provide something of a background story behind the photos. I did eventually track down a worthy little piece which I thought would work well with these photos and summarised the event. Here is the story which was written by The Standard-Examiner (published in Ogden, Utah) newspaper columnist Donald Porter on Jan 25^th, 1990.

PARK CITY - It was impossible not to notice Clint Eastwood when he entered the room. Sure, he's a head taller than most people and, obviously, his face is one of the most recognized on the plane. But that doesn't explain it. Not exactly.

There's just an indefinable something about him that won't permit otherwise rational people to let him pass unnoticed. But he wasn't at the Sundance United States Film Festival to talk about himself or to promote a new film. Rather, the topic of discussion -- for a scant 15 minutes, anyway -- was the man who gave Eastwood his star in the Hollywood firmament: the late Sergio Leone, who died last year after suffering a heart attack.

"It was an odd year for me, my life in '63," Eastwood recalled as he sat before an audience of journalists and other assorted gawkers in the Yarrow Hotel. "I had an offer to go to Rome and make an Italian-German-Spanish co-production with an Italian director whom no one had ever heard of."

Leone, the director in question, had only one film under his belt at the time, "Colossus of Rhodes," but he had been working as an assistant director in the movie business for years. Eastwood was almost as obscure, playing second fiddle as Rowdy Yates on the TV series "Rawhide."

Together, though, they would change the face of the big-screen western forever. After their first of three collaborations -- "A Fistful of Dollars" -- the American lore of the West would never be the same.

As Eastwood remembered it, "I just took a lark, I threw the dice and it was a great pleasure when I met Sergio. He didn't speak a word of English; he could say 'goodbye' and I could say 'arrivederci.' but we seemed to have a good rapport right away. We did have an interpreter for a while, but after a while sign language seemed to fit what we were doing."

Eastwood revealed that he knew "A Fistful of Dollars" would be different than any American western early on, for various reasons. Not the least of which was that Leone had no working knowledge of Hays Office restrictions -- the production code that had since the early '30s enforced certain ethical and moral attitudes on films released in the United States, such as no nudity, bad language or graphic violence.

"That was good, in a way," Eastwood said, "because he could just approach it completely from a wholly European, different perspective than we were used to. And that was fun for me. (But) I didn't know if it would work. … I'd go from moments of thinking ‘This might be brilliant,’ to ‘This may be the worst disaster in history.’

Eastwood, who for much of the past 20 years has been a respected actor and director in his own right, recalled that he realized "A Fistful of Dollars" was a blatant remake of Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" immediately upon reading the script, but assumed that the rights had been purchased by the Europeans before filming began.

They hadn't. So the film was held up in litigation for some time after it was completed, and delayed its release in America for several months. Leone, who later directed the epic films "Once Upon a Time in the West," "Duck, You Sucker" and "Once Upon a Time in America," was easy to work for, Eastwood said. As he recalled, the director just let him do what he wanted -- and the anti-hero, the violent loner, the laconic good/bad western hero was created. Eastwood, running a hand through his mostly gray hair, explained the genesis of the Man with No Name: “He understood what I was doing. The producers didn't, though. When the producers first looked at the rushes on ‘A Fistful of Dollars,’ they thought this gringo was absolutely out of his mind – ‘he's not doing anything, he's just standing around with a cigar in his mouth.’

“They didn't realize the symbolic nature (of the character), and I was kind of rationing out myself because I felt he was the pivotal symbol of the film, and wasn't supposed to be real active when all the hysteria was going on around him. That's kind of the way it was in ‘Yojimbo.' "

Eastwood and Leone were vindicated, however, when the film became a worldwide smash, vaulting Eastwood to stardom and spawning two sequels -- "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" -- both of which were directed by Leone and starred Eastwood.

The actor, speaking too quietly to hear at times, told several humorous anecdotes about this early stage of his career – stories that take on special significance when viewed from his nearly matchless stature in the industry today. For instance, he said, the producers of “A Fistful of Dollars” wanted to pay him $15,000 to star in the film, so Eastwood asked his agents if they planned to negotiate the price upward.

“They said, ‘No, they have Rory Calhoun waiting in the wings. You better go for it.’ ”

Eastwood said the role in “A Fistful of Dollars" was attractive also because “Rowdy Yates was sort of the second banana on ('Rawhide') and the dumber of the two main characters on the show.” He wanted to show he could carry a movie on his own. The rest is, as they say, history.

Eastwood has forged a remarkable film career, deftly moving from urban shoot-'em-ups like the “Dirty Harry" series to comedies (“Every Which Way But Loose," “Bronco Billy") to psychodramas ("The Beguiled," “Tightrope") to art-house delights (“Bird") and much, much more. In fact, it was one of Eastwood's most recent films that brought the two men back together after a long separation.

“We kind of grew apart in recent years and hadn't seen each other for some time," Eastwood said. “But last year I went to Rome with a film called 'Bird' that received very good reception. So I went over there and Sergio called me. And it was almost like a renewal of the friendship.”

As a footnote to all this talk of 25-year-old westerns, Eastwood told the audience in Park City that he plans to return to his cinematic roots and make another western soon [Unforgiven], after he finishes the current project he's working on.

Clint Eastwood Gets R-Rating on '15:17 to Paris' Overturned

The film will hit theatres in February with a PG-13 rating

 – The Hollywood Reporter

Clint Eastwood has won an appeal to overturn the R rating originally assigned to his upcoming film, The 15:17 to Paris. Instead, it will be rated PG-13.

The real-life drama recounts the much-publicized story about an attempted terror attack on a train from Brussels to Paris in 2015, which was thwarted by three former U.S. servicemen - played by the real-life heroes Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone in the film.

According to a source, the R rating was given for the train attack scene at the centre of the film, which the Classification and Rating Administration described as "a sequence of violence and bloody images."

The Classification and Rating Appeals Board says it reviews 800 to 900 films each year, with fewer than 12 ratings a year appealed. Eastwood represented his own film on behalf of Warner Bros., which opens the film in theatres on Feb. 9^th 2018.

THE 15:17 TO PARIS - Live It Twice Featurette from Warner Bros

Here's a brand new 15:17 to Paris teaser featurette from Warner Bros which shows some behind the scenes footage and brief interview clips with both Clint and cast members.
              

Mad Magazine, Dirty Larry - September 1972

MAD is an American humour magazine founded in 1952 by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines, launched as a comic book before it became a magazine. It was widely imitated and influential, affecting satirical media, as well as the cultural landscape of the 20th century, with Editor Al Feldstein increasing readership to more than two million during its 1974 circulation peak. As of January 2017, Mad has published 544 regular issues, as well as hundreds of reprint "Specials", original material paperbacks, compilation books and other print projects.

The magazine is the last surviving title from the EC Comics line, offering satire on all aspects of life and popular culture, politics, entertainment, and public figures. Its format is divided into a number of recurring segments such as TV and movie parodies, as well as freeform articles. Mad's mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, is typically the focal point of the magazine's cover, with his face often replacing that of a celebrity or character that is lampooned within the issue.

In September 1972, Issue 153 featured an adaptation of Clint’s Dirty Harry. Lampooned as Dirty Larry, the issue sadly didn’t use the Eastwood character for the front cover. However, it’s a fun adaptation, so thought I would post it here. The strip is illustrated by Mort Drucker who drew 238 Film Spoofs for Mad Magazine in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s, or 52.3% of all Mad Magazine Film Spoof parodies. He also drew 113, or 30.46 % of all Mad Magazine TV Show Parodies. I have had the scans on file for a long time now, so a big thank you to whoever took the time to scan these pages and upload them to the internet. 

Tense First Trailer for Clint's 'The 15:17 to Paris'

Here it is, the first trailer for Clint’s upcoming film The 15:17 to Paris. The new film stars the actual heroes from that August 2015 incident: Anthony Sadler, Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos and U.S. Air Force Airman First Class Spencer Stone.

The first trailer for the film opens with Sadler, Skarlatos and Stone aboard the Thaylis train while on a European vacation. Panic sweeps through the train as a rifle-toting terrorist walks the aisles. The preview flashes back to the trio's childhood and their military training and combat experience. The trailer closes with Stone lunging at the terrorist.

My thanks to our friend Jayne for getting this to me.

            

Clint’s Where Eagles Dare MP40 is handed into police under gun amnesty

A man walks into a Bridgwater Police Station and hands in a prop sub-machine gun and says it was used by Clint Eastwood in a movie while disguised as a Nazi…

It sounds like the opening line to a joke, right? Except, it happens to be all true.

Police holding a weapons amnesty was stunned after a man handed in Clint Eastwood's MP40 machine gun he used in the film 'Where Eagles Dare'. Avon and Somerset Police say the prop German sub-machine gun was dropped at Bridgwater Police Station by an unnamed man who worked in the film industry. He told officers the MP40 sub-machine gun was used by Eastwood in the movie while he was disguised as a Nazi. Richard Vise evidential property and stores manager, said: 'A man walked into the station claiming to work in the film industry. 'He said the machine gun was used by Clint Eastwood in Where Eagles Dare. He said it was a prop which we have since confirmed. It could be valuable.'

Mr Vise added that the majority of guns will be destroyed. More interesting items including the Eastwood gun will go to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. Twelve WWII handguns - including a Colt.45, Walther P38 and Russian semi-automatic Tokarev - were also collected by Avon and Somerset police. The force received 220 weapons in the amnesty, which started on November 13 and ended on November 26

My thanks to our friend Alwyn for sending this story to me.

Wand'rin' Star / I Talk to the Trees Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood’s chart topping hit

Aside from the Morricone Dollar single releases, Wand'rin' Star / I Talk to the Trees is arguably the most successful vinyl release among Eastwood related records. "Wand'rin' Star" was a number one single in the UK and Ireland for Lee Marvin for three weeks in March 1970. Although rather strangely, the 7” UK record release was one of the very few not to feature a full picture sleeve cover? A huge amount of releases from around the world all seemed to benefit from a different picture sleeve, apart from the generic Paramount sleeve that UK record buyers had to settle for. It’s always puzzled me as to why. I thought I would take this opportunity to present some of the many designs for this single release. I have spent some time in digitally restoring these sleeves, in order to display them at their best and as they would of appeared back in their day. First, a little history and background on the tracks.

Wand'rin' Star was originally written by Alan J. Lerner (lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) for the stage musical in 1951. When the film of the musical was made in 1969, Lee Marvin took the role of prospector Ben Rumson. Not a natural singer, Marvin nevertheless sang all of his songs in the film, rejecting the idea of miming to another singer's voice. Despite the film being a box office flop, the soundtrack became a success. Orchestrated and arranged by Nelson Riddle, Marvin's version of the song "Wand'rin Star" became a number-one single in Ireland and the UK and earned him a Gold Record. It also kept The Beatles at number two in the UK with their single "Let It Be". Marvin never released a follow-up single which resulted in him being recognised as a one-hit wonder.

In most instances, Clint Eastwood’s I talk to the trees was featured on the B side; however, this did vary on a couple of releases.

Below: The UK single release which did not come in a picture sleeve.

Wand'rin' Star Denmark picture sleeve single

Wand'rin' Star French picture sleeve single 1

Wand'rin' Star French picture sleeve single 2

Wand'rin' Star French picture sleeve single 3

Wand'rin' Star French picture sleeve single 4 1981 re-issue MCA

Wand'rin' Star German picture sleeve single

Wand'rin' Star Indian picture sleeve single

Wand'rin' Star Israel picture sleeve single

Wand'rin' Star Italy picture sleeve single

Wand'rin' Star Japan picture sleeve single

Wand'rin' Star Netherlands picture sleeve

Wand'rin' Star Norway picture sleeve single

Wand'rin' Star Portugal picture sleeve single EP

Wand'rin' Star Spanish picture sleeve single

Wand'rin' Star Sweden picture sleeve single