Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman starred in the beloved western Unforgiven (1992), earning Eastwood the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director.
Clint Eastwood, a multi-time Cowboys & Indians cover star, will be presented with the inaugural Cultural Leadership Award this Sunday, September 29, at the 67th Annual Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey, California
The western star has sat on the board of the Monterey Jazz Festival for many years, and will be presented with the honor by longtime friend Morgan Freeman, who graced C&I’s January 2010 issue. Eastwood and Freeman’s first collaboration was 1992’s Unforgiven, which won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Eastwood.
The pair would co-star again in 2004’s Million Dollar Baby, which earned Eastwood the Best Picture and Best Director awards as well as a Best Supporting Actor honor for Freeman. Their final collaboration was 2009’s Invictus, for which Freeman was nominated for Best Actor.
Following the award presentation, a musical project title, “Eastwood Symphonic,” will be led by Eastwood’s son and jazz musician and composer, Kyle Eastwood.
The project will feature Kyle Eastwood’s quartet alongside an orchestral ensemble performing themes from Clint Eastwood’s popular films like Flags of Our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Gran Torino, and Bridges of Madison County.
Eastwood’s Central Coast ties run deep — he moved there when he was drafted into the Korean War and trained at nearby Fort Ord, where he was discovered by crewmembers from Universal Studios, according to movie lore. Despite receiving a screen test shortly after (which reportedly went poorly), Eastwood took drama lessons until his first minor on-screen role in 1955. The actor earned his breakthrough role in 1958’s Rawhide series as cowpuncher Rowdy Yates.
Eastwood eventually purchased a home on the Central Coast, later being sworn in as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1986.