Photo Opportunity #65 Rare Eastwood AFI photos from 1973

Photo Opportunity #65 Rare Eastwood AFI photos from 1973

Now I have to come clean, I really don’t know too much about these great Photos - photos which I simply must post for this month’s Photo Opportunity.

As far as I can tell - these super photos were taken for The American Film Institute (AFI) in 1973. The American Film Institute is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honours the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. 

The ‘AFI Life Achievement Award’ was established by the board of directors of the American Film Institute on February 26, 1973, to honour a single individual for their lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion pictures and television. The recipient is selected and honoured at an annual ceremony, with the award presented by a master of ceremonies and, recently, the prior year's recipient.

These photos tie-in nicely actually as 1973 was the year that Clint became a member – that year’s first Life Achievement Award was also presented to western legend, John Ford. Director John Ford was a unanimous choice of the board of trustees for the first award as he "clearly stands preeminent in the history of motion pictures." President Richard Nixon attended the gala dinner at which Ford was presented the award on March 31, 1973.

Clint would receive the AFI Life Achievement himself on February 29th, 1996 and was presented by  his friend, Steven Spielberg. 

Anyway, 3 great photos for the month of September...

Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine at the 31st Annual Thalians Ball Hollywood, October 11th, 1986

Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine at the 31st Annual Thalians Ball in Hollywood, California on October 11, 1986:

I recently discovered these photos in a folder, so thought they were worthy of a post. The Thalians is a Hollywood-based charitable organization founded in 1955 by actors and entertainers to address mental health issues, initially focusing on children and now dedicating its efforts to supporting the mental health of U.S. military personnel and their families through the UCLA Operation Mend program. Named after Thalia, the Greek Muse of comedy and poetry, the organization has raised over $50 million for mental health causes over its history and honours "Mr. or Ms. Wonderful" at its annual galas.

Above: Clint with MacLaine and Lana Turner

Shirley MacLaine took time off from her other lives to join The Thalians as Ms. wonderful for our 31st Anniversary Gala Ball. The theme for this fabulous evening was "You Should See Her Now!" Clint Eastwood, John Forsythe, Ruta Lee (in a wild "Irma La Douce" number), Fred MacMurray, Dean Martin and surprise guest, John Travolta along with a line of gorgeous Can-Can dancers entertained the dazzled audience. Presidents Club members were feted by Parisian Designer Pierre Le Prince who introduced his 1986 countre and prêt-a-porter collections. The Presidents Club ventured forth to salute talented Barbara Rush at a performance of her one woman smash hit show, "A Woman of Independent Means." This was followed by a sumptuous dinner at the Hamlet Gardens.

Clint was chosen himself by The Thalians at their 53rd Anniversary Gala/Ball on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The event was to honour his lifetime achievements and benefit the Thalians Mental Health Center at Cedars-Sinai.

Below: A rare newspaper cutting featuring Clint, Shirley, Lana and James Coburn

Below: The program for the 1986 event

Some relaxing time with Kyle and Alison 1980s

Some relaxing time with Kyle and Alison 1980s

I discovered these in a folder on my desktop, I’m really not sure where these came from or who possibly sent me them? But they are certainly nice shots. The pictures show Clint relaxing with both Kyle and Alison – looking at the terrain, I can only assume this is in Carmel. If I had to guess a date for these, I would probably say around 1983/4. A couple of nice shots that I didn’t want lost. 

Clint at the RFK Tennis tournament - Forest Hills, New York City, August 27th 1977.

Clint at the RFK Tennis tournament - Forest Hills, New York City, August 27th 1977

Firstly, a bit of background information and some great rare photos. So, what were the RFK tournaments? The annual Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Tennis Tournament began at the West Side Tennis Club and carried on throughout the ’70s. It was a celebrity pro-am tournament that saw stars paired with professional male and female players in several tennis matches. Plenty of big Hollywood celebs made appearances at the event over the years. The purpose of the tournament was to raise money for RFK charity programs through entry costs. Both players and observers were charged, with celebrity entry costing $2,500 (over $10,000 by today’s standard) and observer entry costing anywhere between $5 and $100 (up to $480 by today’s standard). 

Below: The Proham for the 1977 event

As could be expected, a considerable number of Kennedy family members opened their schedules every year to attend the memorial for their late kin. Brothers and sisters of Robert, as well as nieces and nephews, gathered in the stands and laced up their tennis shoes to watch and to play as both celebrities and professionals rallied back and forth on the court.

Some notable members of the Kennedy clan that attended the event included Ethel, Ted, and Eunice Kennedy. Often spotted together while watching the tennis matches were John F. Kennedy Jr., Caroline Kennedy, Maria Shriver, and Jackie Kennedy.

The stars were ready to grab their rackets

Considering it was a celebrity event; it’s no surprise that some of the biggest stars of the time made their appearances at the RFK Tennis Tournaments. Every year, viewers could spot a variety of actors, singers, models, and other entertainers in the stands and on the courts. Some names include Chevy Chase, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dustin Hoffman, Valerie Perrine, Clint Eastwood, Cheryl Tiegs, and many more.

Below: While the tennis tournament was for a good cause, many celebrities took the opportunity to flaunt their personal “tennis club” style, wearing preppy attire they would not be seen in otherwise. Some even decided to show off what they had going on underneath their clothes

Put a group of celebrities in a room together and they’re bound to socialize. Singers were seen shaking hands with politicians while athletes shared jokes with actors. It was a unique experience that put a lot of America’s most famous names in direct contact with one another, making for some pretty incredible photographs.

So, as this event took place almost exactly 48 years ago this month, I thought I would post a nice full set of 18 photos from this event. *The 18 negatives here are from my own personal collection; I have left the original watermarks on them from when I originally obtained the negatives. I know this is a slight distraction and takes away some of their charm, but unfortunately there are still people out there who continue to steal and use images simply in order to profit from them. I really don’t mind sharing However, I didn’t buy these so that other may earn money and profit from them. That just isn’t right. Many Thanks. 

Novelty Stamps: Fake but First Class

Novelty Stamps: Fake but First Class

To be completely honest, I have a fair amount of these ‘quirky collectables’, totally worthless of course, but nevertheless often irresistible. I will have to get some other examples scanned and put here on the same page. 

I thought I’d kick off with this latest one I acquired a few weeks back, which feature Clint as Coogan as well as the Triumph TR6 motorbike. But of course, nothing is quite what it seems, in fact the bike featured on the stamp has a whole different story. Our resident Triumph expert Davy Triumph explained, ‘The image on the stamp is undoubtedly a TR6 but this is a "Pre Unit" construction which dates to around 1961/2. These were phased out early 60s in favour of the Unit construction engines. Coogan’s Bluff features Don Stroud riding a 1968 500cc Triumph Daytona T100, while Eastwood rides a 1968 Triumph Trophy TR6 650cc’

Clint and Don comparing CC

Below: The Coogan's Bluff novelty stamp

Lots more to come…

Here we A Go-Go again!

Here we A Go-Go again!

I have to thank our friend Kevin Walsh for coming up again with another variant of the For A Few Dollars More A-Go-Go Theme. This one has popped up in various guises, but I don’t think I have seen this one before which is nice and vivid. Performed by the Man Chau Po Orchestra, this Stereo 7” EP (MEP. 5) was released in Hong Kong in 1966. The more familiarly seen version is the Singapore release (REP 511) of the same year. 

As well as the Eastwood related content (For A Few Dollars More, Per Qualche Dollaro In Piu' and Titoli), the record also included A-Go-Go from River Kwai – you just have to love it. 

Below: Probably the more familiar design of the same release, this version came from Singapore

Rare UK Rowdy Single finally comes home!

Rare UK Rowdy Single finally comes home!

It was nice to finally put this to bed last month. It's not that they haven't come along before, but often due to the thin paper sleeve, copies of Clint's UK 7” single release Rowdy / Cowboy Wedding Song (1962) often show up badly beaten, torn, crushed up and stained - and still at an incredibly expensive price - a price I wouldn’t' of minded paying IF the quality was there... So a few have come along, and generally I’d decided to let go – opting instead to wait for the next Bus to come along. 

Thankfully all the stars were aligned last month when this beautiful example came my way. haggled a bit on the price, and finally settled on a mutually acceptable figure. 

It's so ironic, because I have rarer demo pressings of the single - but still needed the elusive UK picture sleeve release. I still believe the UK release was the only one to come in a picture sleeve. 

It’s been a long time coming, but proof enough that everything eventually comes to those who wait.

Below: The original flyer from Cameo Parkway Records, February 19th, 1963