Eastwood files suit over unauthorized bio
McGilligan, St. Martin's accused of libelous tome
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The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose late Tuesday, also contends author Patrick McGilligan and publisher St. Martin's Press attempted to destroy Eastwood's reputation in "Clint: The Life of a Legend."
"Clint Eastwood is not only an icon in the entertainment industry, but he is also a family man," Marshall Grossman, Eastwood's lawyer, said. "He is entitled to have what is written about him be accurate and truthful."
The book was published in the U.S. in August after being available for several years in Great Britain. Grossman said the suit was being filed now because the book was filled with errors and was harming Eastwood's reputation.
Paul Sleven, general counsel for St. Martin's Press, declined to comment because the case is in litigation, but said the publisher was confident the book was accurate. Author McGilligan, who has written biographies of James Cagney, Jack Nicholson and Fritz Lang, also declined to go into much detail, but said, "The book is fair and honest to the best of my ability."
The suit said the book falsely claimed the 72-year-old actor "cold-cocked" and "decked" his first wife, Maggie, and that Eastwood, famed for his onscreen tough-guy image, was "dead scared" to go to Korea during his military service.
Along with $10 million, the suit also seeks punitive damages for "harming Eastwood's reputation and standing in the community, mortification and embarrassment."
