Oh, that slick-playing Clint Eastwood did his best to throw Barbara Walters off of her interview game by flirting with her. It worked.
Eastwood was chatting it up with Walters for one of her ABC interviews in 1982. At the time, Eastwood was single. It happened to be the second time that she’d interviewed the “Dirty Harry” actor.
While the first interview went pretty smoothly, the second one turned in a totally different direction. Understand, though, that Walters had worked hard over the previous decade-plus. She interviewed politicians, heads of state, and presidents for NBC’s “Today Show.”
She knew how to ask tough questions and get key information from her interview subjects. Walters practiced her craft through interviews and writing scripts based on them later.
With all that said, Walters lost her composure and balance when talking with Clint Eastwood a second time. She was now working for ABC at this time.
Barbara Walters Tries To Get Serious With Clint Eastwood
She reflects upon that interview in her 2008 book, “Audition: A Memoir.” Walters looked at Clint Eastwood and asked if he ever tells someone else how he is doing emotionally.
He answered by saying that he would not tell a woman everything that he was feeling. Her response to that was that he’d drive her crazy because she could not stop herself from asking questions.
Walters writes in her book that he “looked deep” into her eyes, smiled, and said, “Well, we could try and see if it worked out.”
That was it. Walters, the consummate professional, was sent mentally and emotionally in another direction.
Walters Admits That Eastwood Turned Her ‘Goofy’
“At which point, for the first and last time in an interview, I lost it,” Walters said. “I got all flustered and goofy and told the cameraman to stop tape.
“What’s worse, after the interview, Eastwood asked if I wanted to stay and have dinner with him. God knows why, but I said I had to fly back to Los Angeles with my crew.”
Eastwood eventually married Diana Ruiz while Walters pursued her love life as well. Walters did interview Eastwood other times after the 1982 meeting, but they didn’t mention that one which flew Walters off her game.
She went on to continue interviewing celebrities and well-known people on “20/20” while also being one of the original hosts of ABC’s “The View.”
No one knows if any other celebrity has been able to knock the venerable Walters off her game like Clint Eastwood.