At last, it's official: Clint Eastwood is not Stan Laurel's son. Well, at least, he says he isn't.
Perhaps one of the more unlikely urban myths (but Google the protagonists' names and you'll see how widespread it is), the Dirty Harry star has long had his parentage disputed by people who saw two film stars with tufty hair and came to the inevitable conclusion.
In an interview reprinted in today's Sun newspaper, however, Eastwood has taken the opportunity to set the record straight once and for all.
"It's because my hair stands up," the actor, director and multihyphenated film legend said of the claims. "My mother was hysterical. She said, 'I always admired the man, but I never met him let alone had his child.'"
So that appears to be that. That said, there is a variant to the rumour that claims Eastwood was in fact adopted from the Laurels by his "parents". And that he is directly related to the Queen of Sheba. So expect updates on the story in the upcoming weeks.
