# Clint Eastwood's Husk of a Voice **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2009, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clint-eastwoods-husk-of-a-voice/499723 "2009-06-14T10:13:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clint-eastwoods-husk-of-a-voice/499723/1 "2009-06-14T10:13:15Z")
What was the first movie where Clint Eastwood spoke in a tracheotomy whisper? If it’s not his natural voice, and I’m kind of assuming it’s not, what is it supposed to tell us about his character? ---
**Author:** ![Reverse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@Reverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reverse)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clint-eastwoods-husk-of-a-voice/499723/2 "2009-06-14T10:25:00Z")
> [@11811](#): > > what is it supposed to tell us about his character? That he’s a badass. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clint-eastwoods-husk-of-a-voice/499723/3 "2009-06-14T10:42:26Z")
I’m pretty sure it \*is \*his real voice - he didn’t use it in \*\*Unforgiven \*\*or in any of his 90’s films, and while his voice was weakening in [Space Cowboys](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgJwtwYA1bw&feature=related), it wasn’t quite a rasp yet. As some point between 2000 and \*\*Million Dollar \*\*\*\*Baby \*\*in 2004, Eastwood lost his voice. I don’t see why that’s so surprising - he is, after all, 79 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clint-eastwoods-husk-of-a-voice/499723/4 "2009-06-14T15:37:24Z")
He’s exaggerating it. It burnishes that steely one-dimensionality people love about him. Listen to him in interviews, where he’s quietly conversational. That forced hiss, pushed out of a tight diaphragm and clenched jaw, isn’t nearly as obvious there. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clint-eastwoods-husk-of-a-voice/499723/5 "2009-06-14T20:17:08Z")
It is like the wrestlers on TV. They learn a hoarse way of talking that makes them sound tough. They don’t do it in real life very often. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clint-eastwoods-husk-of-a-voice/499723/6 "2009-06-15T03:12:32Z")
I think he did something like it in Heartbreak Ridge. It’s a shame, he used to have much better range and did humor quite well. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clint-eastwoods-husk-of-a-voice/499723/7 "2009-06-15T15:21:33Z")
“Talk softly and carry a big stick.”