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Born on a farm in Grafton, North Dakota on August 9, 1938, Clinton Charles Augustus Ritchie lived there until he was seven years old. He and his parents then moved to Washington. "My father worked on farms around Grafton," Clint relayed. "One of the guys he worked for was A.B. Thompson, who was a big potato farmer."
At age 16, Clint left Washington and moved to California, but not Hollywood. At that point, he was not yet ready to pursue his secret dream of becoming an actor. There were many detours on his road to stardom. "I was too shy," Clint admits. "I went to San Jose, where I had a variety of jobs." Those jobs included truck driver, service station attendant, construction worker in a furniture factory, bartender (until they discovered his age -- 19) and health club/gym manager.
Clint finally decided that if he was going to be an actor, he had to be where the "action" was, so he moved to Southern California. Even then, it took him two years to work up the nerve to go to acting class. His life turned around once that occurred. He got a six month contract with Columbia Pictures after studying with Estelle Harman for two years. He landed the lead role in a one-act play of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." His turn as Randall Patrick McMurphey (Jack
BG: Nicholson would later rise to super-stardom playing the role in the motion picture) led to a seven-year contract at 20th Century Fox.
When 20th Century Fox went through budget cuts, Clint and many other performers were released from their contracts. Clint enjoys having the distinction of being among the last contingent of contract players. Tom Selleck, Lyle Waggoner, Sam Elliott, and Jacqueline Bisset were also released from their contracts with the studio at the same time. Clint moved to the San Fernando Valley where he worked extensively with horses, telling himself that he was happy.
Clint signed with a new agent in 1975 and began working again, primarily in television. He appeared in "Police Story," "Batman," "Felony Squad," the tv-movie "Three Desperate Women," "Dallas," commercials, and the mini-series "Centennial." During that time, he discovered and embraced the teachings and philosphy of the Church of Religious Science.
Writing is another favorite pasttime of Clint's. He wrote a screenplay based on the true story of Francois Aubry, whom Clint describes as "the greatest long distance horseman who ever lived."
When presented with an 11-page scene and a breakdown of the character who would eventually become "Clint Buchanan," Clint was not aware that the scene was from a daytime soap -- or that the show was filmed in New York City. But Clint immediately knew that he was right for the part. Barbara Remsen, "One Life to Live's" casting director at the time, was looking for an "outdoors newspaperman" and
Clint made his debut on "One Life to Live" on September 10, 1979. Clint thought the job would last about 13 weeks, so for at least that time, he says he didn't even bother to unpack the boxes of belongings he had brought with him to New York. "I had no idea they did a complete show each day or that you were expected to learn the amount of dialogue we learn. When I did a movie, we took 10 weeks to shoot it, and I'd have only two or three pages of dialogue a day. I remember one day Erika Slezak and I had over 50 pages of dialogue, and we did it," Clint recalls.
On May 10, 1993, Clint's life took its most dramatic turn. Home at the ranch, enjoying some much-needed time off, Clint was using his classic John Deere tractor to remove tree roots. The tractor upended, tossing Clint to the ground, before running over him. Clint sustained life-threatening injuries, including a broken collarbone, numerous broken ribs, and collapsed lungs. Fortunately, Clint had taken the cell phone with him that day (a premonition?) and help was summoned quickly. Clint was treated at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center in Sacramento before returning to the ranch to recuperate. He credits the doctors and nurses there with saving his life.
Clint's injuries caused him to be away from the "One Life to Live" studios for many weeks. Reportedly, his co-star,
As things turned out, Clint's initial 13 week contract evolved into a successful nearly 20 year run portraying Clint Buchanan. Clint spent all of his free time at Happy Horse Ranch, but found himself overseeing projects ranging from simple caretaking of his many animals to major building renovations long distance from his New York City apartment.
In late 1998, dismayed by the manner in which his character had been scripted over the prior few years and concerned about the overall direction of the show, Clint decided not to renew his contract and retire to Happy Horse Ranch permanently.
While in New York in Spring 1999, as part of the annual "One Life to Live" Fan Club luncheon, Clint's Official Fan Club paid tribute to him for his many years of outstanding performances by contributing to the Phoenix Equine Foundation and adopting a horse named "Quigley" in his honor.
The show's Executive Producer, Frank Valentini, a very close friend of Clint's, convinced him, in response to fan demand, to return for a one-episode "fan fantasy" in February 2003. Clint totally enjoyed his brief return to New York City to work with old pals "Philly" and "Bobby" in "The Buchanans Ride Again."  Clint will be returning to New York City in April 2003 to reprise his long-running role as Clint Buchanan returns to modern day Llanview, Pennsylvania.
A few years ago, TV Guide's Michael Logan declared that the role of Clint Buchanan, along with those of Asa and Bo Buchanan, should never be recast. Mr. Logan opined that no one but Clint can play the "signature role." Clint's fans couldn't agree more and anticipate their favorite cowboy's return to their television screens! |
Clint earned his Screen Actors Guild membership with a role in the pilot for the popular television series "The Wild Wild West." He followed that with roles in films, including "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" (1967), "Bandolero" (1968), "Patton" (1970), "Joe Kid" (1972), and "A Force of One" (1977). "They were all enjoyable experiences," Clint reflected.
Without realizing it, however, he had withdrawn from his chosen profession.
Clint never lost his love for horses, of course. For instance, in 1976, he and his favorite mount, Hammer, entered and completed the Western States Endurance Race, known as the "Tevis Cup," which requires covering 100 miles of demanding canyon paths to mountain trails within 24 hour times. He earned a belt buckle that he proudly wears regularly.
liked what she saw in Clint the moment he arrived -- in his cowboy attire. Although the character was originally named "Chris Logan," Ms. Remsen asked Clint if he would mind sharing his name with his character. He assured her that he did not, although, over the years, bearing the same name and having so many similar characteristics has caused some confusion between the man and the fictional character. By the time Clint reported for work, his character's surname had also been changed to "Buchanan."
Within a year of joining "One Life To Live," Clint realized another dream when he purchased Happy Horse Ranch, near Grass Valley, California. Over the years, Clint purchased properties adjacent to the original Ranch, so that today Happy Horse consists of approximately 60 acres. Over the years, Clint flew home to the ranch as often as possible when he wasn't needed in front of the cameras.
Erika Slezak, implored the show's producers not to recast the role of Clint Buchanan, but, rather, to simply create a storyline that would account for Clint's absence from the show. Acceding to her request, Clint Buchanan was injured in an airplane crash and recuperated at his fictional Happy Horse Ranch in Arizona. Clint was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support he received during that time period from fans and co-workers alike. His on-screen brother, Robert S. Woods, among others, came to California to spend time with him at the ranch while he recovered. When Clint was well enough to return to New York City and resume work on the show, Clint Buchanan was also well enough to return home. Both Clints received warm welcomes!
He arrived in California in late December 1998. Clint Buchanan may have left Llanview, but he was certainly not forgotten -- by the show's writers, Clint's co-stars or his many fans!
Clint had barely had time to catch his breath when he was coaxed out of retirement to again portray Clint Buchanan for about 30 days in late spring 1999. To his delight, those scripts reflected what he considers to be the "real" Clint Buchanan. He earned 
Since retiring, Clint has remained busy and happy tending to the Happy Horse Ranch, where there is always something that needs to be attended to, whether it be one of the animal residents, a sprinkler system, a fence in need of mending or . . . At last count, the Happy Horse Family included 35 horses, 3 dogs (Lucky, Sheila and Bear), and too many cats to count. An Arabian stallion and a Newfoundland dog weighing in at about 105 pounds were adopted when their owner was diagnosed with end-stage cancer and could no longer care for them. Although Clint can frequently be heard declaring, "I don't want to own anything else that eats!," any animal in need of a home finds one at Happy Horse. All 3 dogs --- yes, even the massive "Bear" 
Bear --- make themselves at home inside Clint's sprawling, comfortable house. He laughingly tells visitors, "This isn't a house. It's 'Clint's Kennel!'"
Despite his retirement, Clint's Official Fan Club continues to thrive, in no small measure due to Clint's dedication to his fans and participation in on-line chats and other activities.