WASHINGTON -- Clint Eastwood, the tough-guy actor who gave President Reagan one of his best lines -- 'Make my day' -- is the No. 1 hero of America's 18- to 24-year-olds, a poll showed Sunday.
In the nationwide survey by the Roper Organization, commissioned by U.S. News & World Report, the steely Eastwood was named by 30 percent of the young adults who were asked: 'What public figures living anywhere in the world do you find personally inspiring and would you hope to be like in some way?'
Following Eastwood were actor-comedian Eddie Murphy, with 24 percent; President Reagan, 15 percent; actress Jane Fonda 14.3 percent; actress Sally Field and film director Steven Spielberg, tied with 13.7 percent each; Pope John Paul, 12 percent; Mother Teresa, 10 percent, and entertainers Michael Jackson and Tina Turner, tied with 9.5 percent.
The heroes and heroines tended to be portrayed in roles as strong, go-it-alone individuals. Most were rich or successful.
The survey found most young adults willing to name a hero, which surprised Roper President Shirley Wilkins who said, 'That would not have been true a decade or more ago.'
In a similar poll in 1969, about 40 percent of Americans refused to name a hero and in 1973, nearly 60 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds declined to name anyone in a 'most admired' survey.
In the current poll, only 19 percent said they did not have a hero or heroine.
For the new survey, the Roper Organization polled 315 people out of a sample of 2,000 adults interviewed nationwide.
Eastwood, who dared young punks to 'Make my Day,' as Inspector Harry (Dirty Harry) Callahan in the 1983 movie 'Sudden Impact,' was cited by 40 percent of the males asked to name a hero. He was named by 18 percent of the females.
Reagan borrowed the line recently in daring Congress to raise taxes.
