Revision as of 23:52, 24 July 2011 editTrend5085 (talk | contribs)5 edits Personal life: Lawsuits← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 04:14, 8 January 2025 edit undo37.0.81.239 (talk) →Illness; last relationship: 2003 lawsuit | ||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|American actress (1944–2018)}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2020}} | |||
{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
| name = Sondra Locke | | name = Sondra Locke | ||
| image = Sondra Locke |
| image = Sondra Locke 1969.jpg | ||
| |
| caption = Locke in 1969 | ||
| birth_name = Sandra Louise Smith | |||
| caption = Sondra Locke at the ] | |||
| alias = {{ubl|Sandra Elkins|Sandra Locke|Sondra Anderson}} | |||
| birth_name = | |||
| birth_date |
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1944|05|28}} | ||
| birth_place = ], U.S. | | birth_place = ], U.S. | ||
| death_date |
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|11|03|1944|5|28}} | ||
| death_place |
| death_place = ], California, U.S. | ||
| alma_mater = ] | |||
| othername = | |||
| occupation = |
| occupation = {{flatlist| | ||
* Actress | |||
| yearsactive = 1968–1999 | |||
* director}} | |||
| spouse = Gordon Anderson (1967–present) (separated) | |||
| yearsactive = {{hlist|1962–1999|2016}} | |||
| domesticpartner = ] (1975–1989) | |||
| spouse = {{marriage|Gordon Anderson|September 25, 1967}} | |||
| website = | |||
| domesticpartner = ] (1975–1989)<br>Scott Cunneen (1990–?) | |||
}} | |||
| signature = Sondra Locke autograph signature.jpg}} | |||
'''Sondra Locke''' (born May 28, 1947)<ref name="Encyc">{{Cite book|title=Clint: The Life and Legend|author=Patrick McGilligan|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=0312290322|year=2002|page=229}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/artist/sondra-locke-100009|title=Sondra Lock|author=Hal Erickson|accessdate=6 September 2010}}</ref> is an American actress, singer and ]. | |||
'''Sandra Louise Anderson''' (née '''Smith'''; May 28, 1944 – November 3, 2018), professionally known as '''Sondra Locke''', was an American actress and director. | |||
She made her film debut in '']'' (1968), for which she was nominated for an ]. From 1976 to 1983, she appeared in six films with then partner ], starting with '']'', and ending with the fourth ] film, '']'', where she played a serial killer seeking revenge for a past rape. | |||
An alumna of ], Locke broke into regional show business with assorted posts at the Nashville-based radio station ], then segued into television as a promotions assistant for ]. She performed in the theater company Circle Players Inc. while employed at WSM. In 1968, she made her film debut in '']'', for which she was nominated for an ] and earned dual ] nominations for Best Supporting Actress and ]. | |||
==Early life== | |||
She was born and raised in ]. Her parents are Raymond Smith, who served in the military, and Pauline Bayne Locke, a pencil factory worker. They separated before she was born and her mother quickly married Alfred Taylor Locke (1922–2007), a construction worker. She has a younger half-brother, Don. Locke was the ] of the Shelbyville Central High School class of 1962. She attended ] for a year, before dropping out to pursue an acting career. | |||
Locke went on to appear in such box office successes as '']'' (1971), '']'' (1976), '']'' (1977), '']'' (1978), '']'' (1980), '']'' (1980) and '']'' (1983). She worked regularly with ], who was her companion from 1975 to 1989 despite their marriages to other people. She also directed four films, notably '']'' (1990). She published an autobiography, ''The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly: A Hollywood Journey'', in 1997. | |||
Locke's persona belied her age. She claimed to have been born several years later than 1944, often playing roles written for women far younger than herself, and kept her true age a secret throughout her career.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/021590|title=Starring Sondra Locke|author=Stecher, Raquel|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|date=March 18, 2022}}</ref> For reasons never made clear, her death was not publicly announced and was only confirmed by ] six weeks after she died of cardiac arrest at the age of 74.<ref>. CBS News. December 13, 2018.</ref><ref>. ''The New Zealand Herald''. December 13, 2018.</ref> From 1967 until her death, Locke was the wife of sculptor Gordon Leigh Anderson, in a ] union they reputedly never consummated.<ref name=FilmInk>Harrison, John (December 16, 2018). . ''FilmInk''.</ref><ref name=Telegraph>. ''The Telegraph''. December 14, 2018.</ref> | |||
==Background, early life and education== | |||
] | |||
Sandra Louise Smith was born on May 28, 1944,{{efn|Various dates were given by the press for Locke's birth. Contradictory sources have either directly cited, or implied, 1940<ref>See ''Evening Standard'' (London), Apr. 27, 1989. "The 48-year-old actress has filed a palimony suit in Los Angeles Superior Court..."</ref> and every year from 1943 to 1950,<ref name="Tennessean 12-24-67">{{cite web|last=Hieronymus|first=Clara|title=Nashvillians in the Times|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=December 24, 1967|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/113239153|quote=The spelling of her name has been changed to 'Sondra,' her age lowered to 17 years for publicity purposes, and her residence in Nashville, where she was employed by WSM, wiped out.}}</ref><ref name=ask>{{cite web|title=Just Ask|work=Town & Country|date=May 10, 1969|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QPJNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5963%2C1238919|quote=Sweet little Sondra is actually 25 years old and married. Because of the movie, people think she's about 13, so she's now considering offers to do a nude layout for a magazine to prove she's no kid, and pave the way for adult roles.}}</ref><ref name=Adams>Adams, Marjory (August 27, 1968). . ''The Boston Globe''.</ref><ref>Gilmour, Clyde (December 9, 1972). . ''The Toronto Star''.</ref><ref>Wilson, Earl (December 1, 1977). . ''Fort Lauderdale News''.</ref><ref>Mills, Nancy (August 19, 1986). . ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref><ref name=Siskel>Siskel, Gene (May 6, 1990). . ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Jerry|last=Roberts|title=Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors|year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0810863781|page=345}}</ref> with some of the more brazen PR gimmicks even purporting it to be as late as 1952<ref>Jack Hurst, ''The Charlotte News'', 3.24.79</ref> or 1956.<ref>Barbara Lewis, ''Salina Journal'', 8.8.76</ref> Her most commonly reported year of birth was 1947; Locke's publicist gave that year on several occasions when asked to clarify the inconsistency.<ref name=Slaughter>{{cite web|last=Slaughter|first=Sylvia|title=Sondra vs. Clint in palimony suit|work=The Sunday Tennessean|date=May 28, 1989|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/49099067/the-tennessean|quote=Don Locke loves his sister. He misses her, and he regrets the fact that his three daughters don't have any knowledge of Sondra other than what they see on TV or in print or hear from gossipmongers. 'Sondra's not this kind of bad character,' he says. 'Maybe she's changed, but she was my big sister who used to play baseball with me. Sondra's gonna be 45 May 28 ...' Locke's publicist claims Sondra will be 42 today.}}</ref><ref>. ''Dayton Daily News''. August 10, 1968.</ref><ref>Kay, Terry (June 6, 1971). . ''The Atlanta Constitution''.</ref> However, Locke's marriage license,<ref name=Ancestry>{{cite web|title=Gordon Leigh Anderson, Sondra Louise Locke|url=http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?ti=0&indiv=try&db=tnstatemarriages&h=1213366|work=Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002|publisher=Ancestry.com|quote=Date: 9-25-67; Name of Female Applicant: Sondra Louise Locke; Born: 5-28-44; Age: 23}}</ref> death certificate,<ref name="The Blast">Trock, Gary; Walters, Liz (December 15, 2018). . ''The Blast''.</ref> yearbooks,<ref name="Aquila 1959"></ref><ref name="Aquila 1960"></ref><ref name="Aquila 1961"></ref><ref name="Aquila 1962"></ref> and her entry on public records indexes ]<ref></ref> and ]<ref></ref> establish the year as 1944. "Untruths have been a way of life for her," one former associate wrote to the ''Shelbyville Times-Gazette'' when the disparity came up.<ref name=Melson/> Said another past acquaintance who knew Locke in the 1950s: "She was two years younger than me in Central High, but it is really strange now, because she has now become five years younger."<ref name=Melson/>}}{{efn|Sources are divided as to whether she was born in Alabama or Tennessee.<ref name=HeraldScotland>Pendreigh, Brian (December 16, 2018). . ''HeraldScotland''.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/886047235|title=Talented 'New Faces' Brighten Movie Scene|work=Omaha World-Herald|date=November 3, 1968|quote=One of the more prepossessing actresses of the younger generation is Alabama-born Sondra Locke....}}</ref> Locke said the latter.<ref name=Thompson>{{cite book|first=Douglas|last=Thompson|title=Clint Eastwood: Billion Dollar Man|year=2005|publisher=John Blake Publishing|isbn=9781857825725}}</ref> While not dispositive, the ], which misspells the family name as Lacke, upholds this.<ref>. U.S. National Archives.</ref>}} the daughter of New York City native Raymond Smith, then a soldier stationed at ],{{efn|Smith may have died before Locke learned of him. The actress wrote in her autobiography that she found out he was her father "sometime during grammar school," but phrased all references to him in ambiguous past tense and evaded specifying years.}} and Pauline Bayne, a pencil factory worker from ] who was of mostly Scottish descent, with matrilineages in South Carolina extending back to the late 18th century.<ref>Various compilers, "Vaughn Family Group Sheets"; Jim Freeman received these Family Group Sheets at a Bell family reunion for descendants of David Vaughn.</ref>{{efn|Bayne's surname was also given as Bane, Bain, Baine, or Baines.<ref>. ''The Huntsville Times''. March 12, 1939.</ref><ref>. ''The Huntsville Times''. December 25, 1938.</ref><ref name=1930census>. U.S. National Archives.</ref><ref>. U.S. National Archives.</ref> According to census documents, Locke's maternal grandfather could neither read nor write, hence the variant spellings/versions.<ref name=1930census/>}} Locke's parents separated before her birth.<ref name="Furtado 8-31-13">Furtado, David (August 31, 2013). . ''Wand'rin' Star''.</ref> In her autobiography, Locke noted that "although Momma would not admit it, I knew Mr. Smith never married my mother."<ref name=autobio>{{cite book|last=Locke|first=Sondra|title=The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly: A Hollywood Journey|publisher=William Morrow and Company|year=1997|isbn=068815462X}}</ref> She had a maternal half-brother, Donald (born April 26, 1946), from Bayne's subsequent brief marriage to William B. Elkins.<ref>. ''GenLookups''. p. 29.</ref>{{efn|Bayne was also wed to painter Thomas H. Nelson between marriages to William Elkins and Alfred Locke, for less than eight months.<ref>. FamilySearch.org.</ref>}} When Bayne married Alfred Locke in 1948, Sandra and Donald assumed his surname.<ref>. USGenWeb.</ref>{{efn|In 1945, Locke briefly took the surname of her then-stepfather, Elkins, before her mother changed it again in 1948. Her legal name was changed four times during her first 24 years of life: from Sandra Smith to Sandra Elkins, to Sandra Locke, to Sondra Locke, to Sondra Anderson.}} She grew up in ], where her stepfather owned a construction company.<ref name=Armstrong>{{cite news|url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-taking-up-the-gauntlet-vol-9-no-6|title=Taking Up ''The Gauntlet''|first=Lois|last=Armstrong|work=People|date=February 13, 1978}}</ref> The family later moved to nearby ].<ref name="DNJ 11-2-62">. ''The Daily News Journal''. November 2, 1962.</ref> Self-described as introspective and ambitious, Locke started working part-time at age 16, drove her own car, and had a phone installed in her bedroom.<ref>Lane, Lydia (January 3, 1971). . ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref><ref>Kleiner, Dick (October 9, 1968). . ''Philadelphia Daily News''.</ref> She was raised a ], but stopped going to church as an adult.<ref name=autobio/> | |||
] | |||
Locke was a cheerleader and class valedictorian in junior high, as well as editor-in-chief of ''The Royal'' yearbook and a star player on the girls' basketball team.<ref name=Parish>{{cite book|first=James Robert|last=Parish|title=The Hollywood Book of Breakups|year=2006|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc|isbn=9781630262082}}</ref><ref>Shelbyville Mills School (1958). . Shelbyville, TN. Jacket copy.</ref><ref>"Recreation". ''The Volunteer''. December 18, 1957. p. 5.</ref> From 1958, she attended ], where she again served as valedictorian and was voted "Duchess of Studiousness" by classmates.<ref name=Slaughter/> She continued to play basketball at SCHS, served as ] representative, and was president of the French club.<ref name="Aquila 1959"/><ref name="Aquila 1960"/><ref name="Aquila 1961"/><ref name="Aquila 1962"/> Regardless, she wasn't considered "date material" by the more socially prominent boys in her class.<ref name=Adams/> Locke's first beau, according to locals' reminiscences, was Fred Thomas Jones, a carpenter's son. Her graduation yearbook listed her grade average 97.72% and her ambition "always to take disappointments with a smile."<ref name="Aquila 1962"/> In 1962, Locke matriculated at ] (then Middle Tennessee State College) in ] on a full scholarship.<ref name=autobio/> Majoring in theatre, she was a member of the ] honor society while at MTSU and appeared on stage in '']'' and '']''.<ref name="DNJ 11-2-62"/><ref name=DeGennaro>DeGennaro, Nancy (December 14, 2018). . ''USA Today''.</ref><ref name="DNJ 2-24-63">. ''The Daily News Journal''. February 24, 1963.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://content.mtsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fmtsu1&CISOPTR=1540&CISOBOX=1&REC=6|title=Sondra Locke in The Crucible : MTSU theater production, 1963|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328001053/http://content.mtsu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fmtsu1&CISOPTR=1540&CISOBOX=1&REC=6|archive-date=March 28, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> She dropped out after completing two semesters of study.<ref>{{cite web|first=Tony|last=Pendergrass|url=https://jewlscholar.mtsu.edu/bitstream/handle/mtsu/1850/28037.pdf|title=Sondra Locke to return via cinema|date=February 12, 1971|work=Sidelines}}</ref> | |||
In or around 1963, Locke essentially broke off contact with her family, concluding: "It made no sense for any of us to spend our lives pretending to have relationships that did not really exist."<ref name="Furtado 8-31-13"/><ref>{{cite book|first=Iain|last=Johnstone|title=The Man with No Name: Clint Eastwood|year=1981|publisher=Plexus|isbn=978-0859650267}}</ref> She never knew her biological father,<ref name=Barnes>Barnes, Mike (December 13, 2018). . ''The Hollywood Reporter''.</ref> and did not attend the funerals of her mother (deceased 1997)<ref>''The Tennessean'', 6.14.97</ref> or stepfather (deceased 2007),<ref>. ''Shelbyville Times-Gazette''. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130215407/http://www.t-g.com/story/1294314.html|date=November 30, 2010}}.</ref> nor did she have anything to do with her brother, sister-in-law and three nieces.<ref name=Slaughter/><ref name=Melson>{{cite web|first=David|last=Melson|title=Picturing the Past 160: Sondra Locke on TV|date=May 23, 2012|work=Shelbyville Times-Gazette|url=https://www.t-g.com/blogs/davidmelson/entry/47864|archive-date=June 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616031801/http://www.t-g.com/blogs/davidmelson/entry/47864}}</ref><ref name="People 5-15-89">{{cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/suing-clint-eastwood-sondra-locke-strikes-with-magnum-force-vol-31-no-19|title=Suing Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke Strikes with Magnum Force|first1=Joanne|last1=Kaufman|first2=Jacqueline|last2=Savaiano|date=May 15, 1989|work=People}}</ref>{{efn|Notwithstanding their ongoing estrangement, Bayne vocally supported her daughter during the litigious war between Locke and Clint Eastwood. She told journalist Leon Wagener: "One of those children Clint made her abort could have been the grandson I've always longed for."<ref>{{cite book|last=Munn|first=Michael|title=Clint Eastwood: Hollywood's Loner|publisher=Robson|year=1992|isbn=9780860517900|pages=228–229}}</ref>}} Donald blamed Gordon Anderson—Locke's best friend since adolescence and future husband—for the rift, claiming Anderson had "an almost hypnotic spell on her."<ref name=Slaughter/> | |||
Locke held a variety of jobs, including as a bookkeeper for ] and receptionist in a real-estate office.<ref name=autobio/> For a time she lived at South Water Apartments in the commuter town of ].<ref>Hinton, Elmer (June 30, 1965). . ''The Nashville Tennessean''.</ref> In 1964, she joined the staff at radio station ] in ] and was promoted to its television affiliate ] the following year.<ref name=Slaughter/><ref>. WSMV. December 13, 2018.</ref><ref>''Home Office Shield'', September 1966</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/121957024614428/permalink/1566392453504204|title=The Official Tennessee Radio Hall Of Fame Community|publisher=Facebook}}</ref> Locke's biggest coup while employed there was hosting actor ] when Loggia visited Nashville to promote his TV pilot '']'', during which he "flirted outrageously" with Locke.<ref name=autobio/> She also modeled for '']'' fashion page, acted in commercials for Rich-Schwartz ladies apparel and Southerland Gel mattresses, among others, and gained further stage experience in productions for Circle Players Inc.<ref name=Slaughter/><ref name="Tennessean 8-30-68">Haun, Harry (August 30, 1968). . ''The Nashville Tennessean''.</ref> In 1966, the 22-year-old appeared in a ] wire photo that showed her cavorting in new fallen snow.<ref>{{cite news|title=Winter's Prelude|agency=United Press International|work=Lodi News-Sentinel|date=November 3, 1966|page=1|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FWgzAAAAIBAJ&pg=6095%2C2719075}}</ref> Within one year of this exposure, she decided to pursue a career in film and changed the spelling of her first name to avoid being called Sandy.<ref name="Tennessean 8-30-68"/> | |||
==Career== | ==Career== | ||
Locke made her film debut as Mick Kelly in the 1968 film '']'', opposite ]. For this performance, she was nominated for two ]s, one as Best Supporting Actress and the other as ]. Despite her early success, it took several years before her career took off again. In the early 1970s, she appeared in a number of independent films such as '']'' and '']''. She also guest starred on television shows, including '']'' and '']''. In the ] episode "A Feast of Blood" she played the victim of a curse planted by ]; the recipient of a brooch that devoured her. | |||
===Rise to prominence=== | |||
Locke got a career boost in 1976 when she played a pioneer woman opposite ] in the western classic '']''. With Eastwood as her leading man, Locke went on to star in a number of blockbuster hits. Her notable film roles include playing a foul-mouthed prostitute in the action film '']'' and a spoiled heiress who joins a traveling Wild West show in '']''. She played a country singer in the comedy '']'', which was the second-highest grossing film of 1978. She reprised her role as a country singer in the sequel, '']'', in 1980. She starred as a revenge-seeking murderess in 1983's '']'', which became the most successful of the '']'' film franchise. | |||
In July 1967, Locke competed with 590 other Southern actresses and dozens of New York hopefuls for the part of Mick Kelly in a big-screen adaptation of ]' novel '']'' opposite ].<ref name="Tennessean 8-15-67">{{cite news|first=Clara|last=Hieronymus|title=Nashville Actress Gets Starring Movie Role|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=August 15, 1967|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/112143819}}</ref>{{efn|After-the-fact publicity claimed 2,000 actresses tried out for the role.<ref>{{cite news|first=Linda|last=Loftus|title=Meeting Sondra Locke Was Groovy!|work=The Cincinnati Enquirer|date=August 10, 1968|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/101421206}}</ref>}} For the first audition in ], Alabama, then-fiancé Gordon Anderson gave his bride a so-called Hollywood makeover: he bound her bosom, bleached her eyebrows and carefully fixed her hair, makeup and outfit so as to create a more ] appearance.<ref name=Oppenheimer>Oppenheimer, Peer J. (November 23, 1968). . ''Family Weekly''.</ref><ref>. ''Chicago Tribune''. August 12, 1968.</ref> Locke lied about her age, ] to make herself seem younger—a pretense she would keep up not only for the rest of her career, but also the entirety of her public life.<ref name="The Times (London)">{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sondra-locke-obituary-c0fqztgr5|title=Sondra Locke obituary|date=December 15, 2018|work=The Times}}</ref>{{efn|] told the 8 October 1967 ''Los Angeles Times'' that "they decided I was too old" when she auditioned for the same role as Locke.<ref>{{cite news|first=Cecil|last=Smith|title=Bonnie's Westward Stage Trek|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 8, 1967|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-la-times-08-oct-1/136374248}}</ref> As it turns out, Bedelia was four years younger than Locke, who had lied about her age. Wayne Smith, a ] student five years Locke's junior, played her love interest in the movie, even though his character is described as being a couple years older than she.<ref>{{cite news|first=Wanda|last=Hale|title=Screen McCullers Novel|work=New York Daily News|date=July 28, 1968|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/406148819}}</ref>}}{{efn|In the 1960s, '']'' magazine<ref name=ask/> and '']''<ref name="Tennessean 12-24-67"/> outed Locke for lying about her age, but it took decades for the mass media to catch on, and most publications would continue to use the incorrect birth year(s).<ref name=nndb>{{cite web|url=https://www.nndb.com/people/790/000024718|title=Sondra Locke|publisher=Notable Names Database}}</ref> Locke admitted in ''The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly'' that she lied about her age early in her career, but claimed to have knocked only three years off, rather than six. In one of her final interviews, conducted in 2015 for '']'' podcast, Locke lied that she "was just graduating high school" when she made ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' when she was in fact in her mid-20s.<ref name=podcast1>{{cite podcast|host=White, Mike|date=January 16, 2016|title=Special Report: ''Death Game'' / ''Knock Knock''|others=Interviews with Larry Spiegel, Sondra Locke, David Worth|work=The Projection Booth|url=http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/2016/01/special-report-death-game-knock-knock.html}}</ref> Moreover, an international press release from 1967 omits Locke's time at MTSU as well as her residence in Nashville, where she had moved in 1963 after dropping out of college.<ref name="Tennessean 12-24-67"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/421243057|title=Cinderella Story Of Young Actress|date=September 19, 1967|work=Montreal Gazette}}</ref>}} After callbacks in New Orleans and Manhattan, she was cast in the role by recommendation from entertainment coordinator ].<ref name="Tennessean 8-15-67"/><ref>William Barclift, ''Birmingham Post-Herald'', 7.29.67</ref> The film's shooting wrapped in the fall of 1967. Locke, who had quit her post at WSM, opted to wait until its release before choosing a follow-up project.<ref>''The Selma Times-Journal'', 12.10.67</ref> In the nine-month interim, she was asked to play the female protagonists in '']'' and ]'s '']''.<ref name="Tennessean 8-30-68"/> She said she turned down the former on the grounds that it was too similar to the role she'd just done, and the latter because of the nudity required.<ref name="Tennessean 8-30-68"/> | |||
Locke made her directing debut in 1986's '']'' and later directed the thriller '']'' in 1990. She directed the made-for-television movie '']'' and the independent film ''Do Me A Favor''. After 13 years away from acting, she returned in two little-seen independent films in 1999. Locke hasn't worked in the film industry since then. | |||
''Heart'' came out in the summer of 1968 to critical acclaim.<ref>. ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. August 4, 1968.</ref> Locke's performance garnered her an ] nomination, as well as a pair of ] nominations for ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Winners & Nominees: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture 1969|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/best-performance-actress-supporting-role-any-motion-picture/all-years#year-1969|publisher=Hollywood Foreign Press Association|archive-date=September 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912135619/https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/best-performance-actress-supporting-role-any-motion-picture/all-years#year-1969|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1969|title=Oscar Ceremony 1969 (Actress In A Supporting Role)|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=18 August 2018}}</ref>{{efn|Even though Locke played the leading female role, during awards season ] campaigned for Best Supporting Actress instead of Best Actress, seemingly to make winning easier. She lost to ] for '']''. Ruth Gordon would later appear with Locke in ''Every Which Way but Loose'' and ''Any Which Way You Can''.}} Being the oldest nominee in the latter category, she concealed this distinction through ] with aid from studio publicists.<ref name="The Times (London)"/> At a film exhibitor convention in Kansas City, she won the Show-A-Rama Award from the ] as "Most Promising New Star of the Year".{{efn|Locke's plaque was stolen at ].<ref>Harrison Carroll, ''Danville Advocate-Messenger'', 3.12.69</ref>}} Although her salary for the film was reported as $15,000 in contemporary articles, Locke later claimed it was less than one-third that amount.<ref name=autobio/><ref>. ''Shenandoah Evening Herald''. January 27, 1969.</ref> | |||
===Commercial ups and downs, missed roles, TV work=== | |||
] installment ''Gondola'']] | |||
Hoping to shed the plain image she accentuated in her screen debut, in January 1969 Locke posed for a semi-nude pictorial by photographer Frank Bez, which was published in the December issue of '']''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Behind the Scenes in Hollywood|work=Wilkes-Barre Record|date=April 1, 1969|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/427093317}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first1=Arthur|last1=Knight|first2=Hollis|last2=Alpert|date=December 1969|volume=16|issue=12|title=Sex Stars of 1969|magazine=Playboy}}</ref> The ''Playboy'' layout established Locke's status as a ], and the images were recycled in other men's magazines as her fame increased.<ref>See, e.g., ''Club International'', Vol. 13, iss. 3 (UK: Paul Raymond, 1984).</ref> Nearly three decades later, Locke said she still got those photos in fan mail requesting her autograph.<ref name=autobio/> | |||
Her next role was as Melisse in '']'' (1970), originally titled ''Run Shadow Run'',<ref>Heffernan, Harold (August 14, 1969). . ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''.</ref> opposite ]. She made it as part of a $150,000 three-picture deal with ], and was compensated for the other two which never materialized.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://filmmakeriq.com/dailies/may-28-1944-sondra-locke-was-born|title=May 28, 1944 Sondra Locke was born|date=May 28, 2019|publisher=FilmmakerIQ}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Abe|last=Greenberg|title=Hard Work vs. Jinx, or The Luck of Sondra Locke|work=Valley Times|date=June 11, 1969|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/valley-times/49123872}}</ref> It was announced that she would play the lead in ''Lovemakers''—a film adaptation of ]'s novel ''The Color of Evening''—but no movie resulted.<ref>{{cite news|first=Betty|last=Martin|title=Sondra Set for 'Lovemakers'|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 3, 1969|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/383073726}}</ref> Locke was offered ]'s role in '']'' (1969), but her management turned it down without telling her.<ref>{{cite book|first=Eila|last=Mell|title=Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory of Actors Considered for Roles Given to Others|year=2013|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-1476609768|page=142}}</ref> Shortly afterwards she passed on the lead in '']'' (1970), which won an ] for its eventual star ].<ref>{{cite news|first=Harry|last=Haun|title=Charade for Hollywood|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=May 16, 1971|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/112817921}}</ref> She also declined the part of ]'s pregnant wife in '']'' (1969).<ref>Robert Taylor, ''Oakland Tribune'', 11.1.72</ref> | |||
] in '']'', 1974]] | |||
In 1971, Locke co-starred with ] and ] in the psychological thriller '']'', which became a surprise box office smash.<ref>Browning, Norma Lee (August 4, 1971). . ''Bangor Daily News''.</ref> Locke felt overqualified for her role but did it as a favor to Davison, who at the time was her unofficial paramour.<ref name=podcast1/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://gruesomemagazine.com/2017/06/26/willard-1971-episode-53-decades-horror-1970s|title= Willard (1971) — Episode 53— Decades of Horror 1970s|date=June 26, 2017|work=Gruesome Magazine |last1=Rotten |first1=Doc }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/887081156|title=Sondra Did 'Willard' 'For the $, Frankly'|date=November 20, 1972|first=Peter|last=Citron|work=Omaha World-Herald}}</ref> She was then featured in ]'s underseen mystery '']'' (1972), which required her to project the image of a character half her age, and held the title role in first-time director Michael Barry's avant-garde drama '']'' (1974), winner of three gold medals at the ].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Industry Activities|first=Herb A.|last=Lightman|date=September 1974|volume=55|issue=9|journal=American Cinematographer|page=1225|publisher=ASC Holding Corporation}}</ref><ref>Tate, Eleanora (November 15, 1972). . ''Des Moines Tribune''.</ref> Both films were shelved for two years before finally opening in arthouse cinemas, attracting little attention at first. Over time ''Suzanne'' has accrued a ],<ref name=autobio/><ref name=podcast1/> while ''Reflection'' is cited as an early example of ].<ref>Gambin, Lee (February 15, 2016). . Comingsoon.net.</ref>{{efn|''A Reflection of Fear'' was not the first time Locke was considered to play a transsexual. In 1969, ], the trans woman famous for having sex reassignment surgery in Denmark in 1953, mentioned Locke and ] as contenders for a planned film version of her life. A fan of Locke's performance in ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'', Jorgensen observed that "in scenes where she didn't wear any makeup, Sondra looks very much like I did in my younger days. I think she might make an excellent choice."<ref>Charles Petzold, ''Philadelphia Daily News'', 5.28.69</ref>}} | |||
In 1973, Locke was attached to star in ''Terminal Circle''. "It's a woman's role that comes along once in a lifetime," she said.<ref name="Miller 8-30-73">Miller, Jeanne (August 30, 1973). . ''San Francisco Examiner''.</ref> The San Francisco-based film was to be directed by Mal Karman and shot by cinematographer Robert Primes, who did camerawork for '']'', but it was scrapped for lack of funds.<ref name="Miller 8-30-73"/> She was up for a big part in '']'' (1974), but lost out to ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dvdinfatuation.com|title=2,500 Movies Challenge|website=DVD Infatuation}}</ref> | |||
Locke guested on top-rated television drama series throughout the first half of the 1970s, including '']'', '']'' (as two different characters), '']'' and '']''. She was advised by her agents to stay away from TV, but thought it foolish to sit around not working between films.<ref>Jones, Will (December 3, 1972). . ''Minneapolis Tribune''.</ref> In the 1972 '']'' episode "A Feast of Blood", she played the victim of a curse planted by ]; the recipient of a brooch that devoured her.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nightgallery.net/night-gallery-episode-guide-season-two|website=NightGallery.net|title=Rod Serling's Night Gallery: the Second Season; A Feast of Blood (Night Gallery #22 – original air date January 12, 1972)|publisher=]|archive-date=May 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501195834/http://nightgallery.net/night-gallery-episode-guide-season-two|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lloyd acted with Locke again in ''Gondola'' (1973), a racially themed, three-character teleplay co-starring her real-life significant other at the time, ], and commended the actress for "a beautiful performance – perhaps her best ever."<ref>{{cite book|first=Norman|last=Lloyd|title=Stages: Norman Lloyd|year=1990|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=0810822903|page=220}}</ref> ], who worked with Locke on the short-lived 1974 show '']'', was even more effusive: "After acting with her in a couple of scenes, there was something so feminine about her that I could picture myself easily falling for her ... She's one of those women who exudes femininity, and you just become so attracted to that."<ref>{{cite book|first=Tom|last=Weaver|title=I Talked with a Zombie: Interviews with 23 Veterans of Horror and Sci-Fi Films and Television|year=2009|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0786452682|page=154}}</ref> | |||
===Films with Clint Eastwood=== | |||
] | |||
In mid-1975, Locke was cast in '']'' as the love interest of ]'s eponymous character.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/210963432|title=Eastwood co-star set|date=October 28, 1975|work=Lansing State Journal}}</ref> Locke said she chose the role for its exposure, following a run of unremarkable credits.<ref>Miller, Jeanne (July 1, 1976). . ''San Francisco Examiner''.</ref><ref>Eichelbaum, Stanley (November 3, 1972). . ''San Francisco Examiner''.</ref> She took a pay cut just to be in the film; her salary for ''Josey Wales'' was $18,000—less than half of what she'd earned for her previous job.<ref name=McGilligan>{{cite book|first=Patrick|last=McGilligan|title=Clint: The Life and Legend|year=1999|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=000255528X}}</ref> The film emerged as one of the top 15 grossing films of 1976 and revived Locke's career.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allrovi.com/name/sondra-locke-p100009|first=Hal|last=Erickson|title=Sondra Locke - Movie and Film Biography and Filmography|publisher=AllRovi|archive-date=July 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705163343/http://www.allrovi.com/name/sondra-locke-p100009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/domestic/all-movies/cumulative/released-in-1976|title=Top 1976 Movies at the Domestic Box Office|publisher=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Vernon|last=Scott|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/5292582|title=Locke Is Big With Eastwood|date=December 20, 1977|work=Lebanon Daily News}}</ref> She followed it up with a lead role alongside Eastwood in the popular action road film '']'' (1977), the duo replacing ] and ], who bowed out from the production owing to a reported clash of egos.<ref>Wilson, Earl (April 17, 1977). . ''Independent Press-Telegram''.</ref><ref name=Eliot>{{cite book|first=Marc|last=Eliot|title=American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood|year=2009|publisher=Three Rivers Press|isbn=978-0307336897}}</ref> Its pre-publicity touted Locke as "the first actress ever to be in a Clint Eastwood movie and get equal billing on screen with the macho star."<ref>Pat O'Haire, ''New York Daily News'', 11.11.77</ref> Eastwood predicted that she would win an Oscar for her performance.<ref>Earl Wilson, ''Fort Lauderdale News'', 11.16.77</ref> Locke wasn't even nominated and received mixed critical response at best: on the upside, ] of '']'' said "Locke is not only pretty, but also occasionally genuinely funny"<ref>{{cite web|first=Vincent|last=Canby|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/22/archives/screen-eastwood-gauntlet.html|title=Screen: Eastwood 'Gauntlet'|date=December 22, 1977|work=The New York Times}}</ref> and '']'' critic ] stated that Locke "has not received such a rich opportunity since her Academy Award-nominated debut";<ref>{{cite news|first=Kevin|last=Thomas|title='The Gauntlet' Lives Up to Its Title|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 21, 1977|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37475307}}</ref> in contrast, ] of the '']'' said "she's wasted here"<ref>Siskel, Gene (December 22, 1977). . ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref> and '']'' felt that "Locke is simply repulsive."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-gauntlet/review/124217|title=The Gauntlet – Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings|publisher=TV Guide|archive-date=May 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529171012/https://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-gauntlet/review/124217/}}</ref> | |||
Over the course of their decade-and-a-half-long personal relationship, Locke did not work in any capacity on any theatrical motion picture other than with Eastwood except for 1977's experimental horror western '']''.<ref name=Puig>Puig, Claudia (May 18, 1989). . ''Hartford Courant''.</ref> The home invasion film '']'' (1977), though released after they became an item, was actually shot in 1974.<ref>Anderson, George (October 21, 1974). . ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette''.</ref> "Clint wanted me to work only with him," said Locke.<ref name=autobio/> "He didn't like the idea of me being away from him."<ref name="E! 9-11-96">Errico, Marcus (September 11, 1996). . E! News.</ref> | |||
In 1978, Locke and Eastwood appeared with an orangutan named ] in that year's fourth highest-grossing film, '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/domestic/all-movies/cumulative/released-in-1978|title=Top 1978 Movies at the Domestic Box Office|publisher=]}}</ref> She portrayed country singer Lynn Halsey-Taylor in the adventure-comedy. Its 1980 sequel '']''—for which Locke earned a six-figure salary plus a share of the profits—was nearly as successful.<ref name=McGilligan/><ref name="1980 Yearly Box Office Results">{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1980|title=1980 Yearly Box Office Results|publisher=]}}</ref> Locke recorded several songs for the soundtracks of these films, and was whispered to be shopping for a record deal at the time. On the coattails of the franchise's success, she performed live in concert (one-off gigs) with ], ] and ].<ref>Aaron Gold, ''Chicago Tribune'', 2.1.79</ref> | |||
] | |||
During this period, Eastwood did a few movies that had no prominent female character for Locke to play. In the meantime, she accepted some television offers, co-starring with an all-female ensemble cast in ''Friendships, Secrets and Lies'' (1979) and portraying ] era vocalist ] in ''Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story'' (1982).<ref>{{cite web|first=Dick|last=Kleiner|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/537154129|title=Locke Steps Into Big Band Era Role|date=July 28, 1982|work=The Daily Advertiser}}</ref> While the biopic followed Clooney from ages 17 to 40, Locke was 38 when she played the role, and though hardly counting as a proper exception due to its nonlinear structure, this marked the only time she played a mother onscreen. As part of the promotional push behind ''Rosie'', '']''{{'}}s Rick Du Brow wrote a flattering article in which he called Locke "one of the most-watched and popular motion picture actresses in the world."<ref>Du Brow, Rick (August 22, 1982). . ''The Scrantonian''.</ref> | |||
Locke starred as a bitter heiress who joins a traveling Wild West show in '']'' (1980), her only film with Eastwood not to reach blockbuster status, though it still ranked among the annual box office top 25.<ref name="1980 Yearly Box Office Results"/> ''The New York Times'' critic ] noticed that "each of them works more delicately here than they have together previously,"<ref>{{cite news|first=Janet|last=Maslin|title=Eastwood Stars and Directs 'Bronco Billy'|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/06/11/arts/eastwood-stars-and-directs-bronco-billy.html|date=June 11, 1980}}</ref> and the film's director of photography, ], enthused how "being able to capture the true love between Clint and Sondra was very special."<ref>{{cite web|title=David Worth on working with the Legendary, Clint Eastwood|url=https://www.actionreloaded.com/david-worth-on-working-with-the-legendary-clint-eastwood|website=Action Reloaded|date=December 14, 2023 |archive-date=December 14, 2023|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231214195513/https://www.actionreloaded.com/david-worth-on-working-with-the-legendary-clint-eastwood}}</ref> Locke cited ''Bronco Billy'' and ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' as her favorites of the movies they made.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2015/12/ridiculous-6-c-bar-reviewed-plus-josey.html|first=Henry C.|last=Parke|title=Outlaw Josey Wales – Forty Years Later|date=December 15, 2015|work=Henry's Western Round-up}}</ref> The couple's final collaboration as performers was '']'' (1983), the highest-grossing film in the '']'' franchise, in which Locke played an artist with her own code of vigilante justice.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=dirtyharry.htm|title=Dirty Harry Movies|publisher=]}}</ref> Her fee was a reported $350,000.<ref name=McGilligan/> | |||
Locke never appeared in a ] after ''Sudden Impact''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/person/86870401-Sondra-Locke#tab=acting|title=Sondra Locke – Box Office|publisher=]}}</ref> The film premiered five months short of her 40th birthday, declared by '']'' magazine as "the pre-] age cutoff for actresses."<ref>Sue Reilly, ''People'', 5.5.80</ref> Despite Locke's past nomination for an Academy Award and repeat appearances in box office hits, she had failed to achieve first-magnitude stardom or win the affection of the moviegoing public. By 1979, the year she and Eastwood made their fourth film together, there were accusations of ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/437415871|title=Husband-wife Teams Draw Cry 'Nepotism'|date=December 3, 1979|work=Citizens' Voice}}</ref> Cultural critic ], writing for '']'', would express particular contempt for her in a 2010 editorial about Eastwood's career, believing that "his worst movies, without question, are the ones he made with Sondra Locke, who briefly played ] to Eastwood's ]."<ref>{{cite web|title=Clint Eastwood: Man with no equal|first=Joe|last=Queenan|work=Mail & Guardian|date=April 30, 2010|url=https://mg.co.za/article/2010-04-30-clint-eastwood-man-with-no-equal/}}</ref> In late 1983, Locke announced plans to develop and star in a movie about ], but the project fell apart.<ref name=Lumenick>Lou Lumenick, ''The North Jersey Record'', 12.30.83</ref> Eastwood then directed Locke in a 1985 '']'' episode entitled "Vanessa in the Garden" with ]. | |||
===Directing=== | |||
Locke made her feature directorial debut with '']'' (1986), a parable about a youth who is part rat and part human, produced by Eastwood's company ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1985/09/25/locke-wearing-two-caps-for-ratboy|title=Locke wearing two caps for 'Ratboy'|date=September 25, 1985|work=Orlando Sentinel}}</ref> When asked why she'd been absent from her longtime beau's recent star vehicles, Locke replied simply, "I wasn't right for the roles."<ref>Mann, Roderick (March 23, 1986). . ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref>{{efn|Locke's autobiography provides a convoluted recollection of the casting process for '']'' (1984). ] was originally slated to direct the film, and Edwards supposedly promised Locke one of the two female leads at a stage in development when ] had signed on but the role of the other leading man was yet to be filled. Locke asserted that Edwards was merely using her to lure in her superstar boyfriend—who'd seen the script and turned it down—because once Eastwood came on board, Edwards stopped talking to Locke and cast ] in the role she'd been eyeing. Edwards ultimately withdrew and was replaced by ]. Nevertheless, Eastwood disappointed Locke by not using his clout to get her in the movie.}} ''Ratboy'' had very limited distribution in the United States, where it was a critical and financial flop, but was well received in Europe, with French newspaper '']'' calling it the highlight of the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/405096157|title=Locke glides into directing with 'Ratboy'|first=Patricia|last=Lyons|date=September 21, 1986|work=Wisconsin State Journal}}</ref> Locke, who also appeared in the lead role alongside ] as the title character, was nominated for a ]. | |||
Locke's second foray behind the camera was '']'' (1990), starring ] as a police officer on the vice squad who goes undercover as a prostitute. ] gave the film "two thumbs up".<ref>. Listal.com.</ref> In a subsequent interview with Siskel, Locke said she wasn't eager to act again. "If you love the craft of filmmaking as much as I do, it's hard to go back to acting after you've tasted the high of directing."<ref name=Siskel/> | |||
Immediately following the completion of ''Impulse'', two of its co-stars, ] and ], were hired by Locke's now ex-boyfriend Eastwood to appear in '']'', a move which raised eyebrows amongst the film community. | |||
{{blockquote|It's true: I went from a picture with Sondra to one with Clint. A lot of people ask about that ... I go out of my way not to be involved in other people's situations. Clint and Sondra were very professional. No one ever put me in the middle of anything. All I can say is that they are two very individual, professional filmmakers.|source=Jeff Fahey<ref>Bob Thomas, ''Staten Island Advance'', 9.27.90</ref>}} | |||
After a long interruption in her career due to legal difficulties and health issues, Locke directed the made-for-television film '']'' (1995), based on a true story, and the independent feature '']'' (1997), starring ]. | |||
===Memoir and final projects=== | |||
] | |||
In 1997, Locke's autobiography ''The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly: A Hollywood Journey'' was published by ]. In it she called Eastwood "a completely evil, manipulating, lying excuse for a man."<ref name="Furtado 8-31-13"/> Eastwood's lawyers sent a warning letter to the publisher, and although no slander charges arose, '']'' canceled a scheduled interview with Locke.<ref name=Waxman>Waxman, Sharon (November 19, 1997). . ''The Washington Post''.</ref> She was also bumped from '']'' and, in her words, "shut out of most venues to promote the book, in particular the networks."<ref name="Furtado 10-19-13">{{cite web|url=https://thewandrinstar.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/exclusive-interview-with-sondra-locke-magic-in-films-and-the-real-world-en|title=Exclusive Interview with Sondra Locke: Magic in films and the real world|first=David|last=Furtado|date=October 19, 2013|work=Wand'rin' Star}}</ref> The book received a supportive rave review from '']'' writer ],<ref>{{cite web|first=Liz|last=Smith|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/172650857|title=Struggling Locke strikes back at Eastwood|date=October 22, 1997|work=The Baltimore Sun}}</ref> while '']''{{'}}s Dana Kennedy dismissed the book as a "peculiar, not terribly consequential, life story."<ref name=Kennedy>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1997/10/31/book-review-good-bad-and-very-ugly|first=Dana|last=Kennedy|title=Book Review: 'The Good, the Bad and the Very Ugly'|date=October 31, 1997|magazine=Entertainment Weekly}}</ref> | |||
Locke told a Spanish website that she'd been informed ''Entertainment Weekly'' originally planned to publish a positive review, but for reasons unclear, it was pulled and a negative review appeared instead.<ref name="Furtado 10-19-13"/> '']'', a monthly ]-interest magazine, was set to do a big article on Locke's book; suddenly and uncharacteristically, Eastwood gave ''The Advocate'' an interview, and they decided not to run the piece.<ref name="Furtado 10-19-13"/> She reflected in 2012: "Clint has said so many bad things about me to the media since we split up, and he has so much more access and power to do that. He's said things that were hurtful to my character and hurtful to me professionally."<ref name=doco>''L'album secret de Clint Eastwood'' (2012, dir. Pierre Maraval). ].</ref> Locke was nonetheless grateful to have a platform at all, stating: "It was a miracle that a major publisher took it."<ref name="Furtado 10-19-13"/> | |||
The day after the book's release, ''Eastwood on Eastwood'', a feature-length overview of her ex's career directed by ], premiered on ]. John Hartl of '']'' emphasized that "clips from the Locke/Eastwood movies have been edited so carefully that she doesn't appear to have been in any of them. It's like making a documentary about ] and failing to mention ]."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19971102/2569774/eastwood-on-eastwood-where-is-sondra-locke|title='Eastwood on Eastwood': Where Is Sondra Locke?|first=John|last=Hartl|date=November 2, 1997|work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Locke would once again be notably deleted from a montage commemorating Eastwood at the 2002 ].<ref>. groups.google.com. June 18, 2002.</ref> | |||
After 13 years away from acting, Locke reemerged in 1999 to appear opposite ] in ''The Prophet's Game'' and ] in ''Clean and Narrow'', the latter shot in Texas. Both films went straight to video. About that time, she planned to direct "a two-guys-on-the-run film" called ''The Hard Easy'', which did not eventuate.<ref>Edward Klein, ''Parade'', 7.23.00</ref> In 2014, Locke served as an executive producer on the ] film '']'', starring ].<ref>Kay, Jeremy (April 28, 2014). . ''ScreenDaily''.</ref> She came out of retirement once more in 2016, shooting ]'s indie '']'' with ].<ref>Onofri, Adrienne (June 3, 2016). . BroadwayWorld.</ref> The film had only a brief run in three theaters in May 2018, less than six months before Locke died.<ref>Moore, Michael C. (April 30, 2018). . ''Kitsap Sun''.</ref> | |||
==Other activities== | |||
] | |||
===Philanthropy=== | |||
In the 1960s during her tenure at WSM, Locke participated in the annual ] (UCP) telethons. One year, she toured Birmingham with folk singer Richard Law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.feenotes.com/database/artists/law-richard|website=Feenotes|title=Law, Richard}}</ref> | |||
Following her then-partner's April 15, 1986, inauguration as the 30th mayor of ], Locke became the '']'' First Lady of Carmel. | |||
In 1992, she served as honorary chairwoman for the "Starry, Starry Night" silent auction in ], California to benefit Human Options, a shelter for victims of domestic violence. "Being a woman I have great empathy for these women. I can understand how stranded they must feel, how hard it is to change one's life," Locke said.<ref>. ''Los Angeles Times''. December 16, 1992.</ref> | |||
===Wellness=== | |||
By the end of the 1970s, Locke became a follower of research scientist ]'s views on longevity. In the book '']'' (1982), which promotes the theory that ] are a primary cause of aging and recommends ] supplements to prevent the damage they supposedly do, Locke was written about as a pseudonymous celebrity ('Miss Jones') using the principals.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Durk|last1=Pearson|first2=Sandy|last2=Shaw|title=Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach|year=1982|publisher=Warner Books|isbn=0-446-51229-X|pages=757–761}}</ref> | |||
Locke was an avid sportswoman. In 1979 and 1982 respectively, for instance, she competed in the ] Celebrity Pro-Am ski tournament at ] and the Senator's Cup at ].<ref>Star Newspaper Service, ''San Angelo Standard-Times'', 2.18.79</ref><ref>Betty Beale, ''The Anchorage Times'', 1.31.82</ref> | |||
==Personal life== | ==Personal life== | ||
===Marriage=== | ===Marriage=== | ||
] in July 1968]] | |||
Locke married sculptor Gordon Anderson on September 25, 1967. Anderson is homosexual and Locke says their marriage was never consummated, although they have been close friends for many years and remain legally married.<ref name="annonline.com"></ref> | |||
On September 25, 1967,<ref name=Oppenheimer/> Locke married sculptor Gordon Leigh Anderson{{efn|Gordon Anderson went by the stage names 'C.B. Anderson'<ref name="Tennessean 9-19-65">{{cite news|title='All Pure Pleasure,' Veteran Of Theater Flight Reports|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=September 19, 1965|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/111984017}}</ref><ref name="Tennessean 10-17-65">{{cite news|title=Theater To Hold Tryouts|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=October 17, 1965|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/112090155}}</ref><ref name="Tennessean 11-21-65">{{cite news|title='Menagerie' Opens|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=November 21, 1965|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/111833460}}</ref> and 'Gordon Addison'<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iobdb.com/CreditableEntity/26197|title=Gordon Addison|publisher=Internet Off-Broadway Database}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Gordon-Addison|title=Gordon Addison Broadway and Theatre Credits|publisher=BroadwayWorld}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=William|last=Glover|title=Sophisticates' World Explodes in New Play|work=Corpus Christi Times|date=June 21, 1966|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/758601891}}</ref> during a brief acting career before he married Locke.}} (born August 2, 1944, ]) at the ] in Nashville,<ref>{{cite news|title=Hunting Sondra|work=The Tennessean|date=November 2, 1975|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/112093927}}</ref> one week after ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' commenced principal photography.<ref name="Tennessean 8-15-67"/> Dr. Walter Rowe Courtenay presided over the ceremony.<ref name=Ancestry/> They remained married for 51 years until her death in 2018.<ref name=Telegraph/>{{efn|For a long time it was falsely presumed that Locke and Anderson had divorced.<ref name=Lumenick/><ref>Hank Grant, ''San Francisco Examiner'', 3.18.79</ref><ref>Vernon Scott, ''Sun-Sentinel'', 10.24.86</ref><ref>Lloyd Shearer, ''The Boston Globe'', 8.5.84</ref>}} | |||
===Domestic partnership=== | |||
Sondra Locke had a fourteen-year relationship with actor ]. They cohabited from 1975 to 1989..<ref>McGilligan (1999), p.250</ref> During the early years of the relationship, Locke had two ] and a ], which she claims were at Eastwood's request.<ref>{{cite book|last=Locke|first=Sondra|title= The good, the bad, and the very ugly: a Hollywood journey|publisher= Morrow|year= 1997|ISBN=9780688154622|page=45}}</ref> | |||
Locke had known Anderson since at least the late 1950s; accounts as to when they met vary by as much as four years.{{efn|In magazine interviews, Locke and Anderson would variously claim to have met when they were 10,<ref name=Armstrong/> 11<ref name=Oppenheimer/> or 12,<ref>Daniel Chapman, ''Look'', 4.2.68</ref> while Locke's memoir states that they met in high school.<ref name=autobio/> Anderson, like his late wife, always subtracted several years off his age, thus contributing to the plethora of discrepancies.}} In early 1969, as Locke was flooded with script offers after her Oscar nomination, she and Anderson left Tennessee and moved into a condo at ] in ].<ref name=autobio/> | |||
===Lawsuits=== | |||
In 1989, Locke sued Eastwood for ], after he changed the locks on their house and placed her belongings in storage.<ref>McGilligan (1999)</ref> Locke agreed to drop the suit in exchange for a directing contract with Warner Bros. However, the studio never hired her to direct and rejected all of the 30+ film projects she proposed. In 1996, Locke hired famed entertainment attorney ] and sued Eastwood for ], alleging that the contract was a sham and that he had compensated Warner Bros. for. The case was left in the jurors' hands, with analysts predicting that Locke would win. Eastwood and Locke agreed to settle out of court in 1999. The details of the settlement were not publicly disclosed. The case is used in some modern law school contracts textbooks to illustrate the legal concept of ].<ref>See, e.g., Charles Knapp, Nathan Crystal, and Harry Prince, eds., ''Problems in Contract Law: Cases and Materials'', 6th ed. (New York: Aspen, 2007), 470-80.</ref> | |||
According to a 1989 ], the marriage was "tantamount to sister and brother" and they never ] it.<ref name=Muscatine>. ''The Muscatine Journal''. May 9, 1989.</ref> Anderson was gay.<ref name=FilmInk/><ref name=Calgary>. ''Calgary Herald''. September 13, 1996.</ref><ref name=Bradshaw>{{cite news|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/dec/14/sondra-locke-a-charismatic-performer-defined-by-a-toxic-relationship-with-clint-eastwood|title=Sondra Locke: a charismatic performer defined by a toxic relationship with Clint Eastwood|work=The Guardian|date=December 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Companions for Sondra Locke|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/115332%7C141343/Sondra-Locke/companions.html}}</ref> Locke, testifying under oath to a jury, characterized her husband as being "more like a sister to me" and explained, "it's funny the sort of cultural changes, but in those days males and females never lived together unless they were married."<ref name=Calgary/> According to her death certificate, the two were residing at the same address when she died,<ref name="The Blast"/> and he was the person who registered her death.<ref name=Dalton>{{cite news|first=Andrew|last=Dalton|title=Oscar-nominated actress Sondra Locke dies at 74|date=December 13, 2018|url=https://apnews.com/5faad1c691354c2bb57dbcba4f849f65|publisher=Associated Press}}</ref> | |||
===Cancer and later life=== | |||
Locke is a ] survivor. In 1990 she underwent a double ].<ref name="annonline.com"/> During her treatment, Locke began a relationship with Dr. Scott Cunneen, the Chief of Surgery at ]. They began cohabiting in 1996, but are no longer together.<ref> at the NNDB</ref> | |||
Anderson is a central presence in Locke's autobiography, but she does not elaborate on her reasons for marrying him beyond the following passage: | |||
In 1997 she published an autobiography titled ''The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly''. | |||
{{blockquote|However conventional or unconventional our marriage might turn out to be honestly did not concern me that much. I was very young,{{efn|Actually, Locke was three years past the median age of first marriages for women in that era.<ref>National Center for Family & Marriage Research</ref> To obscure this—and accommodate her revisionist narrative—she often peddled the fallacy of having gotten married "right out of high school" or, as one ill-informed AP reporter put it, "during childhood."<ref name="Muscatine"/> Locke also was older than her husband Anderson, though some profiles of the actress misstate that he was the elder spouse.<ref name=HeraldScotland/><ref>Miller, Edwin (April 1968). "A Searching Kind of Person". ''Seventeen''. Vol. 27, no. 4.</ref> As a side effect of their changing age claims, dates erroneously attributed to the Andersons' wedding have ranged from as early as 1961<ref>. ''Manchester Evening News''. April 29, 1989.</ref> to as late as the early 1970s.<ref name="LA Times 9-29-96">O'Neill, Ann W. (September 29, 1996). . ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref>}} but I had come to feel that, for me, sex was the least important element in a relationship and the one thing that time had proven to me was that my love for Gordon came from such a deeply connected place that it transcended everything else.<ref name=autobio/>}} | |||
In 2001, Locke purchased a large, six-bedroom home in the ],<ref>http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/sondra-lockes-house/</ref> an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of ], ] in the southeastern ]. | |||
===Romances=== | |||
Given that Locke waited decades to confirm that her marriage was ], most of her actual romantic attachments went unpublicized. In the mid-1960s, she dated her supervisor at WSM-TV's advertising department, Brad Crandall.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=April 8, 1967|title=Videotapers' Syndication $$ Whopper for Nashville|magazine=]|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|volume=79|issue=14|page=40|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DygEAAAAMBAJ}}</ref><ref name=snac>{{cite web|url=https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6wj5nsg|title=Locke, Sondra, 1944-2018|publisher=]}}</ref> She started as secretary to Tom Griscom in local sales for WSM Radio.<ref>''The Nashville Tennessean'', 1.25.64</ref> According to co-worker Alan Nelson, fellow staff members perceived Locke's promotion as an act of nepotism.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/nelsonperson/posts/10156861642964420|title=Alan Nelson|publisher=Facebook|date=December 13, 2018}}</ref> | |||
George Crook, a cameraman for WSM, squired Locke to Nashville society events including the 1965 ].<ref>{{cite news|title=Hunt Ball To Climax Weekend|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=May 7, 1965|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/111821856}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Federation Dance Tonight|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=December 15, 1965|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/112130980}}</ref> He later got into local politics and was elected mayor of ] in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|first=Ken|last=Whitehouse|title=Ex-Belle Meade mayor passes away|publisher=NashvillePost.com|date=November 1, 2012|url=https://www.nashvillepost.com/business/article/20466932/exbelle-meade-mayor-passes-away}}</ref> Another early boyfriend, personal injury attorney Gary Gober,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://profiles.superlawyers.com/tennessee/nashville/lawyer/gary-r-gober/2f7e28ce-5219-410f-a077-6eed9aa3776f.html|title=Gary R. Gober Attorney Profile|publisher=SuperLawyers.com|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202429/https://profiles.superlawyers.com/tennessee/nashville/lawyer/gary-r-gober/2f7e28ce-5219-410f-a077-6eed9aa3776f.html}}</ref> starred with Locke in Circle Players' productions while attending ].<ref name="Tennessean 9-19-65"/><ref name="Tennessean 10-17-65"/> Locke also dated sportscaster ] prior to marrying Anderson.<ref name=autobio/><ref>{{cite tweet|user=BTC_Playboy|number=1797626065906696382|title=Speaking of stories. Larry Munson had some about Clint Eastwoods former girlfriend Sondra Locke working in Nashville media back in the day.}}</ref> | |||
During her marriage, Locke was rumored to have been linked amorously to co-stars ] (''Cover Me Babe''), ] (''Willard''), ] (''The Second Coming of Suzanne'') and ] (''Gondola''), as well as producer ], real estate agent Herb Goldfarb, and ]'s nephew ].<ref name="People 5-15-89"/><ref name=snac/><ref>], DVD ], 2017, ]</ref><ref>Lloyd Shearer, ''St. Petersburg Times'', 10.15.89</ref>{{efn|Locke and Hopkins appeared as a couple on the game show '']'' when Locke was still talking up her marriage in the press.<ref>{{YouTube|yzNifrXdNEQ}}</ref> Incredulously, the conflicting gestures attracted no news commentary.}} For a while in the early 1970s, she shared a liaison with married actor ] after they played siblings in an episode of ''Cannon''.<ref>Haber, Joyce (November 8, 1972). . ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref> | |||
Locke referred to these intervals as "casually exploring for a romantic relationship," noting that she had not fallen in love with any of the men. "Love ... was not something to search out actively; it finds you, I believed."<ref name=autobio/> | |||
===Life with Eastwood=== | |||
{{See also|Personal life of Clint Eastwood}} | |||
], 1975]] | |||
Locke and actor/director ] entered a domestic partnership in October 1975.<ref name=Parish/> She first met Eastwood in 1972 when she unsuccessfully lobbied for the title role in his film '']'' (1973);<ref>{{cite book|last=O'Brien|first=Daniel|title=Clint Eastwood: Film-Maker|publisher=B. T. Batsford|year=1996|isbn=0-7134-7839-X|location=London}}</ref> they became involved upon arrival at the shooting location of ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' (1976) in ].<ref name=Barnes/> "It was just an immediate attraction between the two of us," Locke recalled in a 2012 documentary.<ref name=doco/> She further revealed that they made love on their ].<ref name=autobio/> Locke had simultaneously been wooed by screenwriter ] but chose Eastwood over him.<ref name=Eliot/>{{efn|Philip Kaufman started to direct ''Josey'', but was fired at Eastwood's command on October 24, 1975, three weeks into filming.<ref name=McGilligan/><ref>{{cite news|date=July 7, 1975|title=Clint Eastwood gets top role in outlaw film|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/27294521|work=Greeley Daily Tribune}}</ref> Although Eastwood had conquered Locke within 48 hours of her arrival on set, initially she had declined his advances, having already said yes to a date with Kaufman at the costume fitting.<ref name=autobio/> According to biographer ], Eastwood begrudged the fact that a younger man had beaten him to the punch and therefore felt inclined to assert his dominance by getting rid of Kaufman.<ref name=McGilligan/> The love triangle resulted in the Director's Guild passing new legislation, known as 'the Eastwood Rule', which prohibits an actor or producer from firing the director and then becoming the director himself.<ref></ref>}} After wrapping the film in December 1975, the couple shuttled between Eastwood's houses in Carmel and L.A.'s ] neighborhood, as well as rented homes in San Francisco and its elite suburb ].<ref name=McGilligan/> They eventually settled at 846 Stradella Road in ], which Eastwood still owned at the time of Locke's death.<ref name=Parish/><ref>. Alamy.</ref> | |||
Eastwood was married during the early years of their relationship,<ref name=Young>Young, Josh (May 4, 1997). . ''The Independent''.</ref><ref>. ''The San Bernardino County Sun''. September 8, 1979.</ref> before their affair became public in 1977,<ref name="People 5-15-89"/> but his marriage was a nominal one just as Locke's was: he had sired at least two publicly unacknowledged children outside the marriage<ref name=McGilligan/><ref>{{cite news|title=Clint's Bombshell Secret – He Has Illegitimate Daughter & Grandson|first1=Mike|last1=Kerrigan|first2=Brian|last2=Williams|date=July 11, 1989|work=National Enquirer}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode|url=https://www.insideedition.com/clint-eastwood-appears-public-his-secret-daughter-first-time-49254|title=Clint Eastwood Appears in Public With His Secret Daughter for the First Time|series=Inside Edition|network=ABC|airdate=December 14, 2018}}</ref> and confided he'd "never been in love before."<ref name=autobio/> Locke claimed Eastwood even sang "She Made Me Monogamous" to her.<ref name=Young/><ref>{{cite book|last=Radner|first=Hilary|title=The New Woman's Film: Femme-centric Movies for Smart Chicks|year=2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9781317286479|page=60}}</ref> Eastwood's wife Maggie Johnson lived on a colossal estate in ], where Eastwood rarely stayed, and he and Johnson were understood to have had an ] from the start.<ref name=autobio/><ref>{{cite book|last=Eden|first=Barbara|title=Jeannie Out of the Bottle|year=2011|publisher=Crown Archetype|isbn=978-0307886958|page=110}}</ref> "I never knew I could love somebody so much, and feel so peaceful about it at the same time," Locke said he told her.<ref name=autobio/> Conversely, the media's going myth was that Eastwood "left"<ref name=Bradshaw/> or "walked out on"<ref name="People 5-15-89"/> his wife for Locke as opposed to simply giving up the facade. Locke resented having her romance with Eastwood labeled merely as an affair and being made to feel sordid as if she had "stolen" a married man, but did not contemporaneously refute such notions.<ref name=autobio/> | |||
] with Locke and Eastwood at a barbecue in ], 1976]] | |||
Late in the 1970s, Locke became pregnant by Eastwood twice;<ref name=McGilligan/> she terminated both pregnancies.<ref name="Catholic Sentinel">{{cite news|url=https://catholicsentinel.org/Content/News/Local/Article/Hollywood-love-affair-with-abortions-topic-of-The-Choices-We-Made-/2/35/7248|title=Hollywood love affair with abortions topic of 'The Choices We Made'|date=April 4, 1991|work=Catholic Sentinel}}</ref>{{efn|Locke explained in her autobiography: "Before I had met Clint my gynecologist had suggested and fitted for me an ]. Because my sex life was not very active, he did not think I should be constantly taking birth control pills. Clint complained of the IUD{{spaced ndash}}it was uncomfortable for him, he said. And he too was not in favor of birth control pills, so he suggested a special clinic at Cedars Hospital where they taught a 'natural' method of birth control. It was the same 'rhythm' system that historically has been used to determine the fertile days for those who are attempting to achieve pregnancy. Of course, it could be used for the opposite results as well. Not only was I taught their method but I was constantly monitored with regular pregnancy checks. The whole process was awkward and entailed taking my temperature every morning and marking the calendar, etc. It was demanding and ultimately it had failed twice."}} "I'd feel sorry for any child that had me for a mother," she told syndicated columnist ] in 1969.<ref>''The Times and Democrat'', July 29, 1969, p. </ref> In 1979, at the age of 35, Locke underwent a ] at ], citing Eastwood's adamancy that parenthood would not fit into their lifestyle.<ref name=autobio/>{{efn|According to the ], the median age for a woman getting tubal ligation in America is 33.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Simple and relative frequencies of the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the patients who underwent videolaparoscopic tubal ligation|journal=Sao Paulo Medical Journal|date=2014|volume=132|issue=6|pages=321–331|pmc=10496775 |url=https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10496775/table/t01/ |last1=Dias |first1=D. S. |last2=Dias |first2=R. |last3=Nahás-Neto |first3=J. |last4=Nahás |first4=E. A. |last5=Leite |first5=N. J. |last6=Bueloni-Dias |first6=F. N. |last7=Modotti |first7=W. P. |doi=10.1590/1516-3180-2014-1326687 |pmid=25351752 }}</ref>}} When this became public knowledge a decade after the fact, Eastwood issued a statement: | |||
{{blockquote|I adamantly deny and deeply resent the accusation that either one of those abortions or the tubal ligation were done at my demand, request or even suggestion. As to the abortions, I told Locke that whether to have children or terminate her pregnancies was a decision entirely hers. Particularly with regard to the tubal ligation, I encouraged Locke to make her own decision after she had consulted with a physician about the appropriateness of and the necessity for that surgical procedure.<ref name=Thompson/><ref name=Schickel>{{cite book|first=Richard|last=Schickel|title=Clint Eastwood: A Biography|year=1996|publisher=Random House|isbn=0679749918}}</ref>}} | |||
Locke professed mixed feelings on the matter, stating in one chapter of her autobiography that she was grateful she hadn't had Eastwood's children, while writing in another, "I couldn't help but think that that baby, with both Clint's and my best qualities, would be extraordinary."<ref name=autobio/> Eastwood claimed Locke told him on multiple occasions that she never wanted to have children.<ref name=Puig/> | |||
Eastwood and Locke were still cohabiting when, in the latter half of the 1980s, he secretly fathered another woman's two children—a fact that did not come to light for almost 20 years.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jeremy|last=Fuster|title=Sondra Locke, Oscar-Nominated Actress and Longtime Clint Eastwood Partner, Dies at 74|date=December 13, 2018|website=TheWrap|url=https://www.thewrap.com/sondra-locke-oscar-nominated-actress-dies-74}}</ref><ref name=Strout>Strout, Paige (September 11, 2024). . ''Us Weekly''.</ref>{{efn|Although the existence of Eastwood's offspring by Jacelyn Reeves was reported in tabloids such as '']'' and in Locke's autobiography during the 1990s, it continued to be ignored by reputable media sources until about 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=Clint Eastwood's Secret 4-Year Love Comes Out of Hiding|first1=Bob|last1=Smith|first2=Stephen|last2=Viens|date=February 27, 1990|work=Star}}</ref><ref>The Reeves children are not included in the count, for instance, at {{cite news|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20143212,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907031305/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20143212,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 7, 2015|title=Passages|work=People|first=Jeremy|last=Helligar|date=January 13, 1997|quote=News anchor Dina Ruiz, 31, more than made husband Clint Eastwood's day when she gave birth to the couple's first child, an 8-lb. 4-oz. girl named Morgan, on Dec. 12 in Los Angeles. This is the 66-year-old actor-director's fifth child....}}</ref> As late as 2003, for instance, ] produced a two-hour, authorized '']'' episode on Eastwood which gave the false impression he had a total of only four children,<ref>''Dallas Morning News'', 10.4.03</ref> when he in fact has at least eight.<ref name=Strout/>}} Despite her affirmed ignorance, Locke sensed growing tension in the relationship around 1985, recollecting that "although I definitely still loved Clint, I didn't very much ''like'' him." In retrospect, she gathered "either he changed from white to black, or I had been living with somebody I didn't even know."<ref name=doco/> | |||
====Palimony suit==== | |||
] with Locke and Eastwood in the ], 1987]] | |||
According to court testimony, Locke confronted Eastwood over his ] on December 29, 1988,{{efn|Eastwood's passive-aggressive gestures toward Locke included inviting Jane Brolin—a woman he was having an affair with—to join Locke and himself on their annual ski trip to Sun Valley. The two women got into a row just before New Year's Eve, Locke recalling, "I wanted to hit her, to pull every hair out of her head."<ref name=autobio/>}} eliciting estrangement between the couple.<ref name="Furtado 8-31-13"/><ref name=Parish/> Locke testified that after she and Eastwood made their final joint appearance on January 6 at the ], they spent exactly two nights together, without intimate contact.<ref name="People 5-15-89"/><ref name=McGilligan/> Eastwood then effectively vacated their Bel-Air mansion, sleeping in the adjacent caretakers' quarters or at his apartment in ].<ref name=McGilligan/> Locke thought Eastwood was acting out "because he wasn't number one at the box office anymore, or because he was facing his mortality."<ref name=McGilligan/> (Eastwood was 58 at the time.) As far as she was concerned their relationship was still salvageable.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://50plusworld.com/celebrating-seniors-clint-eastwood-turns-85-politics-and-passion-4-of-5|title=Celebrating Seniors – Clint Eastwood Turns 85 – Politics and Passion|first=Anita|last=Hamilton|publisher=50+ World|date=June 3, 2015}}</ref> At any rate, she called divorce lawyer Norman Oberstein to explore her options should the separation be permanent. Unbeknownst to Locke, Eastwood eavesdropped on those consultations by means of a ] that he placed in their home phone in early March.<ref name=McGilligan/><ref name=Eliot/><ref name=Waxman/> | |||
On the morning of April 3<ref name=Schickel/> or 4,<ref name=McGilligan/> Eastwood complained in the kitchen that Locke was "sitting on only real estate in Los Angeles" and bolted.<ref name=autobio/> Locke later defensively declared: "Clint is not good at direct communication. He really is a man of few words. You might just as well have a direct confrontation with a wall."<ref name=Hall>{{cite news|url=https://www.questia.com/article/1G1-61171112/clint-v-sondra-for-a-fistful-of-dollars-magnum-farce|title=Clint v Sondra for a Fistful of Dollars|first=Allan|last=Hall|work=Daily Record|date=September 12, 1996}}</ref> On April 10, 1989, Malpaso employees changed the locks on the family residence, moved Locke's possessions into storage, and posted security guards at the front gate per Eastwood's order.<ref name=McGilligan/> Locke was shooting ''Impulse'' (1990) at the time of the lockout.<ref>. ''People''. August 7, 1989.</ref> She filed a $70 million ] suit on April 26, charging Eastwood with ], emotional distress, ] and ].<ref name=McGilligan/><ref>Wright, Jeanne (June 2, 1989). . ''The San Bernardino County Sun''.</ref> ] and ] were also cited, though Locke would later recategorize those operations as a "mutual decision".<ref name=McGilligan/>{{efn|Locke's initial account provoked backlash from her peers. ], who is openly postabortive herself, told the press that "apart from being married already, she didn't have to stay with Clint. She wasn't chained to the bedpost."<ref>Robin Adams Sloan, ''Democrat and Chronicle'', 6.18.89</ref>}} | |||
], Eastwood, Locke and ] promoting '']'' (1988) at the ]]] | |||
During their 14 years as husband and wife ''de facto'', Locke and Eastwood had occupied seven homes and acquired four, including a retreat in ] and the ] near ], California.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://imn.stparchive.com/Archive/IMN/IMN11301978P01.php|title=Eastwood buys ranch|work=Inter Mountain News|date=November 30, 1978|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229022851/http://imn.stparchive.com/Archive/IMN/IMN11301978P01.php|archive-date=December 29, 2019}}</ref><ref> ]</ref> Locke sought half of Eastwood's earnings and an equal division of property, requesting title to the house in Bel-Air and to the ]-style West Hollywood place Eastwood had leased to Gordon Anderson since 1982.<ref name=Parish/><ref>Gallo, Hank (April 5, 1990). . ''New York Daily News''.</ref> She also asked Judge Dana Senit Henry to bar Eastwood from the Bel-Air house "because I know him to have a terrible temper ... and he has frequently been abusive to me."<ref name=Puig/> | |||
Locke battled Eastwood in court for 19 months; she developed breast cancer during proceedings and said the treatments sapped her will to fight.<ref name=Young/> In November 1990, the parties reached a private settlement wherein Eastwood set up a $1.5 million multiyear film development/directing pact for Locke at ] in exchange for dropping the suit.<ref name="E! 9-11-96"/> She was awarded the West Hollywood property (valued at $2.2 million), $450,000 cash and unspecified monthly support payments as well.<ref name=Schickel/> | |||
The breakup affected Locke's social life. Her closest friends had been the wives of Eastwood's colleagues: ], ] and ], all 10–11 years younger than Locke and married to film industry heavyweights ], ] and ] respectively.<ref name=McGilligan/> Locke's friendships with those women gradually faded as their husbands ] her.<ref name=Waxman/> The female comrades Locke credited with loyalty and support were those she had known pre-Eastwood: art director Elayne Barbara Ceder, whom she met on ''The Second Coming of Suzanne'', and realtor Denise Fraker, wife of ''A Reflection of Fear'' director ].<ref name=autobio/> | |||
====Fraud suit==== | |||
Between 1990 and 1993, Warner Bros. rejected more than 30 scripts that Locke pitched to the studio—including those for '']'' (1994) and '']'' (1997)—and refused to let her direct any of their in-house projects.<ref>{{cite web|first=Josh|last=Young|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/916656755|title=Life after Clint hasn't been easy for Sondra Locke|date=March 26, 1995|work=The Idaho Statesman}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Yohana|last=Desta|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/12/sondra-locke-obit|title=The Triumph and Tragedy of Sondra Locke|date=December 14, 2018|magazine=Vanity Fair}}</ref><ref>Ryfle, Steve (September 12, 1996). . ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref> When her contract had yielded zero directing assignments three years in, Locke became convinced the deal was a sham.<ref>Smith, Liz (April 30, 1994). . ''The Palm Beach Post''.</ref> She began to seek corroboration and came across incriminating printouts from WB's bookkeeping records.<ref name=McGilligan/> Locke contended that the money WB pretended they were paying her came from Eastwood's pocket and was ] through the operating budget of '']'' (1992).<ref name=podcast1/><ref>Wilmington, Michael (August 8, 2002). . ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref> In June 1995 she sued him again, for ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/167185240|title=Eastwood is target of another Locke Lawsuit|date=June 7, 1995|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/817795263|title=Locke says behind-the-scenes deal humiliated her|date=September 13, 1996|work=The Columbian}}</ref> According to Locke's attorney Peggy Garrity, Eastwood committed "the ultimate betrayal" by arranging the "bogus" deal as a way to keep her out of work.<ref name=Tampa>. ''The Tampa Tribune''. September 25, 1996.</ref> Garrity added that Eastwood had held out the allegedly counterfeit deal "like a dangled carrot" to persuade Locke to drop the earlier palimony suit.<ref name=Tampa/> Locke said that she "was stunned and outraged at the way I had been tricked and cheated a second time."<ref name=autobio/> | |||
The case went to trial in September 1996. One juror disclosed that the panel sided with Locke by a 10-to-2 vote (nine votes are needed for a verdict) and were only debating the amount.<ref name="E! 9-24-96">Errico, Marcus (September 24, 1996). . E! News.</ref> Before any court decision could be made, Locke settled the case with Eastwood for an undisclosed amount of money.<ref name="E! 9-24-96"/> The outcome, Locke said, sent a "loud and clear" message to Hollywood, "that people cannot get away with whatever they want to just because they're powerful."<ref name=Parish/> According to Locke, "in this business, people get so accustomed to being abused, they just accept the abuse and say, 'Well, that's just the way it is.' Well, it isn't."<ref name=Parish/> | |||
For his part, Eastwood waved the lawsuit off as a "dime-novel plot," continuing, "it's all about money ... about getting something for nothing."<ref name="E! 9-24-96"/><ref>{{cite web|first1=Ann W.|last1=O'Neill|first2=Efrain Jr.|last2=Hernandez|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-09-25-mn-47374-story.html|title=Eastwood Settles Fraud Suit With Ex-Lover Locke|date=September 25, 1996|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> He accused Locke of using her cancer to gain the jury's sympathy: "She plays the victim very well. Unfortunately she had cancer and so she plays that card."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Bernard|last=Weinraub|title=Clint Eastwood – Interview – Western Movie Star|date=March 1997|magazine=Playboy}}</ref> | |||
Locke brought a separate action against Warner Bros. for allegedly conspiring with Eastwood to sabotage her directorial career.<ref name=Huffaker>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/EASTWOOD'S+EX+SETTLES+WITH+WARNER+BROS-a083612488|author=Huffaker, Donna|title=Eastwood's ex settles with Warner Bros.|work=Los Angeles Daily News|date=May 25, 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211043/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/EASTWOOD'S+EX+SETTLES+WITH+WARNER+BROS-a083612488|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> As had happened with the previous lawsuit, this ended in an out-of-court settlement, in May 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/38212/vindication-for-clint-eastwood-s-ex-lover|title=Vindication for Clint Eastwood's Ex-Lover|publisher=E! News|first=Joal|last=Ryan|date=May 25, 1999}}</ref><ref>. CNN. May 26, 1999.</ref> By then, Locke had fired Garrity and hired ] to represent her.<ref name="LA Times 6-6-99">O'Neill, Ann W. (June 6, 1999). . ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref>{{efn|In June 1999, Garrity sued Locke to get paid for persuading the appellate court to reinstate ''Locke v. Warner Bros. Inc''.<ref name="LA Times 6-6-99"/> WB had requested ] after the original March 1994 filing, which the court granted, but in August 1997 the decision was reversed.<ref name=Eliot/> Garrity put 2,500 hours of work into the case, only to be ditched by Locke and replaced by Papiano in May 1998.<ref name="LA Times 6-6-99"/> Garrity won her lawsuit, and remarked that the payment would not have cost Locke a dime more than what was already going to legal fees, since it would simply have come out of Papiano's one-third contingency fee.<ref name=Garrity>{{cite book|first=Peggy|last=Garrity|title=In the Game: The Highs and Lows of a Trailblazing Trial Lawyer|year=2016|publisher=She Writes Press|isbn=978-1631521065}}</ref>}} The agreement with Warner Bros., Locke said, was "a happy ending."<ref>. ''People''. July 5, 1999.</ref> "I feel elated. This has been the best day in a long, long time," she told reporters on courthouse steps.<ref name=Huffaker/> The case is used in some modern law-school contract textbooks to illustrate the legal concept of ].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-first=Nathan|editor1-last=Crystal|editor2-first=Charles|editor2-last=Knapp|editor3-first=Harry|editor3-last=Prince|title=Problems in Contract Law: Cases and Materials|edition=6th|publisher=Aspen Publishing|location=New York City|date=2007|isbn=978-0735598225|pages=470–80}}</ref> | |||
===Illness; last relationship=== | |||
A lifelong nonsmoker (save for a few film roles), Locke practiced ] and worked out with weights, though she hated running.<ref>Interview with Leta Powell Drake. KOLN/KGIN-TV (Lincoln, NE). 1982.</ref><ref>Mills, Bart (June 25, 1978). . ''Chicago Tribune''.</ref><ref>Chase, Chris (December 23, 1983). .''The New York Times''.</ref> In September 1990, she confirmed reports that she had breast cancer.<ref name="Philadelphia Enquirer 9/20/90">. ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. September 20, 1990.</ref> "Due to factors in my personal life, I have sustained two years of extreme and unnecessary stress, which my doctors tell me has been my enemy," Locke said at the time.<ref name="Philadelphia Enquirer 9/20/90"/> She added that Eastwood never reached out to her after her diagnosis: "He doesn't care if I live or die."<ref name=Hall/><ref></ref> | |||
Locke underwent a double ] at ], followed by ].<ref name=Thompson/> During treatment, she began dating Scott Cunneen (born September 10, 1961, ], California), an intern assigned to perform the post-surgical checkup.<ref name=nndb/><ref name=Eliot/><ref name=Waxman/><ref>{{cite magazine|date=June 1991|title=Swingers and Roundabouts|magazine=Film Review|publisher=Orpheus Pub|page=27}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.annonline.com/interviews/971111/biography.html|title=Biography: Sondra Locke|publisher=AnnOnline|archive-date=January 10, 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980110165523/http://www.annonline.com/interviews/971111/biography.html}}</ref> Unfazed by their 17-year age difference—and the fact Locke was only three years younger than his mother—they soon went public with the romance, dining at paparazzi hotspot ] on one of their early dates in November 1990.<ref> – via Getty Images.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/mary_ann_forman_born_1941_2335322|title=Mary Ann Forman, Born 01/19/1941 in California|publisher=]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Alva|last=Yaffe|title=A Diagnosis and New Relationship|url=https://historybyday.com/pop-culture/sondra-locke-a-talented-actress-defined-by-her-relationship-with-clint-eastwood/24|website=History by Day|date=April 20, 2020}}</ref> Cunneen moved in with her in the spring of 1991.<ref name=autobio/> She called it a "real, supportive, and equal relationship."<ref name=autobio/> | |||
In February 2001, Locke purchased a six-bedroom gated mansion in the ], where she resided for the remainder of her life.<ref>. VirtualGlobetrotting. February 25, 2009.</ref> Built in 1925, the home's interior was redesigned to look like Locke's old house on Stradella Road.<ref name=doco/> She and Cunneen eventually broke up, albeit without publicity, since she had faded from public view.<ref>{{cite book|first=Kirk|last=Henderson|title=Hollywood v. Beauty and the Synchronicity of the Six|year=2020|publisher=Austin Macauley Publishers|isbn=978-1643781655}}</ref>{{efn|The exact year of this breakup is not known with certainty. The ], generally considered to be an unreliable source, cites 2001.<ref name=nndb/> Seeing as how the split was never formally announced, the timeframe aforesaid might be an approximation inferred from Locke's real estate transactions, as ''L.A. Times'' newshound ] reported she offloaded one of her properties that year.<ref>Ryon, Ruth (December 22, 2001). . ''The Ledger''.</ref> In French historian ]'s documentary ''L'album secret de Clint Eastwood'' (2012), partially filmed at Locke's last home, it's stated in the narration that she lived alone.<ref name=doco/>}} | |||
In 2004, Locke settled a personal injury lawsuit brought against her in Beverly Hills by one Mark Feigin, whom she had struck with a car the previous year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://unicourt.com/case/ca-la12-feigin-mark-vs-anderson-sondra-lock-1429964|title=Feigin, Mark vs. Anderson, Sondra|publisher=UniCourt}}</ref> | |||
In 2015, after a 25-year period of apparent remission, Locke's cancer returned and ] to her bones.<ref name="The Blast"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/2018/12/oscar-nominee-sondra-locke-has-died.html|title=Sondra Locke, Girlfriend Turned Enemy of Clint Eastwood, Is Dead|first=Bethy|last=Squires|date=December 13, 2018|work=Vulture}}</ref> | |||
==Death== | |||
Locke died at age 74 on November 3, 2018, at her Los Angeles home from cardiac arrest related to breast and bone cancer.<ref name=RadarOnline>{{cite web|url=https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2018/12/sondra-locke-dead-clint-eastwood|title=Clint Eastwood's Longtime Partner Sondra Locke Dead At 74|last=Jacob|first=Mary|date=December 13, 2018|website=Radar Online|publisher=American Media, Inc.}}</ref> Her remains were cremated on November 9 at ] and the ashes were given to her widower, Gordon Anderson.<ref name="The Blast"/>{{efn|Major media outlets including '']'' wrongly reported that Locke "was laid to rest" at Westwood rather than cremated.<ref name=auto>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/sondra-locke-dead-dies-heart-is-a-lonely-hunter-1203089402|title=Oscar Nominee Sondra Locke Dies at 74|last=McNary|first=Dave|date=December 14, 2018|website=Variety}}</ref>}} Locke bequeathed Anderson an estimated fortune of $20 million and seemed to have always supported him financially.<ref name=Kennedy/> | |||
===Media blackout=== | |||
Locke's death was kept secret until December 13, when ] broke the news the day before Eastwood's latest film '']'' (2018) opened in theaters nationwide, citing the ].<ref name=RadarOnline/> The ] said "it is not clear why it took nearly six weeks to come to light."<ref name=Dalton/> Anderson, according to the scant AP report, was unreachable,<ref name=Dalton/> and a representative for Locke ignored '']''{{'}}s request for comment.<ref name=people>Fernández, Alexia (December 13, 2018). . ''People''.</ref> So hidden had basic facts been kept, that '']'' oxymoronically noted 41 days after she died: "A list of survivors was not immediately ]''] available."<ref>Jacobs, Julia (December 14, 2018). "Sondra Locke, 74, Is Dead; Oscar-Nominated Actress". ''The New York Times''. D6.</ref> | |||
Locke's death received no television coverage except for a 15-second spot on '']''. Eastwood did not comment on the death, nor did any of Locke's other living exes, nor any of her friends or relatives.<ref>{{cite web|last=Grove|first=David|date=June 7, 2024|url=https://movieweb.com/what-happened-to-clint-eastwood-sondra-locke|title=What Happened to Clint Eastwood's Forgotten Leading Lady?|work=MovieWeb}}</ref> Co-stars such as ], ], ], ], ] and ]—all active on social media—were equally silent. On the ] telecast, broadcast nearly four months after Locke died, she was omitted from the In Memoriam segment.<ref>{{cite web|first=Carla|last=Baranauckas|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/oscars-baffling-omissions-in-memoriam-segment_n_5c73da28e4b00eed0836f3e3|work=HuffPost|title=Oscars Viewers Notice Baffling Omissions From 'In Memoriam' Segment|date=February 25, 2019}}</ref> In absence of any explanation, some surmised that Locke must have requested the blackout in her final wishes, perhaps to keep her real age under wraps.<ref>{{cite web|last=White|first=Adam|date=May 26, 2024|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/sondra-locke-clint-eastwood-b2550936.html|title=Sondra Locke, Clint Eastwood and the tragic disappearance of a Hollywood trailblazer|work=The Independent}}</ref> | |||
==Legacy== | |||
. ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref>}}]] | |||
] | |||
Locke is remembered as an early pioneer for women in Hollywood.<ref name=Welk>{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/sondra-locke-remembered-as-early-pioneer-women-hollywood|title=Sondra Locke Remembered as 'Early Pioneer' for Women in Hollywood|first=Brian|last=Welk|date=December 14, 2018|website=TheWrap}}</ref> She was one of 11 female filmmakers in 1990, the year WB released her sophomore feature, ''Impulse''.<ref name="LA Times 9-29-96"/> By the time of ''Trading Favors'' (1997), her fourth effort, still only eight percent of all films were made by women, per the ].<ref name="LA Times 9-29-96"/> | |||
Locke's influence as a feminist icon was duly acknowledged by the mainstream press. In 1989, Claudia Puig of the '']'' described her lawsuit against Clint Eastwood as a "precedent-setting legal case, as it raises the question of whether a woman, who is legally married to one man, can claim palimony rights from another."<ref name=Puig/> ] by choice—unusual for a person of ]—Locke was among the first celebrities to publicly discuss her abortion experiences.<ref name="Catholic Sentinel"/><ref>. ''The Economist''. July 27, 2017.</ref> The avowal made Locke "a talking-point in America's sexual politics debate," according to '']''{{'}}s ].<ref name=Bradshaw/> Locke's subsequent relationship with a doctor young enough to be her son added to her notoriety.<ref>. ''Notorious Women''. December 25, 2018.</ref> | |||
Cinematographer ] credits Locke with his big break.<ref>Guarisco, Don (March 6, 2012). . ''Schlockmania''.</ref> She is admired by such actresses as ] and ], who applauded the strength of her directorial accomplishments, however short-lived.<ref name=Welk/><ref>Gonzalez, Sandra (December 14, 2018). . CNN.</ref> | |||
During the last quarter of her life, Locke maintained she was ] from the film industry as a result of her acrimonious split from Eastwood;<ref name=podcast1/><ref name="Furtado 10-19-13"/> his career went forward unscathed.<ref name=Parish/> Peggy Garrity, Locke's former counsel, recalled the courtroom drama in her book ''In the Game: The Highs and Lows of a Trailblazing Trial Lawyer'' (2016). Garrity revealed that Locke's 1999 confidential settlement from WB "was for many millions more than the settlement with Clint had been."<ref name=Garrity/> ''Locke v. Warner Bros. Inc'' also catalyzed changes within the legal system. In a landmark decision,<ref>Fitzgerald, Mark (July 31, 1999). . ''Editor & Publisher''.</ref> California's ] ruled that access to civil trials could no longer be closed off to the public.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rcfp.org/public-media-have-right-attend-civil-trials|title=Public, media have right to attend civil trials|date=August 9, 1999|publisher=Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press}}</ref><ref>Dolan, Maura (May 7, 1999). . ''Los Angeles Times''.</ref> | |||
Numerous outlets faced pushback over their chosen headlines for Locke's obituary. Several major publications prefaced news of her death by tagging Eastwood's name atop the article, which drew criticism by some who deemed it a ] epitaph, with fans online pointing out that Locke was an Oscar nominee prior to meeting Eastwood.<ref name=Welk/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.themarysue.com/in-memory-of-sondra-locke-obituary|title=In Memory of Sondra Locke, Not Her Relationship|first=Kate|last=Gardner|date=December 14, 2018|work=The Mary Sue}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Paine|first=Hannah|title='She deserved better': Star Sondra Locke's obituary slammed online|publisher=News.com.au|date=December 15, 2018|url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/she-deserved-better-star-sondra-lockes-obituary-slammed-online/news-story/34a56d7ab7b7211fcd8a70b031d41c75}}</ref> Women's blog '']'' criticized '']'' for ostensibly regarding Locke as a nonentity;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jezebel.com/this-is-how-a-woman-gets-written-out-of-her-own-obituar-1831097072|title=This Is How a Woman Gets Written Out of Her Own Obituary|first=Hazel|last=Cills|date=December 14, 2018|website=Jezebel}}</ref> ''THR'' subsequently changed its headline.<ref name=Welk/> News organization '']''—whose editor, ], reviewed Locke's memoir for '']'' in 1997—opined that her story "should stir resonance in this age of the ]."<ref name=Welk/> In a tribute to the late actress, author ] wrote: "Sondra Locke, like ], deserves to be known for her work, not for the famous man she was disastrously involved with."<ref name=Welk/> | |||
Among those voicing an unfavorable opinion of Locke was film critic ], who had interviewed her for a 1967 '']'' profile.<ref>{{cite web|first=Rex|last=Reed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/12/10/archives/the-stars-fall-on-alabamaagain-stars-fall.html|work=The New York Times|title=The Stars Fall on Alabama--Again|date=December 10, 1967}}</ref> " lied so much during her brief but colorful career that when she lost her battle with cancer at age 74, I wondered if it was a publicity stunt," Reed wrote in an essay for '']''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Rex|last=Reed|url=https://observer.com/2018/12/celebrity-deaths-obituaries-rex-reed-2018|work=Observer|title=In Memoriam: Rex Reed Says Goodbye to the Biggest Stars of 2018|date=December 29, 2018}}</ref> | |||
Candid photographs of Locke and Eastwood in their heyday are on display at the Frazetta Art Museum in ], next to ]'s exaggerated portrait of the couple that was used on the poster for ''The Gauntlet'' (1977). | |||
The end credits of '']'' (2020) pay homage to her. | |||
===''Our Very Own''=== | |||
In 1971, fifth-graders at Eastside Elementary in Locke's hometown of Shelbyville, Tennessee were left star-struck when Locke made a visit and held pretend "auditions" in the class to show them what it was like in Hollywood.<ref name=DeGennaro/> One student, ], was inspired by Locke and is now an actor/director. Watson's period drama '']'' (2005) takes place in Shelbyville in 1978 and concerns a group of teenagers who want to meet Locke when she returns to town for the local premiere of '']''. Watson decided to do the movie after performing a standup routine about Locke and about how people in Shelbyville were obsessed with her.<ref>{{cite web|first=Brad|last=Schmitt|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/244453874|title=Say, is that C.J. Cregg in Shelbyville?|date=April 27, 2004|work=The Tennessean}}</ref> Locke attended one of those performances in 2004 at the ] in West Hollywood. "The minute she heard the first reference to her or to her family, she threw up her arms: 'What the hell is this?{{'"}} Watson said. "By the end of the reading, she was doubled over."<ref>{{cite web|first=Brad|last=Schmitt|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/284184988|title=Hollywood stars to help Shelbyville native's film|date=June 27, 2004|work=The Jackson Sun}}</ref> Locke gave the script her blessing and accepted an invitation to be special guest at the film's premiere.<ref>{{cite web|first=Ken|last=Beck|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/276024093|title=Shelbyville gets its close-up|date=August 7, 2005|work=The Tennessean}}</ref> The movie was a "special gift" to Locke, according to Deborah Obenchain, another Eastside student who said she did not think Locke really understood her impact on the small town she once called home. "I think it meant just as much to her. … In our own way … we got to live out a little bit of our dreams by making the movie and meeting her."<ref name=DeGennaro/> | |||
==Filmography== | ==Filmography== | ||
=== Acting === | |||
====Films==== | |||
* '']'' (1968) | |||
* '']'' (1970) (]) | |||
* '']'' (1971) | |||
* '']'' (1973) (made-for-TV) | |||
* '']'' (1973) | |||
* '']'' (1974) (limited release) | |||
* '']'' (1976) | |||
* '']'' (1977) (limited release) | |||
* '']'' (1977) (limited release) | |||
* '']'' (1977) | |||
* '']'' (1978) | |||
* '']'' (1979) (made-for-TV) | |||
* '']'' (1979) (made-for-TV) | |||
* '']'' (1980) | |||
* '']'' (1980) | |||
* '']'' (1982) (made-for-TV) | |||
* '']'' (1983) | |||
* ''] (1986) | |||
* '']'' (1999) (direct-to-video) | |||
* '']'' (1999) (direct-to-video) | |||
===As actress=== | |||
====Television guest appearances==== | |||
* '']'' (1972) 1 episode | |||
* '']'' (1972) 1 episode | |||
* '']'' (1973) 1 episode | |||
* '']'' (1973 and 1975) 2 episodes | |||
* '']'' (1974) 1 episode | |||
* '']'' (1974) 1 episode | |||
* '']'' (1975) 1 episode | |||
* '']'' (1976) 1 episode | |||
* '']'' (1984) episode "]" | |||
{|class="wikitable sortable" | |||
===Directorial work=== | |||
|- | |||
* '']'' (1986) | |||
! Year | |||
* '']'' (1990) | |||
! Title | |||
* '']'' (1995) (TV) | |||
! Role | |||
* '']'' (1997) (direct-to-video) | |||
! Notes | |||
! class="unsortable"| {{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} | |||
|- | |||
|1968 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Margaret 'Mick' Kelly | |||
|Nominated—]<br>Nominated—]<br>Nominated—]<br>Nominated—]<br>Nominated—] | |||
|<ref>Hughes, William (December 14, 2018). . ''The A.V. Club''.</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1970 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Melisse | |||
| | |||
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shockcinemamagazine.com/cover.html|title=Cover Me Babe|publisher=Shock Cinema|access-date=December 18, 2018}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1971 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Joan Simms | |||
| | |||
|<ref name=horrorsociety.com>{{cite web|url=https://www.horrorsociety.com/2018/12/14/rip-willard-actress-sondra-locke|title=RIP Willard Actress Sondra Locke|date=December 14, 2018|website=Horror Society}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1972 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Marguerite | |||
| | |||
|<ref name=horrorsociety.com/> | |||
|- | |||
|1972 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Sheila Gray | |||
|Episode: "A Feast of Blood" | |||
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/night-gallery/episode-602178/203447|title=Night Gallery: Feast of Blood|publisher=TV Guide|access-date=December 18, 2018}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1972 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Regina Mason | |||
|Episode: "Dark Christmas" | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1973 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Trish Caton | |||
|Episode: "Death of a Stone Seahorse" | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1973 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Nora Sells | |||
|Episode: "My Secret Mother" | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1973 | |||
|''Gondola'' | |||
|Jackie | |||
|TV movie | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1974 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Suzanne | |||
| | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1974 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Gwyneth Jenkins | |||
|Episode: "This Valley of Terror" | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1974 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Amy | |||
|Episode: "The Cure" | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1975 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Alicia | |||
|Episode: "The Orchid Killer" | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1975 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Tracy Murdock | |||
|Episode: "A Touch of Venom" | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1976 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Pam Wilson | |||
|Episode: "A Game of Love" | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1976 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Laura Lee | |||
| | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1977 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Agatha Jackson | |||
| | |||
|<ref name=auto/> | |||
|- | |||
|1977 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Drusilla Wilcox | |||
| | |||
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moriareviews.com/horror/shadow-of-chikara-1977.htm|title=Shadow of Chikara (1977)|date=March 9, 2010|publisher=Moria Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1977 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Augustina 'Gus' Mally | |||
| | |||
|<ref name=Bradshaw/> | |||
|- | |||
|1978 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Lynn Halsey-Taylor | |||
| | |||
|<ref name=Telegraph/> | |||
|- | |||
|1979 | |||
|''Friendships, Secrets and Lies'' | |||
|Jessie Dunne | |||
|TV movie | |||
|<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/03/archives/tv-friendships-secrets-and-lies.html|title=TV: 'Friendships, Secrets and Lies'|first=John J.|last=O'Connor|work=The New York Times|date=December 3, 1979}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1980 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Antoinette Lily | |||
|Nominated—] | |||
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/sv/item/?type=film&itemid=7745|title=Bronco Billy (1980) – Svensk Filmdatabas|access-date=December 18, 2018}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1980 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Lynn Halsey-Taylor | |||
| | |||
|<ref name=bbc>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-46564964|title=Actress Sondra Locke dies aged 74|publisher=BBC News|date=December 14, 2018}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1982 | |||
|''Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story'' | |||
|] | |||
|TV movie | |||
|<ref name=bbc/> | |||
|- | |||
|1983 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Jennifer Spencer | |||
| | |||
|<ref name=bbc/> | |||
|- | |||
|1984 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Edna | |||
|Episode: "]" | |||
|<ref name=bbc/> | |||
|- | |||
|1985 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Vanessa Sullivan | |||
|Episode: "Vanessa in the Garden" | |||
|<ref name=bbc/> | |||
|- | |||
|1986 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Nikki Morrison | |||
|Also director<br>Nominated—] | |||
|<ref>. ComingSoon.net. September 29, 2015.</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1999 | |||
|''The Prophet's Game'' | |||
|Adele Highsmith (adult) | |||
| | |||
|<ref name=people/> | |||
|- | |||
|1999 | |||
|''Clean and Narrow'' | |||
|Betsy Brand | |||
| | |||
|<ref name=people/> | |||
|- | |||
|2018 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Helen | |||
| | |||
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/keith-carradine-sondra-locke-ray-meets-helen-release-1202733026|title=Film News Roundup: Keith Carradine-Sondra Locke's 'Ray Meets Helen' Gets Release|first1=Dave|last1=McNary|date=March 22, 2018|work=Variety}}</ref> | |||
|} | |||
== |
===As director=== | ||
{{Reflist}} | |||
{|class="wikitable sortable" | |||
==Bibliography== | |||
|- | |||
* {{Cite book|last= McGilligan |first= Patrick |title= Clint: The Life and Legend |publisher= ] |year= 1999|month= |isbn=0-00-638354-8. }} | |||
!Year | |||
!Title | |||
!class="unsortable"|{{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} | |||
|- | |||
|1986 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|<ref>Furtado, David (November 20, 2013). . ''Wand'rin' Star''.</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1990 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/dec/14/sondra-locke-obituary|title=Sondra Locke obituary|first=Ryan|last=Gilbey|work=The Guardian|date=December 14, 2018}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1995 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://letterboxd.com/film/death-in-small-doses-1995|title=Death in Small Doses (1995)|access-date=December 18, 2018|publisher=Letterboxd}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1997 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|<ref name=people/> | |||
|} | |||
==Stage== | |||
{|class="wikitable sortable" | |||
|- | |||
!Year | |||
!Show | |||
!Role | |||
!Venue | |||
!{{Tooltip|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}} | |||
|- | |||
|1962 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Mrs. White | |||
|Bud Frank Theatre, Johnson City, Tennessee | |||
|<ref>''Johnson City Press-Chronicle'', 5.1.62</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1962 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Mary Skinner | |||
|Tucker Theater, Murfreesboro, Tennessee | |||
|<ref name="DNJ 11-2-62"/> | |||
|- | |||
|1963 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|] | |||
|Tucker Theater, Murfreesboro, Tennessee | |||
|<ref name="DNJ 2-24-63"/> | |||
|- | |||
|1964 | |||
|''Life with Mother'' | |||
|Cora Miller | |||
|Belcourt Playhouse, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
|<ref>{{cite news|title=Several Days With the Days|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=February 16, 1964|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/111970652}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1964 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Flora | |||
|Circle Theater, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
|<ref>{{cite news|title=Shivers Missing in 'The Innocents'|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=June 18, 1964|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/111607043}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1964 | |||
|''A Thousand Clowns'' | |||
|Dr. Sandra Markowitz | |||
|Circle Theater, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
|<ref>{{cite news|title=Erwin Has Rare Aplomb; Poise Brings Applause|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=August 20, 1964|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/112073032}}</ref> | |||
|- | |||
|1965 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Charlotte Goodall | |||
|Circle Theater, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
|<ref name="Tennessean 9-19-65"/> | |||
|- | |||
|1965 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Rosalie | |||
|Circle Theater, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
|<ref name="Tennessean 10-17-65"/> | |||
|- | |||
|1965 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|Laura Wingfield | |||
|Circle Theater, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
|<ref name="Tennessean 11-21-65"/> | |||
|- | |||
|1967 | |||
|'']'' | |||
|] | |||
|Vanderbilt Theatre, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
|<ref>{{cite news|title='Tiger at the Gates' At Vanderbilt Theater|work=The Nashville Tennessean|date=January 20, 1967|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/113221744}}</ref> | |||
|} | |||
==Discography== | |||
* 1978, "I Seek The Night / Don't Say You Don't Love Me No More", ]: E46007 | |||
* 1980, "Too Loose", ]: WB49674 | |||
==Footnotes== | |||
{{Reflist|25em|group=lower-alpha}} | |||
==Gallery== | |||
<gallery> | |||
Sondra Locke, 1959.jpg|Sophomore basketball portrait, 1959 | |||
Sondra Locke senior portrait.jpg|Senior yearbook photo, 1962 | |||
Sondra Locke 1966.jpg|Modeling wardrobe by Bobbie Brooks, 1966 | |||
Sondra Locke 1967.jpg|From the front cover of ''The Nashville Tennessean Sunday Magazine'', 1967 | |||
Clint & Sondra & Burt & Loni.jpg|At the '']'' premiere with Eastwood, ] and ], 1984 | |||
</gallery> | |||
==See also== | |||
{{Portal|Biography|Film|Television}} | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
* ] | |||
==References== | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{Commons category}} | |||
* {{IMDB name|0516800}} | |||
* {{IMDb name}} | |||
* {{TCMDb name}} | |||
* at the ] | |||
* {{discogs artist|Sondra Locke}} | |||
* at ] | |||
* {{Rotten Tomatoes person|sondra_locke}} | |||
* {{LCAuth|n93089860|Sondra Locke}} | |||
* {{AFI person|141343-Sondra-Locke}} | |||
{{Clint Eastwood}} | |||
{{Authority control}} | |||
<!-- Metadata: see ] --> | |||
{{Persondata | |||
|NAME= Locke, Sondra | |||
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= | |||
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor | |||
|DATE OF BIRTH= May 28, 1947 | |||
|PLACE OF BIRTH= Shelbyville, Tennessee, U.S. | |||
|DATE OF DEATH= | |||
|PLACE OF DEATH= | |||
}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Locke, Sondra}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Locke, Sondra}} | ||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 04:14, 8 January 2025
American actress (1944–2018)
Sondra Locke | |
---|---|
Locke in 1969 | |
Born | Sandra Louise Smith (1944-05-28)May 28, 1944 Shelbyville, Tennessee, U.S. |
Died | November 3, 2018(2018-11-03) (aged 74) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Other names |
|
Alma mater | Middle Tennessee State University |
Occupations |
|
Years active |
|
Spouse |
Gordon Anderson (m. 1967) |
Partner(s) | Clint Eastwood (1975–1989) Scott Cunneen (1990–?) |
Signature | |
Sandra Louise Anderson (née Smith; May 28, 1944 – November 3, 2018), professionally known as Sondra Locke, was an American actress and director.
An alumna of Middle Tennessee State University, Locke broke into regional show business with assorted posts at the Nashville-based radio station WSM-AM, then segued into television as a promotions assistant for WSM-TV. She performed in the theater company Circle Players Inc. while employed at WSM. In 1968, she made her film debut in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and earned dual Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress and New Star of the Year.
Locke went on to appear in such box office successes as Willard (1971), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), The Gauntlet (1977), Every Which Way but Loose (1978), Bronco Billy (1980), Any Which Way You Can (1980) and Sudden Impact (1983). She worked regularly with Clint Eastwood, who was her companion from 1975 to 1989 despite their marriages to other people. She also directed four films, notably Impulse (1990). She published an autobiography, The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly: A Hollywood Journey, in 1997.
Locke's persona belied her age. She claimed to have been born several years later than 1944, often playing roles written for women far younger than herself, and kept her true age a secret throughout her career. For reasons never made clear, her death was not publicly announced and was only confirmed by vital statistics six weeks after she died of cardiac arrest at the age of 74. From 1967 until her death, Locke was the wife of sculptor Gordon Leigh Anderson, in a mixed-orientation union they reputedly never consummated.
Background, early life and education
Sandra Louise Smith was born on May 28, 1944, the daughter of New York City native Raymond Smith, then a soldier stationed at Camp Forrest, and Pauline Bayne, a pencil factory worker from Huntsville, Alabama who was of mostly Scottish descent, with matrilineages in South Carolina extending back to the late 18th century. Locke's parents separated before her birth. In her autobiography, Locke noted that "although Momma would not admit it, I knew Mr. Smith never married my mother." She had a maternal half-brother, Donald (born April 26, 1946), from Bayne's subsequent brief marriage to William B. Elkins. When Bayne married Alfred Locke in 1948, Sandra and Donald assumed his surname. She grew up in Shelbyville, Tennessee, where her stepfather owned a construction company. The family later moved to nearby Wartrace. Self-described as introspective and ambitious, Locke started working part-time at age 16, drove her own car, and had a phone installed in her bedroom. She was raised a Baptist, but stopped going to church as an adult.
Locke was a cheerleader and class valedictorian in junior high, as well as editor-in-chief of The Royal yearbook and a star player on the girls' basketball team. From 1958, she attended Shelbyville Central High School, where she again served as valedictorian and was voted "Duchess of Studiousness" by classmates. She continued to play basketball at SCHS, served as parent–teacher–student association representative, and was president of the French club. Regardless, she wasn't considered "date material" by the more socially prominent boys in her class. Locke's first beau, according to locals' reminiscences, was Fred Thomas Jones, a carpenter's son. Her graduation yearbook listed her grade average 97.72% and her ambition "always to take disappointments with a smile." In 1962, Locke matriculated at Middle Tennessee State University (then Middle Tennessee State College) in Murfreesboro on a full scholarship. Majoring in theatre, she was a member of the Alpha Psi Omega honor society while at MTSU and appeared on stage in Life with Father and The Crucible. She dropped out after completing two semesters of study.
In or around 1963, Locke essentially broke off contact with her family, concluding: "It made no sense for any of us to spend our lives pretending to have relationships that did not really exist." She never knew her biological father, and did not attend the funerals of her mother (deceased 1997) or stepfather (deceased 2007), nor did she have anything to do with her brother, sister-in-law and three nieces. Donald blamed Gordon Anderson—Locke's best friend since adolescence and future husband—for the rift, claiming Anderson had "an almost hypnotic spell on her."
Locke held a variety of jobs, including as a bookkeeper for Tyson Foods and receptionist in a real-estate office. For a time she lived at South Water Apartments in the commuter town of Gallatin. In 1964, she joined the staff at radio station WSM-AM 650 in Nashville and was promoted to its television affiliate WSM-Channel 4 the following year. Locke's biggest coup while employed there was hosting actor Robert Loggia when Loggia visited Nashville to promote his TV pilot T.H.E. Cat, during which he "flirted outrageously" with Locke. She also modeled for The Tennessean fashion page, acted in commercials for Rich-Schwartz ladies apparel and Southerland Gel mattresses, among others, and gained further stage experience in productions for Circle Players Inc. In 1966, the 22-year-old appeared in a UPI wire photo that showed her cavorting in new fallen snow. Within one year of this exposure, she decided to pursue a career in film and changed the spelling of her first name to avoid being called Sandy.
Career
Rise to prominence
In July 1967, Locke competed with 590 other Southern actresses and dozens of New York hopefuls for the part of Mick Kelly in a big-screen adaptation of Carson McCullers' novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter opposite Alan Arkin. For the first audition in Birmingham, Alabama, then-fiancé Gordon Anderson gave his bride a so-called Hollywood makeover: he bound her bosom, bleached her eyebrows and carefully fixed her hair, makeup and outfit so as to create a more gamine appearance. Locke lied about her age, shaving off six years to make herself seem younger—a pretense she would keep up not only for the rest of her career, but also the entirety of her public life. After callbacks in New Orleans and Manhattan, she was cast in the role by recommendation from entertainment coordinator Marion Dougherty. The film's shooting wrapped in the fall of 1967. Locke, who had quit her post at WSM, opted to wait until its release before choosing a follow-up project. In the nine-month interim, she was asked to play the female protagonists in True Grit and Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point. She said she turned down the former on the grounds that it was too similar to the role she'd just done, and the latter because of the nudity required.
Heart came out in the summer of 1968 to critical acclaim. Locke's performance garnered her an Academy Award nomination, as well as a pair of Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Most Promising Newcomer – Female. Being the oldest nominee in the latter category, she concealed this distinction through retconning with aid from studio publicists. At a film exhibitor convention in Kansas City, she won the Show-A-Rama Award from the Motion Picture Association of America as "Most Promising New Star of the Year". Although her salary for the film was reported as $15,000 in contemporary articles, Locke later claimed it was less than one-third that amount.
Commercial ups and downs, missed roles, TV work
Hoping to shed the plain image she accentuated in her screen debut, in January 1969 Locke posed for a semi-nude pictorial by photographer Frank Bez, which was published in the December issue of Playboy. The Playboy layout established Locke's status as a sex symbol, and the images were recycled in other men's magazines as her fame increased. Nearly three decades later, Locke said she still got those photos in fan mail requesting her autograph.
Her next role was as Melisse in Cover Me Babe (1970), originally titled Run Shadow Run, opposite Robert Forster. She made it as part of a $150,000 three-picture deal with 20th Century Fox, and was compensated for the other two which never materialized. It was announced that she would play the lead in Lovemakers—a film adaptation of Robert Nathan's novel The Color of Evening—but no movie resulted. Locke was offered Barbara Hershey's role in Last Summer (1969), but her management turned it down without telling her. Shortly afterwards she passed on the lead in My Sweet Charlie (1970), which won an Emmy for its eventual star Patty Duke. She also declined the part of Bruce Dern's pregnant wife in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969).
In 1971, Locke co-starred with Bruce Davison and Ernest Borgnine in the psychological thriller Willard, which became a surprise box office smash. Locke felt overqualified for her role but did it as a favor to Davison, who at the time was her unofficial paramour. She was then featured in William A. Fraker's underseen mystery A Reflection of Fear (1972), which required her to project the image of a character half her age, and held the title role in first-time director Michael Barry's avant-garde drama The Second Coming of Suzanne (1974), winner of three gold medals at the Atlanta Film Festival. Both films were shelved for two years before finally opening in arthouse cinemas, attracting little attention at first. Over time Suzanne has accrued a cult following, while Reflection is cited as an early example of media portrayals of transgender people.
In 1973, Locke was attached to star in Terminal Circle. "It's a woman's role that comes along once in a lifetime," she said. The San Francisco-based film was to be directed by Mal Karman and shot by cinematographer Robert Primes, who did camerawork for Gimme Shelter, but it was scrapped for lack of funds. She was up for a big part in Earthquake (1974), but lost out to Geneviève Bujold.
Locke guested on top-rated television drama series throughout the first half of the 1970s, including The F.B.I., Cannon (as two different characters), Barnaby Jones and Kung Fu. She was advised by her agents to stay away from TV, but thought it foolish to sit around not working between films. In the 1972 Night Gallery episode "A Feast of Blood", she played the victim of a curse planted by Norman Lloyd; the recipient of a brooch that devoured her. Lloyd acted with Locke again in Gondola (1973), a racially themed, three-character teleplay co-starring her real-life significant other at the time, Bo Hopkins, and commended the actress for "a beautiful performance – perhaps her best ever." Ron Harper, who worked with Locke on the short-lived 1974 show Planet of the Apes, was even more effusive: "After acting with her in a couple of scenes, there was something so feminine about her that I could picture myself easily falling for her ... She's one of those women who exudes femininity, and you just become so attracted to that."
Films with Clint Eastwood
In mid-1975, Locke was cast in The Outlaw Josey Wales as the love interest of Clint Eastwood's eponymous character. Locke said she chose the role for its exposure, following a run of unremarkable credits. She took a pay cut just to be in the film; her salary for Josey Wales was $18,000—less than half of what she'd earned for her previous job. The film emerged as one of the top 15 grossing films of 1976 and revived Locke's career. She followed it up with a lead role alongside Eastwood in the popular action road film The Gauntlet (1977), the duo replacing Steve McQueen and Barbra Streisand, who bowed out from the production owing to a reported clash of egos. Its pre-publicity touted Locke as "the first actress ever to be in a Clint Eastwood movie and get equal billing on screen with the macho star." Eastwood predicted that she would win an Oscar for her performance. Locke wasn't even nominated and received mixed critical response at best: on the upside, Vincent Canby of The New York Times said "Locke is not only pretty, but also occasionally genuinely funny" and Los Angeles Times critic Kevin Thomas stated that Locke "has not received such a rich opportunity since her Academy Award-nominated debut"; in contrast, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune said "she's wasted here" and TV Guide felt that "Locke is simply repulsive."
Over the course of their decade-and-a-half-long personal relationship, Locke did not work in any capacity on any theatrical motion picture other than with Eastwood except for 1977's experimental horror western The Shadow of Chikara. The home invasion film Death Game (1977), though released after they became an item, was actually shot in 1974. "Clint wanted me to work only with him," said Locke. "He didn't like the idea of me being away from him."
In 1978, Locke and Eastwood appeared with an orangutan named Manis in that year's fourth highest-grossing film, Every Which Way but Loose. She portrayed country singer Lynn Halsey-Taylor in the adventure-comedy. Its 1980 sequel Any Which Way You Can—for which Locke earned a six-figure salary plus a share of the profits—was nearly as successful. Locke recorded several songs for the soundtracks of these films, and was whispered to be shopping for a record deal at the time. On the coattails of the franchise's success, she performed live in concert (one-off gigs) with The Everly Brothers, Eddie Rabbitt and Tom Jones.
During this period, Eastwood did a few movies that had no prominent female character for Locke to play. In the meantime, she accepted some television offers, co-starring with an all-female ensemble cast in Friendships, Secrets and Lies (1979) and portraying big band era vocalist Rosemary Clooney in Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story (1982). While the biopic followed Clooney from ages 17 to 40, Locke was 38 when she played the role, and though hardly counting as a proper exception due to its nonlinear structure, this marked the only time she played a mother onscreen. As part of the promotional push behind Rosie, Variety's Rick Du Brow wrote a flattering article in which he called Locke "one of the most-watched and popular motion picture actresses in the world."
Locke starred as a bitter heiress who joins a traveling Wild West show in Bronco Billy (1980), her only film with Eastwood not to reach blockbuster status, though it still ranked among the annual box office top 25. The New York Times critic Janet Maslin noticed that "each of them works more delicately here than they have together previously," and the film's director of photography, David Worth, enthused how "being able to capture the true love between Clint and Sondra was very special." Locke cited Bronco Billy and The Outlaw Josey Wales as her favorites of the movies they made. The couple's final collaboration as performers was Sudden Impact (1983), the highest-grossing film in the Dirty Harry franchise, in which Locke played an artist with her own code of vigilante justice. Her fee was a reported $350,000.
Locke never appeared in a wide release after Sudden Impact. The film premiered five months short of her 40th birthday, declared by People magazine as "the pre-Fonda age cutoff for actresses." Despite Locke's past nomination for an Academy Award and repeat appearances in box office hits, she had failed to achieve first-magnitude stardom or win the affection of the moviegoing public. By 1979, the year she and Eastwood made their fourth film together, there were accusations of nepotism. Cultural critic Joe Queenan, writing for Mail & Guardian, would express particular contempt for her in a 2010 editorial about Eastwood's career, believing that "his worst movies, without question, are the ones he made with Sondra Locke, who briefly played Linda McCartney to Eastwood's Sir Paul." In late 1983, Locke announced plans to develop and star in a movie about Marie Antoinette, but the project fell apart. Eastwood then directed Locke in a 1985 Amazing Stories episode entitled "Vanessa in the Garden" with Harvey Keitel.
Directing
Locke made her feature directorial debut with Ratboy (1986), a parable about a youth who is part rat and part human, produced by Eastwood's company Malpaso. When asked why she'd been absent from her longtime beau's recent star vehicles, Locke replied simply, "I wasn't right for the roles." Ratboy had very limited distribution in the United States, where it was a critical and financial flop, but was well received in Europe, with French newspaper Le Parisien calling it the highlight of the Deauville Film Festival. Locke, who also appeared in the lead role alongside Sharon Baird as the title character, was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress.
Locke's second foray behind the camera was Impulse (1990), starring Theresa Russell as a police officer on the vice squad who goes undercover as a prostitute. Siskel & Ebert gave the film "two thumbs up". In a subsequent interview with Siskel, Locke said she wasn't eager to act again. "If you love the craft of filmmaking as much as I do, it's hard to go back to acting after you've tasted the high of directing."
Immediately following the completion of Impulse, two of its co-stars, Jeff Fahey and George Dzundza, were hired by Locke's now ex-boyfriend Eastwood to appear in White Hunter Black Heart, a move which raised eyebrows amongst the film community.
It's true: I went from a picture with Sondra to one with Clint. A lot of people ask about that ... I go out of my way not to be involved in other people's situations. Clint and Sondra were very professional. No one ever put me in the middle of anything. All I can say is that they are two very individual, professional filmmakers.
— Jeff Fahey
After a long interruption in her career due to legal difficulties and health issues, Locke directed the made-for-television film Death in Small Doses (1995), based on a true story, and the independent feature Trading Favors (1997), starring Rosanna Arquette.
Memoir and final projects
In 1997, Locke's autobiography The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly: A Hollywood Journey was published by William Morrow and Company. In it she called Eastwood "a completely evil, manipulating, lying excuse for a man." Eastwood's lawyers sent a warning letter to the publisher, and although no slander charges arose, Entertainment Tonight canceled a scheduled interview with Locke. She was also bumped from The Oprah Winfrey Show and, in her words, "shut out of most venues to promote the book, in particular the networks." The book received a supportive rave review from New York Daily News writer Liz Smith, while Entertainment Weekly's Dana Kennedy dismissed the book as a "peculiar, not terribly consequential, life story."
Locke told a Spanish website that she'd been informed Entertainment Weekly originally planned to publish a positive review, but for reasons unclear, it was pulled and a negative review appeared instead. The Advocate, a monthly LGBT-interest magazine, was set to do a big article on Locke's book; suddenly and uncharacteristically, Eastwood gave The Advocate an interview, and they decided not to run the piece. She reflected in 2012: "Clint has said so many bad things about me to the media since we split up, and he has so much more access and power to do that. He's said things that were hurtful to my character and hurtful to me professionally." Locke was nonetheless grateful to have a platform at all, stating: "It was a miracle that a major publisher took it."
The day after the book's release, Eastwood on Eastwood, a feature-length overview of her ex's career directed by Richard Schickel, premiered on TNT. John Hartl of The Seattle Times emphasized that "clips from the Locke/Eastwood movies have been edited so carefully that she doesn't appear to have been in any of them. It's like making a documentary about Humphrey Bogart and failing to mention Lauren Bacall." Locke would once again be notably deleted from a montage commemorating Eastwood at the 2002 Maui Film Festival.
After 13 years away from acting, Locke reemerged in 1999 to appear opposite Dennis Hopper in The Prophet's Game and Wings Hauser in Clean and Narrow, the latter shot in Texas. Both films went straight to video. About that time, she planned to direct "a two-guys-on-the-run film" called The Hard Easy, which did not eventuate. In 2014, Locke served as an executive producer on the Eli Roth film Knock Knock, starring Keanu Reeves. She came out of retirement once more in 2016, shooting Alan Rudolph's indie Ray Meets Helen with Keith Carradine. The film had only a brief run in three theaters in May 2018, less than six months before Locke died.
Other activities
Philanthropy
In the 1960s during her tenure at WSM, Locke participated in the annual United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) telethons. One year, she toured Birmingham with folk singer Richard Law.
Following her then-partner's April 15, 1986, inauguration as the 30th mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, Locke became the de facto First Lady of Carmel.
In 1992, she served as honorary chairwoman for the "Starry, Starry Night" silent auction in Costa Mesa, California to benefit Human Options, a shelter for victims of domestic violence. "Being a woman I have great empathy for these women. I can understand how stranded they must feel, how hard it is to change one's life," Locke said.
Wellness
By the end of the 1970s, Locke became a follower of research scientist Durk Pearson's views on longevity. In the book Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach (1982), which promotes the theory that free radicals are a primary cause of aging and recommends antioxidant supplements to prevent the damage they supposedly do, Locke was written about as a pseudonymous celebrity ('Miss Jones') using the principals.
Locke was an avid sportswoman. In 1979 and 1982 respectively, for instance, she competed in the John Denver Celebrity Pro-Am ski tournament at Heavenly Mountain Resort and the Senator's Cup at John Gardiner's Tennis Ranch.
Personal life
Marriage
On September 25, 1967, Locke married sculptor Gordon Leigh Anderson (born August 2, 1944, Batesville, Arkansas) at the First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, one week after The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter commenced principal photography. Dr. Walter Rowe Courtenay presided over the ceremony. They remained married for 51 years until her death in 2018.
Locke had known Anderson since at least the late 1950s; accounts as to when they met vary by as much as four years. In early 1969, as Locke was flooded with script offers after her Oscar nomination, she and Anderson left Tennessee and moved into a condo at The Andalusia in West Hollywood.
According to a 1989 affidavit, the marriage was "tantamount to sister and brother" and they never consummated it. Anderson was gay. Locke, testifying under oath to a jury, characterized her husband as being "more like a sister to me" and explained, "it's funny the sort of cultural changes, but in those days males and females never lived together unless they were married." According to her death certificate, the two were residing at the same address when she died, and he was the person who registered her death.
Anderson is a central presence in Locke's autobiography, but she does not elaborate on her reasons for marrying him beyond the following passage:
However conventional or unconventional our marriage might turn out to be honestly did not concern me that much. I was very young, but I had come to feel that, for me, sex was the least important element in a relationship and the one thing that time had proven to me was that my love for Gordon came from such a deeply connected place that it transcended everything else.
Romances
Given that Locke waited decades to confirm that her marriage was platonic, most of her actual romantic attachments went unpublicized. In the mid-1960s, she dated her supervisor at WSM-TV's advertising department, Brad Crandall. She started as secretary to Tom Griscom in local sales for WSM Radio. According to co-worker Alan Nelson, fellow staff members perceived Locke's promotion as an act of nepotism.
George Crook, a cameraman for WSM, squired Locke to Nashville society events including the 1965 hunt ball. He later got into local politics and was elected mayor of Belle Meade in 2000. Another early boyfriend, personal injury attorney Gary Gober, starred with Locke in Circle Players' productions while attending Vanderbilt University Law School. Locke also dated sportscaster Larry Munson prior to marrying Anderson.
During her marriage, Locke was rumored to have been linked amorously to co-stars Robert Fields (Cover Me Babe), Bruce Davison (Willard), Paul Sand (The Second Coming of Suzanne) and Bo Hopkins (Gondola), as well as producer Hawk Koch, real estate agent Herb Goldfarb, and John F. Kennedy's nephew Robert Shriver. For a while in the early 1970s, she shared a liaison with married actor David Soul after they played siblings in an episode of Cannon.
Locke referred to these intervals as "casually exploring for a romantic relationship," noting that she had not fallen in love with any of the men. "Love ... was not something to search out actively; it finds you, I believed."
Life with Eastwood
See also: Personal life of Clint EastwoodLocke and actor/director Clint Eastwood entered a domestic partnership in October 1975. She first met Eastwood in 1972 when she unsuccessfully lobbied for the title role in his film Breezy (1973); they became involved upon arrival at the shooting location of The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) in Page, Arizona. "It was just an immediate attraction between the two of us," Locke recalled in a 2012 documentary. She further revealed that they made love on their first date. Locke had simultaneously been wooed by screenwriter Philip Kaufman but chose Eastwood over him. After wrapping the film in December 1975, the couple shuttled between Eastwood's houses in Carmel and L.A.'s Sherman Oaks neighborhood, as well as rented homes in San Francisco and its elite suburb Tiburon. They eventually settled at 846 Stradella Road in Bel-Air, which Eastwood still owned at the time of Locke's death.
Eastwood was married during the early years of their relationship, before their affair became public in 1977, but his marriage was a nominal one just as Locke's was: he had sired at least two publicly unacknowledged children outside the marriage and confided he'd "never been in love before." Locke claimed Eastwood even sang "She Made Me Monogamous" to her. Eastwood's wife Maggie Johnson lived on a colossal estate in Pebble Beach, where Eastwood rarely stayed, and he and Johnson were understood to have had an open marriage from the start. "I never knew I could love somebody so much, and feel so peaceful about it at the same time," Locke said he told her. Conversely, the media's going myth was that Eastwood "left" or "walked out on" his wife for Locke as opposed to simply giving up the facade. Locke resented having her romance with Eastwood labeled merely as an affair and being made to feel sordid as if she had "stolen" a married man, but did not contemporaneously refute such notions.
Late in the 1970s, Locke became pregnant by Eastwood twice; she terminated both pregnancies. "I'd feel sorry for any child that had me for a mother," she told syndicated columnist Dick Kleiner in 1969. In 1979, at the age of 35, Locke underwent a tubal ligation at UCLA Medical Center, citing Eastwood's adamancy that parenthood would not fit into their lifestyle. When this became public knowledge a decade after the fact, Eastwood issued a statement:
I adamantly deny and deeply resent the accusation that either one of those abortions or the tubal ligation were done at my demand, request or even suggestion. As to the abortions, I told Locke that whether to have children or terminate her pregnancies was a decision entirely hers. Particularly with regard to the tubal ligation, I encouraged Locke to make her own decision after she had consulted with a physician about the appropriateness of and the necessity for that surgical procedure.
Locke professed mixed feelings on the matter, stating in one chapter of her autobiography that she was grateful she hadn't had Eastwood's children, while writing in another, "I couldn't help but think that that baby, with both Clint's and my best qualities, would be extraordinary." Eastwood claimed Locke told him on multiple occasions that she never wanted to have children.
Eastwood and Locke were still cohabiting when, in the latter half of the 1980s, he secretly fathered another woman's two children—a fact that did not come to light for almost 20 years. Despite her affirmed ignorance, Locke sensed growing tension in the relationship around 1985, recollecting that "although I definitely still loved Clint, I didn't very much like him." In retrospect, she gathered "either he changed from white to black, or I had been living with somebody I didn't even know."
Palimony suit
According to court testimony, Locke confronted Eastwood over his passive-aggressive behavior on December 29, 1988, eliciting estrangement between the couple. Locke testified that after she and Eastwood made their final joint appearance on January 6 at the American Cinema Awards, they spent exactly two nights together, without intimate contact. Eastwood then effectively vacated their Bel-Air mansion, sleeping in the adjacent caretakers' quarters or at his apartment in Burbank. Locke thought Eastwood was acting out "because he wasn't number one at the box office anymore, or because he was facing his mortality." (Eastwood was 58 at the time.) As far as she was concerned their relationship was still salvageable. At any rate, she called divorce lawyer Norman Oberstein to explore her options should the separation be permanent. Unbeknownst to Locke, Eastwood eavesdropped on those consultations by means of a wiretap that he placed in their home phone in early March.
On the morning of April 3 or 4, Eastwood complained in the kitchen that Locke was "sitting on only real estate in Los Angeles" and bolted. Locke later defensively declared: "Clint is not good at direct communication. He really is a man of few words. You might just as well have a direct confrontation with a wall." On April 10, 1989, Malpaso employees changed the locks on the family residence, moved Locke's possessions into storage, and posted security guards at the front gate per Eastwood's order. Locke was shooting Impulse (1990) at the time of the lockout. She filed a $70 million palimony suit on April 26, charging Eastwood with breach of contract, emotional distress, forcible entry and possession of stolen goods. Forced abortions and compulsory sterilization were also cited, though Locke would later recategorize those operations as a "mutual decision".
During their 14 years as husband and wife de facto, Locke and Eastwood had occupied seven homes and acquired four, including a retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho and the Rising River Ranch near Cassel, California. Locke sought half of Eastwood's earnings and an equal division of property, requesting title to the house in Bel-Air and to the Gothic-style West Hollywood place Eastwood had leased to Gordon Anderson since 1982. She also asked Judge Dana Senit Henry to bar Eastwood from the Bel-Air house "because I know him to have a terrible temper ... and he has frequently been abusive to me."
Locke battled Eastwood in court for 19 months; she developed breast cancer during proceedings and said the treatments sapped her will to fight. In November 1990, the parties reached a private settlement wherein Eastwood set up a $1.5 million multiyear film development/directing pact for Locke at Warner Bros. in exchange for dropping the suit. She was awarded the West Hollywood property (valued at $2.2 million), $450,000 cash and unspecified monthly support payments as well.
The breakup affected Locke's social life. Her closest friends had been the wives of Eastwood's colleagues: Maria Shriver, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin and Lili Fini Zanuck, all 10–11 years younger than Locke and married to film industry heavyweights Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bud Yorkin and Richard D. Zanuck respectively. Locke's friendships with those women gradually faded as their husbands ghosted her. The female comrades Locke credited with loyalty and support were those she had known pre-Eastwood: art director Elayne Barbara Ceder, whom she met on The Second Coming of Suzanne, and realtor Denise Fraker, wife of A Reflection of Fear director William A. Fraker.
Fraud suit
Between 1990 and 1993, Warner Bros. rejected more than 30 scripts that Locke pitched to the studio—including those for Junior (1994) and Addicted to Love (1997)—and refused to let her direct any of their in-house projects. When her contract had yielded zero directing assignments three years in, Locke became convinced the deal was a sham. She began to seek corroboration and came across incriminating printouts from WB's bookkeeping records. Locke contended that the money WB pretended they were paying her came from Eastwood's pocket and was laundered through the operating budget of Unforgiven (1992). In June 1995 she sued him again, for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty. According to Locke's attorney Peggy Garrity, Eastwood committed "the ultimate betrayal" by arranging the "bogus" deal as a way to keep her out of work. Garrity added that Eastwood had held out the allegedly counterfeit deal "like a dangled carrot" to persuade Locke to drop the earlier palimony suit. Locke said that she "was stunned and outraged at the way I had been tricked and cheated a second time."
The case went to trial in September 1996. One juror disclosed that the panel sided with Locke by a 10-to-2 vote (nine votes are needed for a verdict) and were only debating the amount. Before any court decision could be made, Locke settled the case with Eastwood for an undisclosed amount of money. The outcome, Locke said, sent a "loud and clear" message to Hollywood, "that people cannot get away with whatever they want to just because they're powerful." According to Locke, "in this business, people get so accustomed to being abused, they just accept the abuse and say, 'Well, that's just the way it is.' Well, it isn't."
For his part, Eastwood waved the lawsuit off as a "dime-novel plot," continuing, "it's all about money ... about getting something for nothing." He accused Locke of using her cancer to gain the jury's sympathy: "She plays the victim very well. Unfortunately she had cancer and so she plays that card."
Locke brought a separate action against Warner Bros. for allegedly conspiring with Eastwood to sabotage her directorial career. As had happened with the previous lawsuit, this ended in an out-of-court settlement, in May 1999. By then, Locke had fired Garrity and hired Neil Papiano to represent her. The agreement with Warner Bros., Locke said, was "a happy ending." "I feel elated. This has been the best day in a long, long time," she told reporters on courthouse steps. The case is used in some modern law-school contract textbooks to illustrate the legal concept of good faith.
Illness; last relationship
A lifelong nonsmoker (save for a few film roles), Locke practiced Transcendental Meditation and worked out with weights, though she hated running. In September 1990, she confirmed reports that she had breast cancer. "Due to factors in my personal life, I have sustained two years of extreme and unnecessary stress, which my doctors tell me has been my enemy," Locke said at the time. She added that Eastwood never reached out to her after her diagnosis: "He doesn't care if I live or die."
Locke underwent a double mastectomy at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, followed by chemotherapy. During treatment, she began dating Scott Cunneen (born September 10, 1961, Long Beach, California), an intern assigned to perform the post-surgical checkup. Unfazed by their 17-year age difference—and the fact Locke was only three years younger than his mother—they soon went public with the romance, dining at paparazzi hotspot Spago on one of their early dates in November 1990. Cunneen moved in with her in the spring of 1991. She called it a "real, supportive, and equal relationship."
In February 2001, Locke purchased a six-bedroom gated mansion in the Hollywood Hills, where she resided for the remainder of her life. Built in 1925, the home's interior was redesigned to look like Locke's old house on Stradella Road. She and Cunneen eventually broke up, albeit without publicity, since she had faded from public view.
In 2004, Locke settled a personal injury lawsuit brought against her in Beverly Hills by one Mark Feigin, whom she had struck with a car the previous year.
In 2015, after a 25-year period of apparent remission, Locke's cancer returned and metastasized to her bones.
Death
Locke died at age 74 on November 3, 2018, at her Los Angeles home from cardiac arrest related to breast and bone cancer. Her remains were cremated on November 9 at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary and the ashes were given to her widower, Gordon Anderson. Locke bequeathed Anderson an estimated fortune of $20 million and seemed to have always supported him financially.
Media blackout
Locke's death was kept secret until December 13, when Radar Online broke the news the day before Eastwood's latest film The Mule (2018) opened in theaters nationwide, citing the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The Associated Press said "it is not clear why it took nearly six weeks to come to light." Anderson, according to the scant AP report, was unreachable, and a representative for Locke ignored People's request for comment. So hidden had basic facts been kept, that The New York Times oxymoronically noted 41 days after she died: "A list of survivors was not immediately available."
Locke's death received no television coverage except for a 15-second spot on ABC World News Tonight. Eastwood did not comment on the death, nor did any of Locke's other living exes, nor any of her friends or relatives. Co-stars such as Richard Dreyfuss, Cicely Tyson, Louie Anderson, Sally Kellerman, Stacy Keach and Ted Neeley—all active on social media—were equally silent. On the 91st Academy Awards telecast, broadcast nearly four months after Locke died, she was omitted from the In Memoriam segment. In absence of any explanation, some surmised that Locke must have requested the blackout in her final wishes, perhaps to keep her real age under wraps.
Legacy
Locke is remembered as an early pioneer for women in Hollywood. She was one of 11 female filmmakers in 1990, the year WB released her sophomore feature, Impulse. By the time of Trading Favors (1997), her fourth effort, still only eight percent of all films were made by women, per the Directors Guild of America.
Locke's influence as a feminist icon was duly acknowledged by the mainstream press. In 1989, Claudia Puig of the Los Angeles Times described her lawsuit against Clint Eastwood as a "precedent-setting legal case, as it raises the question of whether a woman, who is legally married to one man, can claim palimony rights from another." Childfree by choice—unusual for a person of her generation—Locke was among the first celebrities to publicly discuss her abortion experiences. The avowal made Locke "a talking-point in America's sexual politics debate," according to The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw. Locke's subsequent relationship with a doctor young enough to be her son added to her notoriety.
Cinematographer David Worth credits Locke with his big break. She is admired by such actresses as Frances Fisher and Rosanna Arquette, who applauded the strength of her directorial accomplishments, however short-lived.
During the last quarter of her life, Locke maintained she was blacklisted from the film industry as a result of her acrimonious split from Eastwood; his career went forward unscathed. Peggy Garrity, Locke's former counsel, recalled the courtroom drama in her book In the Game: The Highs and Lows of a Trailblazing Trial Lawyer (2016). Garrity revealed that Locke's 1999 confidential settlement from WB "was for many millions more than the settlement with Clint had been." Locke v. Warner Bros. Inc also catalyzed changes within the legal system. In a landmark decision, California's Supreme Court ruled that access to civil trials could no longer be closed off to the public.
Numerous outlets faced pushback over their chosen headlines for Locke's obituary. Several major publications prefaced news of her death by tagging Eastwood's name atop the article, which drew criticism by some who deemed it a sexist epitaph, with fans online pointing out that Locke was an Oscar nominee prior to meeting Eastwood. Women's blog Jezebel criticized The Hollywood Reporter for ostensibly regarding Locke as a nonentity; THR subsequently changed its headline. News organization TheWrap—whose editor, Sharon Waxman, reviewed Locke's memoir for The Washington Post in 1997—opined that her story "should stir resonance in this age of the #MeToo movement." In a tribute to the late actress, author Sarah Weinman wrote: "Sondra Locke, like Barbara Loden, deserves to be known for her work, not for the famous man she was disastrously involved with."
Among those voicing an unfavorable opinion of Locke was film critic Rex Reed, who had interviewed her for a 1967 New York Times profile. " lied so much during her brief but colorful career that when she lost her battle with cancer at age 74, I wondered if it was a publicity stunt," Reed wrote in an essay for Observer.
Candid photographs of Locke and Eastwood in their heyday are on display at the Frazetta Art Museum in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, next to Frank Frazetta's exaggerated portrait of the couple that was used on the poster for The Gauntlet (1977).
The end credits of Bad Therapy (2020) pay homage to her.
Our Very Own
In 1971, fifth-graders at Eastside Elementary in Locke's hometown of Shelbyville, Tennessee were left star-struck when Locke made a visit and held pretend "auditions" in the class to show them what it was like in Hollywood. One student, Cameron Watson, was inspired by Locke and is now an actor/director. Watson's period drama Our Very Own (2005) takes place in Shelbyville in 1978 and concerns a group of teenagers who want to meet Locke when she returns to town for the local premiere of Every Which Way but Loose. Watson decided to do the movie after performing a standup routine about Locke and about how people in Shelbyville were obsessed with her. Locke attended one of those performances in 2004 at the Tiffany Theater in West Hollywood. "The minute she heard the first reference to her or to her family, she threw up her arms: 'What the hell is this?'" Watson said. "By the end of the reading, she was doubled over." Locke gave the script her blessing and accepted an invitation to be special guest at the film's premiere. The movie was a "special gift" to Locke, according to Deborah Obenchain, another Eastside student who said she did not think Locke really understood her impact on the small town she once called home. "I think it meant just as much to her. … In our own way … we got to live out a little bit of our dreams by making the movie and meeting her."
Filmography
As actress
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1968 | The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter | Margaret 'Mick' Kelly | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female Nominated—Laurel Award for Female Supporting Performance Nominated—Laurel Award for Female New Face |
|
1970 | Cover Me Babe | Melisse | ||
1971 | Willard | Joan Simms | ||
1972 | A Reflection of Fear | Marguerite | ||
1972 | Night Gallery | Sheila Gray | Episode: "A Feast of Blood" | |
1972 | The F.B.I. | Regina Mason | Episode: "Dark Christmas" | |
1973 | Cannon | Trish Caton | Episode: "Death of a Stone Seahorse" | |
1973 | The ABC Afternoon Playbreak | Nora Sells | Episode: "My Secret Mother" | |
1973 | Gondola | Jackie | TV movie | |
1974 | The Second Coming of Suzanne | Suzanne | ||
1974 | Kung Fu | Gwyneth Jenkins | Episode: "This Valley of Terror" | |
1974 | Planet of the Apes | Amy | Episode: "The Cure" | |
1975 | Barnaby Jones | Alicia | Episode: "The Orchid Killer" | |
1975 | Cannon | Tracy Murdock | Episode: "A Touch of Venom" | |
1976 | Joe Forrester | Pam Wilson | Episode: "A Game of Love" | |
1976 | The Outlaw Josey Wales | Laura Lee | ||
1977 | Death Game | Agatha Jackson | ||
1977 | The Shadow of Chikara | Drusilla Wilcox | ||
1977 | The Gauntlet | Augustina 'Gus' Mally | ||
1978 | Every Which Way but Loose | Lynn Halsey-Taylor | ||
1979 | Friendships, Secrets and Lies | Jessie Dunne | TV movie | |
1980 | Bronco Billy | Antoinette Lily | Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress | |
1980 | Any Which Way You Can | Lynn Halsey-Taylor | ||
1982 | Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story | Rosemary Clooney | TV movie | |
1983 | Sudden Impact | Jennifer Spencer | ||
1984 | Tales of the Unexpected | Edna | Episode: "Bird of Prey" | |
1985 | Amazing Stories | Vanessa Sullivan | Episode: "Vanessa in the Garden" | |
1986 | Ratboy | Nikki Morrison | Also director Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress |
|
1999 | The Prophet's Game | Adele Highsmith (adult) | ||
1999 | Clean and Narrow | Betsy Brand | ||
2018 | Ray Meets Helen | Helen |
As director
Year | Title | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1986 | Ratboy | |
1990 | Impulse | |
1995 | Death in Small Doses | |
1997 | Trading Favors |
Stage
Year | Show | Role | Venue | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1962 | The Monkey's Paw | Mrs. White | Bud Frank Theatre, Johnson City, Tennessee | |
1962 | Life with Father | Mary Skinner | Tucker Theater, Murfreesboro, Tennessee | |
1963 | The Crucible | Mary Warren | Tucker Theater, Murfreesboro, Tennessee | |
1964 | Life with Mother | Cora Miller | Belcourt Playhouse, Nashville, Tennessee | |
1964 | The Innocents | Flora | Circle Theater, Nashville, Tennessee | |
1964 | A Thousand Clowns | Dr. Sandra Markowitz | Circle Theater, Nashville, Tennessee | |
1965 | Night of the Iguana | Charlotte Goodall | Circle Theater, Nashville, Tennessee | |
1965 | Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad | Rosalie | Circle Theater, Nashville, Tennessee | |
1965 | The Glass Menagerie | Laura Wingfield | Circle Theater, Nashville, Tennessee | |
1967 | Tiger at the Gates | Helen of Troy | Vanderbilt Theatre, Nashville, Tennessee |
Discography
- 1978, "I Seek The Night / Don't Say You Don't Love Me No More", Elektra Records: E46007
- 1980, "Too Loose", Warner Records: WB49674
Footnotes
- Various dates were given by the press for Locke's birth. Contradictory sources have either directly cited, or implied, 1940 and every year from 1943 to 1950, with some of the more brazen PR gimmicks even purporting it to be as late as 1952 or 1956. Her most commonly reported year of birth was 1947; Locke's publicist gave that year on several occasions when asked to clarify the inconsistency. However, Locke's marriage license, death certificate, yearbooks, and her entry on public records indexes FamilySearch and Intelius establish the year as 1944. "Untruths have been a way of life for her," one former associate wrote to the Shelbyville Times-Gazette when the disparity came up. Said another past acquaintance who knew Locke in the 1950s: "She was two years younger than me in Central High, but it is really strange now, because she has now become five years younger."
- Sources are divided as to whether she was born in Alabama or Tennessee. Locke said the latter. While not dispositive, the 1950 census, which misspells the family name as Lacke, upholds this.
- Smith may have died before Locke learned of him. The actress wrote in her autobiography that she found out he was her father "sometime during grammar school," but phrased all references to him in ambiguous past tense and evaded specifying years.
- Bayne's surname was also given as Bane, Bain, Baine, or Baines. According to census documents, Locke's maternal grandfather could neither read nor write, hence the variant spellings/versions.
- Bayne was also wed to painter Thomas H. Nelson between marriages to William Elkins and Alfred Locke, for less than eight months.
- In 1945, Locke briefly took the surname of her then-stepfather, Elkins, before her mother changed it again in 1948. Her legal name was changed four times during her first 24 years of life: from Sandra Smith to Sandra Elkins, to Sandra Locke, to Sondra Locke, to Sondra Anderson.
- Notwithstanding their ongoing estrangement, Bayne vocally supported her daughter during the litigious war between Locke and Clint Eastwood. She told journalist Leon Wagener: "One of those children Clint made her abort could have been the grandson I've always longed for."
- After-the-fact publicity claimed 2,000 actresses tried out for the role.
- Bonnie Bedelia told the 8 October 1967 Los Angeles Times that "they decided I was too old" when she auditioned for the same role as Locke. As it turns out, Bedelia was four years younger than Locke, who had lied about her age. Wayne Smith, a UA student five years Locke's junior, played her love interest in the movie, even though his character is described as being a couple years older than she.
- In the 1960s, Town & Country magazine and The Nashville Tennessean outed Locke for lying about her age, but it took decades for the mass media to catch on, and most publications would continue to use the incorrect birth year(s). Locke admitted in The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly that she lied about her age early in her career, but claimed to have knocked only three years off, rather than six. In one of her final interviews, conducted in 2015 for The Projection Booth podcast, Locke lied that she "was just graduating high school" when she made The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter when she was in fact in her mid-20s. Moreover, an international press release from 1967 omits Locke's time at MTSU as well as her residence in Nashville, where she had moved in 1963 after dropping out of college.
- Even though Locke played the leading female role, during awards season Warner Bros.-Seven Arts campaigned for Best Supporting Actress instead of Best Actress, seemingly to make winning easier. She lost to Ruth Gordon for Rosemary's Baby. Ruth Gordon would later appear with Locke in Every Which Way but Loose and Any Which Way You Can.
- Locke's plaque was stolen at Kansas City International Airport.
- A Reflection of Fear was not the first time Locke was considered to play a transsexual. In 1969, Christine Jorgensen, the trans woman famous for having sex reassignment surgery in Denmark in 1953, mentioned Locke and Mia Farrow as contenders for a planned film version of her life. A fan of Locke's performance in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Jorgensen observed that "in scenes where she didn't wear any makeup, Sondra looks very much like I did in my younger days. I think she might make an excellent choice."
- Locke's autobiography provides a convoluted recollection of the casting process for City Heat (1984). Blake Edwards was originally slated to direct the film, and Edwards supposedly promised Locke one of the two female leads at a stage in development when Burt Reynolds had signed on but the role of the other leading man was yet to be filled. Locke asserted that Edwards was merely using her to lure in her superstar boyfriend—who'd seen the script and turned it down—because once Eastwood came on board, Edwards stopped talking to Locke and cast Madeleine Kahn in the role she'd been eyeing. Edwards ultimately withdrew and was replaced by Richard Benjamin. Nevertheless, Eastwood disappointed Locke by not using his clout to get her in the movie.
- Gordon Anderson went by the stage names 'C.B. Anderson' and 'Gordon Addison' during a brief acting career before he married Locke.
- For a long time it was falsely presumed that Locke and Anderson had divorced.
- In magazine interviews, Locke and Anderson would variously claim to have met when they were 10, 11 or 12, while Locke's memoir states that they met in high school. Anderson, like his late wife, always subtracted several years off his age, thus contributing to the plethora of discrepancies.
- Actually, Locke was three years past the median age of first marriages for women in that era. To obscure this—and accommodate her revisionist narrative—she often peddled the fallacy of having gotten married "right out of high school" or, as one ill-informed AP reporter put it, "during childhood." Locke also was older than her husband Anderson, though some profiles of the actress misstate that he was the elder spouse. As a side effect of their changing age claims, dates erroneously attributed to the Andersons' wedding have ranged from as early as 1961 to as late as the early 1970s.
- Locke and Hopkins appeared as a couple on the game show Tattletales when Locke was still talking up her marriage in the press. Incredulously, the conflicting gestures attracted no news commentary.
- Philip Kaufman started to direct Josey, but was fired at Eastwood's command on October 24, 1975, three weeks into filming. Although Eastwood had conquered Locke within 48 hours of her arrival on set, initially she had declined his advances, having already said yes to a date with Kaufman at the costume fitting. According to biographer Patrick McGilligan, Eastwood begrudged the fact that a younger man had beaten him to the punch and therefore felt inclined to assert his dominance by getting rid of Kaufman. The love triangle resulted in the Director's Guild passing new legislation, known as 'the Eastwood Rule', which prohibits an actor or producer from firing the director and then becoming the director himself.
- Locke explained in her autobiography: "Before I had met Clint my gynecologist had suggested and fitted for me an IUD. Because my sex life was not very active, he did not think I should be constantly taking birth control pills. Clint complained of the IUD – it was uncomfortable for him, he said. And he too was not in favor of birth control pills, so he suggested a special clinic at Cedars Hospital where they taught a 'natural' method of birth control. It was the same 'rhythm' system that historically has been used to determine the fertile days for those who are attempting to achieve pregnancy. Of course, it could be used for the opposite results as well. Not only was I taught their method but I was constantly monitored with regular pregnancy checks. The whole process was awkward and entailed taking my temperature every morning and marking the calendar, etc. It was demanding and ultimately it had failed twice."
- According to the National Library of Medicine, the median age for a woman getting tubal ligation in America is 33.
- Although the existence of Eastwood's offspring by Jacelyn Reeves was reported in tabloids such as Star and in Locke's autobiography during the 1990s, it continued to be ignored by reputable media sources until about 2006. As late as 2003, for instance, A&E produced a two-hour, authorized Biography episode on Eastwood which gave the false impression he had a total of only four children, when he in fact has at least eight.
- Eastwood's passive-aggressive gestures toward Locke included inviting Jane Brolin—a woman he was having an affair with—to join Locke and himself on their annual ski trip to Sun Valley. The two women got into a row just before New Year's Eve, Locke recalling, "I wanted to hit her, to pull every hair out of her head."
- Locke's initial account provoked backlash from her peers. Joan Collins, who is openly postabortive herself, told the press that "apart from being married already, she didn't have to stay with Clint. She wasn't chained to the bedpost."
- In June 1999, Garrity sued Locke to get paid for persuading the appellate court to reinstate Locke v. Warner Bros. Inc. WB had requested summary judgement after the original March 1994 filing, which the court granted, but in August 1997 the decision was reversed. Garrity put 2,500 hours of work into the case, only to be ditched by Locke and replaced by Papiano in May 1998. Garrity won her lawsuit, and remarked that the payment would not have cost Locke a dime more than what was already going to legal fees, since it would simply have come out of Papiano's one-third contingency fee.
- The exact year of this breakup is not known with certainty. The Notable Names Database, generally considered to be an unreliable source, cites 2001. Seeing as how the split was never formally announced, the timeframe aforesaid might be an approximation inferred from Locke's real estate transactions, as L.A. Times newshound Ruth Ryon reported she offloaded one of her properties that year. In French historian Pierre Maraval's documentary L'album secret de Clint Eastwood (2012), partially filmed at Locke's last home, it's stated in the narration that she lived alone.
- Major media outlets including Variety wrongly reported that Locke "was laid to rest" at Westwood rather than cremated.
- In a 1968 interview, Locke told beauty columnist Lydia Lane she was a natural blonde.
Gallery
- Sophomore basketball portrait, 1959
- Senior yearbook photo, 1962
- Modeling wardrobe by Bobbie Brooks, 1966
- From the front cover of The Nashville Tennessean Sunday Magazine, 1967
- At the City Heat premiere with Eastwood, Burt Reynolds and Loni Anderson, 1984
See also
- Age fabrication
- False premise
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- List of female film and television directors
- List of Middle Tennessee State University people
References
- Stecher, Raquel (March 18, 2022). "Starring Sondra Locke". Turner Classic Movies.
- "Actress Sondra Locke Dies Unpublicized in November at Age 74". CBS News. December 13, 2018.
- "Mystery six-week delay in announcement of Hollywood actress death". The New Zealand Herald. December 13, 2018.
- ^ Harrison, John (December 16, 2018). "A Fond Farewell to Sondra Locke (1944 – 2018)". FilmInk.
- ^ "Sondra Locke, actress who appeared with Clint Eastwood in hit films of the 1970s such as 'Every Which Way but Loose' and 'The Gauntlet' – obituary". The Telegraph. December 14, 2018.
- See Evening Standard (London), Apr. 27, 1989. "The 48-year-old actress has filed a palimony suit in Los Angeles Superior Court..."
- ^ Hieronymus, Clara (December 24, 1967). "Nashvillians in the Times". The Nashville Tennessean.
The spelling of her name has been changed to 'Sondra,' her age lowered to 17 years for publicity purposes, and her residence in Nashville, where she was employed by WSM, wiped out.
- ^ "Just Ask". Town & Country. May 10, 1969.
Sweet little Sondra is actually 25 years old and married. Because of the movie, people think she's about 13, so she's now considering offers to do a nude layout for a magazine to prove she's no kid, and pave the way for adult roles.
- ^ Adams, Marjory (August 27, 1968). "Sondra Locke opens door to fame". The Boston Globe.
- Gilmour, Clyde (December 9, 1972). "A talk with Sondra Locke: She wants to start playing It tough". The Toronto Star.
- Wilson, Earl (December 1, 1977). "Clint, Sondra Loom As Big New Team". Fort Lauderdale News.
- Mills, Nancy (August 19, 1986). "Locke Exercises Control Over 'Ratboy,' Her Career". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Siskel, Gene (May 6, 1990). "Sondra Locke's Step". Chicago Tribune.
- Roberts, Jerry (2009). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. p. 345. ISBN 978-0810863781.
- Jack Hurst, The Charlotte News, 3.24.79
- Barbara Lewis, Salina Journal, 8.8.76
- ^ Slaughter, Sylvia (May 28, 1989). "Sondra vs. Clint in palimony suit". The Sunday Tennessean.
Don Locke loves his sister. He misses her, and he regrets the fact that his three daughters don't have any knowledge of Sondra other than what they see on TV or in print or hear from gossipmongers. 'Sondra's not this kind of bad character,' he says. 'Maybe she's changed, but she was my big sister who used to play baseball with me. Sondra's gonna be 45 May 28 ...' Locke's publicist claims Sondra will be 42 today.
- "Sondra's a Nice Girl, Despite What Studio Says". Dayton Daily News. August 10, 1968.
- Kay, Terry (June 6, 1971). "One Way to Gain Stardom". The Atlanta Constitution.
- ^ "Gordon Leigh Anderson, Sondra Louise Locke". Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. Ancestry.com.
Date: 9-25-67; Name of Female Applicant: Sondra Louise Locke; Born: 5-28-44; Age: 23
- ^ Trock, Gary; Walters, Liz (December 15, 2018). "Clint Eastwood's Longtime GF, Sondra Locke Died from Cardiac Arrest". The Blast.
- ^ 1959 Shelbyville Central High School Yearbook
- ^ 1960 Shelbyville Central High School Yearbook
- ^ 1961 Shelbyville Central High School Yearbook
- ^ 1962 Shelbyville Central High School Yearbook
- United States Public Records, 1970-2009
- Intelius search under name Sondra L Anderson
- ^ Melson, David (May 23, 2012). "Picturing the Past 160: Sondra Locke on TV". Shelbyville Times-Gazette. Archived from the original on June 16, 2012.
- ^ Pendreigh, Brian (December 16, 2018). "Obituary: Sondra Locke, actress known for her troubled association with Clint Eastwood". HeraldScotland.
- "Talented 'New Faces' Brighten Movie Scene". Omaha World-Herald. November 3, 1968.
One of the more prepossessing actresses of the younger generation is Alabama-born Sondra Locke....
- ^ Thompson, Douglas (2005). Clint Eastwood: Billion Dollar Man. John Blake Publishing. ISBN 9781857825725.
- "1950 Census". U.S. National Archives.
- Various compilers, "Vaughn Family Group Sheets"; Jim Freeman received these Family Group Sheets at a Bell family reunion for descendants of David Vaughn.
- "Baines Victim of Car Mishap". The Huntsville Times. March 12, 1939.
- "Both of Man's Legs Broken". The Huntsville Times. December 25, 1938.
- ^ "1930 Census". U.S. National Archives.
- "1940 Census". U.S. National Archives.
- ^ Furtado, David (August 31, 2013). "Sondra Locke's The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly: The Woman with a Name". Wand'rin' Star.
- ^ Locke, Sondra (1997). The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly: A Hollywood Journey. William Morrow and Company. ISBN 068815462X.
- "Alabama – Madison County Brides". GenLookups. p. 29.
- "Alabama County Marriages, 1809-1950". FamilySearch.org.
- "Walker County, Ga – Vital Records Marriages". USGenWeb.
- ^ Armstrong, Lois (February 13, 1978). "Taking Up The Gauntlet". People.
- ^ "MTSC Presents". The Daily News Journal. November 2, 1962.
- Lane, Lydia (January 3, 1971). "Sondra Relates to True Self". Los Angeles Times.
- Kleiner, Dick (October 9, 1968). "Sondra un-Lockes Film Golden Gates". Philadelphia Daily News.
- ^ Parish, James Robert (2006). The Hollywood Book of Breakups. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 9781630262082.
- Shelbyville Mills School (1958). The Royal. Shelbyville, TN. Jacket copy.
- "Recreation". The Volunteer. December 18, 1957. p. 5.
- ^ DeGennaro, Nancy (December 14, 2018). "Oscar-nominated actress, Tennessee native Sondra Locke dies at 74". USA Today.
- ^ "The Crucible Next College Production". The Daily News Journal. February 24, 1963.
- "Sondra Locke in The Crucible : MTSU theater production, 1963". Archived from the original on March 28, 2012.
- Pendergrass, Tony (February 12, 1971). "Sondra Locke to return via cinema" (PDF). Sidelines.
- Johnstone, Iain (1981). The Man with No Name: Clint Eastwood. Plexus. ISBN 978-0859650267.
- ^ Barnes, Mike (December 13, 2018). "Sondra Locke, Oscar-Nominated Actress for 'The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,' Dies at 74". The Hollywood Reporter.
- The Tennessean, 6.14.97
- "Alfred Taylor Locke". Shelbyville Times-Gazette. Archived November 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Kaufman, Joanne; Savaiano, Jacqueline (May 15, 1989). "Suing Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke Strikes with Magnum Force". People.
- Munn, Michael (1992). Clint Eastwood: Hollywood's Loner. Robson. pp. 228–229. ISBN 9780860517900.
- Hinton, Elmer (June 30, 1965). "Down to Earth". The Nashville Tennessean.
- "Oscar-nominated actress, Channel 4 alumna Sondra Locke dead at 74". WSMV. December 13, 2018.
- Home Office Shield, September 1966
- "The Official Tennessee Radio Hall Of Fame Community". Facebook.
- ^ Haun, Harry (August 30, 1968). "Sandra of Shelbyville Becomes Sondra of the Cinema". The Nashville Tennessean.
- "Winter's Prelude". Lodi News-Sentinel. United Press International. November 3, 1966. p. 1.
- ^ Hieronymus, Clara (August 15, 1967). "Nashville Actress Gets Starring Movie Role". The Nashville Tennessean.
- Loftus, Linda (August 10, 1968). "Meeting Sondra Locke Was Groovy!". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
- ^ Oppenheimer, Peer J. (November 23, 1968). "Sondra Locke– They Call Her 'The Beautiful Fake'; A selfless husband with a flair for fooling catapulted this shy officeworker to overnight stardom". Family Weekly.
- "New face in the movie world". Chicago Tribune. August 12, 1968.
- ^ "Sondra Locke obituary". The Times. December 15, 2018.
- Smith, Cecil (October 8, 1967). "Bonnie's Westward Stage Trek". Los Angeles Times.
- Hale, Wanda (July 28, 1968). "Screen McCullers Novel". New York Daily News.
- ^ "Sondra Locke". Notable Names Database.
- ^ White, Mike (January 16, 2016). "Special Report: Death Game / Knock Knock". The Projection Booth (Podcast). Interviews with Larry Spiegel, Sondra Locke, David Worth.
- "Cinderella Story Of Young Actress". Montreal Gazette. September 19, 1967.
- William Barclift, Birmingham Post-Herald, 7.29.67
- The Selma Times-Journal, 12.10.67
- "Sondra Takes a Film by Storm". The Sydney Morning Herald. August 4, 1968.
- "Winners & Nominees: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture 1969". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on September 12, 2016.
- "Oscar Ceremony 1969 (Actress In A Supporting Role)". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- Harrison Carroll, Danville Advocate-Messenger, 3.12.69
- "It's a Woman's World". Shenandoah Evening Herald. January 27, 1969.
- "Behind the Scenes in Hollywood". Wilkes-Barre Record. April 1, 1969.
- Knight, Arthur; Alpert, Hollis (December 1969). "Sex Stars of 1969". Playboy. Vol. 16, no. 12.
- See, e.g., Club International, Vol. 13, iss. 3 (UK: Paul Raymond, 1984).
- Heffernan, Harold (August 14, 1969). "Sondra Valuable Behind the Scene". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- "May 28, 1944 Sondra Locke was born". FilmmakerIQ. May 28, 2019.
- Greenberg, Abe (June 11, 1969). "Hard Work vs. Jinx, or The Luck of Sondra Locke". Valley Times.
- Martin, Betty (March 3, 1969). "Sondra Set for 'Lovemakers'". Los Angeles Times.
- Mell, Eila (2013). Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory of Actors Considered for Roles Given to Others. McFarland & Company. p. 142. ISBN 978-1476609768.
- Haun, Harry (May 16, 1971). "Charade for Hollywood". The Nashville Tennessean.
- Robert Taylor, Oakland Tribune, 11.1.72
- Browning, Norma Lee (August 4, 1971). "Hollywood". Bangor Daily News.
- Rotten, Doc (June 26, 2017). "[Podcast] Willard (1971) — Episode 53— Decades of Horror 1970s". Gruesome Magazine.
- Citron, Peter (November 20, 1972). "Sondra Did 'Willard' 'For the $, Frankly'". Omaha World-Herald.
- Lightman, Herb A. (September 1974). "Industry Activities". American Cinematographer. 55 (9). ASC Holding Corporation: 1225.
- Tate, Eleanora (November 15, 1972). "Someone Who Likes The Snow". Des Moines Tribune.
- Gambin, Lee (February 15, 2016). "Exclusive Interview: Actress Sondra Locke on Gender-Bender Chiller A REFLECTION OF FEAR". Comingsoon.net.
- Charles Petzold, Philadelphia Daily News, 5.28.69
- ^ Miller, Jeanne (August 30, 1973). "The Actress Couldn't Resist". San Francisco Examiner.
- "2,500 Movies Challenge". DVD Infatuation.
- Jones, Will (December 3, 1972). "Actress says TV creates automatons". Minneapolis Tribune.
- "Rod Serling's Night Gallery: the Second Season; A Feast of Blood (Night Gallery #22 – original air date January 12, 1972)". NightGallery.net. Universal Television. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019.
- Lloyd, Norman (1990). Stages: Norman Lloyd. Scarecrow Press. p. 220. ISBN 0810822903.
- Weaver, Tom (2009). I Talked with a Zombie: Interviews with 23 Veterans of Horror and Sci-Fi Films and Television. McFarland. p. 154. ISBN 978-0786452682.
- "Eastwood co-star set". Lansing State Journal. October 28, 1975.
- Miller, Jeanne (July 1, 1976). "A long time between breaks". San Francisco Examiner.
- Eichelbaum, Stanley (November 3, 1972). "Career Off to Great Start, and Then...". San Francisco Examiner.
- ^ McGilligan, Patrick (1999). Clint: The Life and Legend. HarperCollins. ISBN 000255528X.
- Erickson, Hal. "Sondra Locke - Movie and Film Biography and Filmography". AllRovi. Archived from the original on July 5, 2011.
- "Top 1976 Movies at the Domestic Box Office". The Numbers.
- Scott, Vernon (December 20, 1977). "Locke Is Big With Eastwood". Lebanon Daily News.
- Wilson, Earl (April 17, 1977). "Eastwood getting a lock on Locke". Independent Press-Telegram.
- ^ Eliot, Marc (2009). American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0307336897.
- Pat O'Haire, New York Daily News, 11.11.77
- Earl Wilson, Fort Lauderdale News, 11.16.77
- Canby, Vincent (December 22, 1977). "Screen: Eastwood 'Gauntlet'". The New York Times.
- Thomas, Kevin (December 21, 1977). "'The Gauntlet' Lives Up to Its Title". Los Angeles Times.
- Siskel, Gene (December 22, 1977). "Lots of bullets fly, but 'Gauntlet' is full of blanks". Chicago Tribune.
- "The Gauntlet – Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019.
- ^ Puig, Claudia (May 18, 1989). "Sandra Locke bitter, shocked about split with Eastwood". Hartford Courant.
- Anderson, George (October 21, 1974). "Local Angle". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ Errico, Marcus (September 11, 1996). "Eastwood's Ex-Lover Says He Torpedoed Her Career". E! News.
- "Top 1978 Movies at the Domestic Box Office". The Numbers.
- ^ "1980 Yearly Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo.
- Aaron Gold, Chicago Tribune, 2.1.79
- Kleiner, Dick (July 28, 1982). "Locke Steps Into Big Band Era Role". The Daily Advertiser.
- Du Brow, Rick (August 22, 1982). "ShowBiz". The Scrantonian.
- Maslin, Janet (June 11, 1980). "Eastwood Stars and Directs 'Bronco Billy'". The New York Times.
- "David Worth on working with the Legendary, Clint Eastwood". Action Reloaded. December 14, 2023. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023.
- Parke, Henry C. (December 15, 2015). "Outlaw Josey Wales – Forty Years Later". Henry's Western Round-up.
- "Dirty Harry Movies". Box Office Mojo.
- "Sondra Locke – Box Office". The Numbers.
- Sue Reilly, People, 5.5.80
- "Husband-wife Teams Draw Cry 'Nepotism'". Citizens' Voice. December 3, 1979.
- Queenan, Joe (April 30, 2010). "Clint Eastwood: Man with no equal". Mail & Guardian.
- ^ Lou Lumenick, The North Jersey Record, 12.30.83
- "Locke wearing two caps for 'Ratboy'". Orlando Sentinel. September 25, 1985.
- Mann, Roderick (March 23, 1986). "Locke Turns To 'Ratboy' To Escape Clint's Maze". Los Angeles Times.
- Lyons, Patricia (September 21, 1986). "Locke glides into directing with 'Ratboy'". Wisconsin State Journal.
- "Siskel and Ebert 1990 Ratings". Listal.com.
- Bob Thomas, Staten Island Advance, 9.27.90
- ^ Waxman, Sharon (November 19, 1997). "Make Her Day". The Washington Post.
- ^ Furtado, David (October 19, 2013). "Exclusive Interview with Sondra Locke: Magic in films and the real world". Wand'rin' Star.
- Smith, Liz (October 22, 1997). "Struggling Locke strikes back at Eastwood". The Baltimore Sun.
- ^ Kennedy, Dana (October 31, 1997). "Book Review: 'The Good, the Bad and the Very Ugly'". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ L'album secret de Clint Eastwood (2012, dir. Pierre Maraval). Chérie 25.
- Hartl, John (November 2, 1997). "'Eastwood on Eastwood': Where Is Sondra Locke?". The Seattle Times.
- "Clint wants no trace of Sondra Locke". groups.google.com. June 18, 2002.
- Edward Klein, Parade, 7.23.00
- Kay, Jeremy (April 28, 2014). "Voltage taking Eli Roth's Knock Knock with Keanu Reeves to Cannes". ScreenDaily.
- Onofri, Adrienne (June 3, 2016). "BWW Interview: Keith Carradine on the New Encores! Cast Album of PAINT YOUR WAGON". BroadwayWorld.
- Moore, Michael C. (April 30, 2018). "Indie filmmaker's latest premieres in LA, NY ... and Bainbridge Island". Kitsap Sun.
- "Law, Richard". Feenotes.
- "For Human Options, the Light Is Bright". Los Angeles Times. December 16, 1992.
- Pearson, Durk; Shaw, Sandy (1982). Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach. Warner Books. pp. 757–761. ISBN 0-446-51229-X.
- Star Newspaper Service, San Angelo Standard-Times, 2.18.79
- Betty Beale, The Anchorage Times, 1.31.82
- ^ "'All Pure Pleasure,' Veteran Of Theater Flight Reports". The Nashville Tennessean. September 19, 1965.
- ^ "Theater To Hold Tryouts". The Nashville Tennessean. October 17, 1965.
- ^ "'Menagerie' Opens". The Nashville Tennessean. November 21, 1965.
- "Gordon Addison". Internet Off-Broadway Database.
- "Gordon Addison Broadway and Theatre Credits". BroadwayWorld.
- Glover, William (June 21, 1966). "Sophisticates' World Explodes in New Play". Corpus Christi Times.
- "Hunting Sondra". The Tennessean. November 2, 1975.
- Hank Grant, San Francisco Examiner, 3.18.79
- Vernon Scott, Sun-Sentinel, 10.24.86
- Lloyd Shearer, The Boston Globe, 8.5.84
- Daniel Chapman, Look, 4.2.68
- ^ "Live-in lover married to someone else". The Muscatine Journal. May 9, 1989.
- ^ "Eastwood's lover remained married to gay husband". Calgary Herald. September 13, 1996.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (December 14, 2018). "Sondra Locke: a charismatic performer defined by a toxic relationship with Clint Eastwood". The Guardian.
- "Companions for Sondra Locke". Turner Classic Movies.
- ^ Dalton, Andrew (December 13, 2018). "Oscar-nominated actress Sondra Locke dies at 74". Associated Press.
- National Center for Family & Marriage Research
- Miller, Edwin (April 1968). "A Searching Kind of Person". Seventeen. Vol. 27, no. 4.
- "Clint – so macho, so remote". Manchester Evening News. April 29, 1989.
- ^ O'Neill, Ann W. (September 29, 1996). "Locke Feels Vindicated After Lawsuit". Los Angeles Times.
- "Videotapers' Syndication $$ Whopper for Nashville". Billboard. Vol. 79, no. 14. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 8, 1967. p. 40.
- ^ "Locke, Sondra, 1944-2018". SNAC.
- The Nashville Tennessean, 1.25.64
- "Alan Nelson". Facebook. December 13, 2018.
- "Hunt Ball To Climax Weekend". The Nashville Tennessean. May 7, 1965.
- "Federation Dance Tonight". The Nashville Tennessean. December 15, 1965.
- Whitehouse, Ken (November 1, 2012). "Ex-Belle Meade mayor passes away". NashvillePost.com.
- "Gary R. Gober Attorney Profile". SuperLawyers.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021.
- @BTC_Playboy (June 3, 2024). "Speaking of stories. Larry Munson had some about Clint Eastwoods former girlfriend Sondra Locke working in Nashville media back in the day" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Bruce Davison, DVD audio commentary, 2017, Shout! Factory
- Lloyd Shearer, St. Petersburg Times, 10.15.89
- Video on YouTube
- Haber, Joyce (November 8, 1972). "Locke, Soul Set for Cannon Roles". Los Angeles Times.
- O'Brien, Daniel (1996). Clint Eastwood: Film-Maker. London: B. T. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-7839-X.
- "Clint Eastwood gets top role in outlaw film". Greeley Daily Tribune. July 7, 1975.
- Eastwood Rule - Hollywood Lexicon
- "A general view of atmosphere of actor/director Clint Eastwood's home/house on February 14, 2021 in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, USA". Alamy.
- ^ Young, Josh (May 4, 1997). "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". The Independent.
- "Eastwood won't wed girlfriend". The San Bernardino County Sun. September 8, 1979.
- Kerrigan, Mike; Williams, Brian (July 11, 1989). "Clint's Bombshell Secret – He Has Illegitimate Daughter & Grandson". National Enquirer.
- "Clint Eastwood Appears in Public With His Secret Daughter for the First Time". Inside Edition. December 14, 2018. ABC.
- Radner, Hilary (2017). The New Woman's Film: Femme-centric Movies for Smart Chicks. Taylor & Francis. p. 60. ISBN 9781317286479.
- Eden, Barbara (2011). Jeannie Out of the Bottle. Crown Archetype. p. 110. ISBN 978-0307886958.
- ^ "Hollywood love affair with abortions topic of 'The Choices We Made'". Catholic Sentinel. April 4, 1991.
- The Times and Democrat, July 29, 1969, p. 9
- Dias, D. S.; Dias, R.; Nahás-Neto, J.; Nahás, E. A.; Leite, N. J.; Bueloni-Dias, F. N.; Modotti, W. P. (2014). "Simple and relative frequencies of the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the patients who underwent videolaparoscopic tubal ligation". Sao Paulo Medical Journal. 132 (6): 321–331. doi:10.1590/1516-3180-2014-1326687. PMC 10496775. PMID 25351752.
- ^ Schickel, Richard (1996). Clint Eastwood: A Biography. Random House. ISBN 0679749918.
- Fuster, Jeremy (December 13, 2018). "Sondra Locke, Oscar-Nominated Actress and Longtime Clint Eastwood Partner, Dies at 74". TheWrap.
- ^ Strout, Paige (September 11, 2024). "Celebrity Dads Who Welcomed Kids Outside of Their Relationships". Us Weekly.
- Smith, Bob; Viens, Stephen (February 27, 1990). "Clint Eastwood's Secret 4-Year Love Comes Out of Hiding". Star.
- The Reeves children are not included in the count, for instance, at Helligar, Jeremy (January 13, 1997). "Passages". People. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015.
News anchor Dina Ruiz, 31, more than made husband Clint Eastwood's day when she gave birth to the couple's first child, an 8-lb. 4-oz. girl named Morgan, on Dec. 12 in Los Angeles. This is the 66-year-old actor-director's fifth child....
- Dallas Morning News, 10.4.03
- Hamilton, Anita (June 3, 2015). "Celebrating Seniors – Clint Eastwood Turns 85 – Politics and Passion". 50+ World.
- ^ Hall, Allan (September 12, 1996). "Clint v Sondra for a Fistful of Dollars". Daily Record.
- "When Harry Left Sondra". People. August 7, 1989.
- Wright, Jeanne (June 2, 1989). "Eastwood's private life stranger than fiction". The San Bernardino County Sun.
- Robin Adams Sloan, Democrat and Chronicle, 6.18.89
- "Eastwood buys ranch". Inter Mountain News. November 30, 1978. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019.
- 102 Wedeln Ln, Sun Valley, ID 83353 Zillow
- Gallo, Hank (April 5, 1990). "She Won't Be Locked Out". New York Daily News.
- Young, Josh (March 26, 1995). "Life after Clint hasn't been easy for Sondra Locke". The Idaho Statesman.
- Desta, Yohana (December 14, 2018). "The Triumph and Tragedy of Sondra Locke". Vanity Fair.
- Ryfle, Steve (September 12, 1996). "Eastwood Undermined Locke's Directing Career, Attorney Says". Los Angeles Times.
- Smith, Liz (April 30, 1994). "Locke cries foul at producing deal". The Palm Beach Post.
- Wilmington, Michael (August 8, 2002). "The good, the bad and the controversy". Chicago Tribune.
- "Eastwood is target of another Locke Lawsuit". Chicago Tribune. June 7, 1995.
- "Locke says behind-the-scenes deal humiliated her". The Columbian. September 13, 1996.
- ^ "Eastwood, Locke settle privately; jury sent home". The Tampa Tribune. September 25, 1996.
- ^ Errico, Marcus (September 24, 1996). "Clint Eastwood Pays Off Sondra Locke". E! News.
- O'Neill, Ann W.; Hernandez, Efrain Jr. (September 25, 1996). "Eastwood Settles Fraud Suit With Ex-Lover Locke". Los Angeles Times.
- Weinraub, Bernard (March 1997). "Clint Eastwood – Interview – Western Movie Star". Playboy.
- ^ Huffaker, Donna (May 25, 1999). "Eastwood's ex settles with Warner Bros". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
- Ryan, Joal (May 25, 1999). "Vindication for Clint Eastwood's Ex-Lover". E! News.
- "Showbuzz". CNN. May 26, 1999.
- ^ O'Neill, Ann W. (June 6, 1999). "This Time, Judge Judy's a Defendant". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Garrity, Peggy (2016). In the Game: The Highs and Lows of a Trailblazing Trial Lawyer. She Writes Press. ISBN 978-1631521065.
- "The Battle's Over for Eastwood's Ex". People. July 5, 1999.
- Crystal, Nathan; Knapp, Charles; Prince, Harry, eds. (2007). Problems in Contract Law: Cases and Materials (6th ed.). New York City: Aspen Publishing. pp. 470–80. ISBN 978-0735598225.
- Interview with Leta Powell Drake. KOLN/KGIN-TV (Lincoln, NE). 1982.
- Mills, Bart (June 25, 1978). "Sondra Locke: The cynic proves to be equal to Eastwood". Chicago Tribune.
- Chase, Chris (December 23, 1983). "Sondra Locke and her career as sidekick".The New York Times.
- ^ "Sick-bay report". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 20, 1990.
- "Sondra Locke Clipping Magazine photo orig 1pg 8x10 M7797 at Amazon's Entertainment Collectibles Store"
- "Swingers and Roundabouts". Film Review. Orpheus Pub. June 1991. p. 27.
- "Biography: Sondra Locke". AnnOnline. Archived from the original on January 10, 1998.
- "Actress Sondra Locke and boyfriend Scott Cunneen on November 10, 1990... News Photo" – via Getty Images.
- "Mary Ann Forman, Born 01/19/1941 in California". California Birth Index.
- Yaffe, Alva (April 20, 2020). "A Diagnosis and New Relationship". History by Day.
- "Sondra Locke's House". VirtualGlobetrotting. February 25, 2009.
- Henderson, Kirk (2020). Hollywood v. Beauty and the Synchronicity of the Six. Austin Macauley Publishers. ISBN 978-1643781655.
- Ryon, Ruth (December 22, 2001). "Heading Out of the Hills". The Ledger.
- "Feigin, Mark vs. Anderson, Sondra". UniCourt.
- Squires, Bethy (December 13, 2018). "Sondra Locke, Girlfriend Turned Enemy of Clint Eastwood, Is Dead". Vulture.
- ^ Jacob, Mary (December 13, 2018). "Clint Eastwood's Longtime Partner Sondra Locke Dead At 74". Radar Online. American Media, Inc.
- ^ McNary, Dave (December 14, 2018). "Oscar Nominee Sondra Locke Dies at 74". Variety.
- ^ Fernández, Alexia (December 13, 2018). "Actress and Director Sondra Locke, Clint Eastwood's Former Girlfriend of 14 Years, Dies at 74". People.
- Jacobs, Julia (December 14, 2018). "Sondra Locke, 74, Is Dead; Oscar-Nominated Actress". The New York Times. D6.
- Grove, David (June 7, 2024). "What Happened to Clint Eastwood's Forgotten Leading Lady?". MovieWeb.
- Baranauckas, Carla (February 25, 2019). "Oscars Viewers Notice Baffling Omissions From 'In Memoriam' Segment". HuffPost.
- White, Adam (May 26, 2024). "Sondra Locke, Clint Eastwood and the tragic disappearance of a Hollywood trailblazer". The Independent.
- Lane, Lydia (November 28, 1968). "Sondra Locke Puts the Accent on Identity". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Welk, Brian (December 14, 2018). "Sondra Locke Remembered as 'Early Pioneer' for Women in Hollywood". TheWrap.
- "The rise of childlessness". The Economist. July 27, 2017.
- "The Actor And The Revolutionary!". Notorious Women. December 25, 2018.
- Guarisco, Don (March 6, 2012). "Warrior of the Lost Drive-In: An Interview with David Worth Part 1". Schlockmania.
- Gonzalez, Sandra (December 14, 2018). "Sondra Locke, Oscar-nominated actress, has died". CNN.
- Fitzgerald, Mark (July 31, 1999). "Locke vs. Eastwood Case Leads to Landmark Decision". Editor & Publisher.
- "Public, media have right to attend civil trials". Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. August 9, 1999.
- Dolan, Maura (May 7, 1999). "Court Leaning Toward Access to Civil Trials". Los Angeles Times.
- Gardner, Kate (December 14, 2018). "In Memory of Sondra Locke, Not Her Relationship". The Mary Sue.
- Paine, Hannah (December 15, 2018). "'She deserved better': Star Sondra Locke's obituary slammed online". News.com.au.
- Cills, Hazel (December 14, 2018). "This Is How a Woman Gets Written Out of Her Own Obituary". Jezebel.
- Reed, Rex (December 10, 1967). "The Stars Fall on Alabama--Again". The New York Times.
- Reed, Rex (December 29, 2018). "In Memoriam: Rex Reed Says Goodbye to the Biggest Stars of 2018". Observer.
- Schmitt, Brad (April 27, 2004). "Say, is that C.J. Cregg in Shelbyville?". The Tennessean.
- Schmitt, Brad (June 27, 2004). "Hollywood stars to help Shelbyville native's film". The Jackson Sun.
- Beck, Ken (August 7, 2005). "Shelbyville gets its close-up". The Tennessean.
- Hughes, William (December 14, 2018). "R.I.P. Sondra Locke, Oscar-nominated star of The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter and Every Which Way But Loose". The A.V. Club.
- "Cover Me Babe". Shock Cinema. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ "RIP Willard Actress Sondra Locke". Horror Society. December 14, 2018.
- "Night Gallery: Feast of Blood". TV Guide. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- "Shadow of Chikara (1977)". Moria Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review. March 9, 2010.
- O'Connor, John J. (December 3, 1979). "TV: 'Friendships, Secrets and Lies'". The New York Times.
- "Bronco Billy (1980) – Svensk Filmdatabas". Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ "Actress Sondra Locke dies aged 74". BBC News. December 14, 2018.
- "Interview: Sondra Locke Talks Clint Eastwood and the Fate of RATBOY". ComingSoon.net. September 29, 2015.
- McNary, Dave (March 22, 2018). "Film News Roundup: Keith Carradine-Sondra Locke's 'Ray Meets Helen' Gets Release". Variety.
- Furtado, David (November 20, 2013). "Sondra Locke's Ratboy: A modern day fairy tale". Wand'rin' Star.
- Gilbey, Ryan (December 14, 2018). "Sondra Locke obituary". The Guardian.
- "Death in Small Doses (1995)". Letterboxd. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- Johnson City Press-Chronicle, 5.1.62
- "Several Days With the Days". The Nashville Tennessean. February 16, 1964.
- "Shivers Missing in 'The Innocents'". The Nashville Tennessean. June 18, 1964.
- "Erwin Has Rare Aplomb; Poise Brings Applause". The Nashville Tennessean. August 20, 1964.
- "'Tiger at the Gates' At Vanderbilt Theater". The Nashville Tennessean. January 20, 1967.
External links
- Sondra Locke at IMDb
- Sondra Locke at the TCM Movie Database
- Sondra Locke at the British Film Institute
- Sondra Locke discography at Discogs
- Sondra Locke at AllMusic
- Sondra Locke at Rotten Tomatoes
- Sondra Locke at Library of Congress
- Sondra Locke at the American Film Institute Catalog
Clint Eastwood | |
---|---|
Films directed |
|
Related | |
Family | |
Category |
- 1944 births
- 2018 deaths
- 20th-century American actresses
- 20th-century American memoirists
- 20th-century American singers
- 20th-century American women guitarists
- 20th-century American women writers
- 20th Century Studios contract players
- 21st-century American actresses
- Actors from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
- Actresses from Los Angeles
- Actresses from Nashville, Tennessee
- Age controversies
- American autobiographers
- American female models
- American feminist writers
- American film actresses
- American people of Scottish descent
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- American television directors
- American women autobiographers
- American women country singers
- American women film directors
- American women film producers
- American women memoirists
- American women non-fiction writers
- American women singers
- American women television directors
- Deaths from bone cancer in California
- Deaths from breast cancer in California
- Eastwood family
- Elektra Records artists
- English-language film directors
- Female models from Tennessee
- Feminist filmmakers
- Film directors from Los Angeles
- Film directors from Tennessee
- Film producers from Tennessee
- Former Baptists
- Memoirists from Tennessee
- Middle Tennessee State University alumni
- Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee
- Musicians from Tennessee
- People from Bel Air, Los Angeles
- People from Gallatin, Tennessee
- People from Shelbyville, Tennessee
- People from Sun Valley, Idaho
- People from Wartrace, Tennessee
- Singers from Tennessee
- Spouses of California mayors
- Warner Bros. contract players
- Warner Records artists
- Writers from Los Angeles
- Writers from Tennessee