She Had Her Secrets
Sondra Locke had an extraordinary Hollywood career that refused to follow any typical playbook. She lived a mysterious life—one which included questions about her real age and her unorthodox marriage. When she hooked up with a major Hollywood star, it seemed like her career was ready to truly take off.
Instead, Locke’s life began a downward spiral leading to an almost complete disappearance from Hollywood. Locke’s life is a cautionary tale like no other.
1. She Didn’t Know Her Father
Sondra Locke was born Sandra Louise Smith in Shelbyville, Tennessee, on May 28, 1944. Her father left while her mother was still pregnant with her. Although her mother denied it, Locke was pretty sure that her parents were never actually married. When Mom did eventually have a husband, Locke and her brother took his name.
But Locke’s family was about to become part of her distant past.
2. She Stopped Seeing Her Family
In 1962, Sondra Locke ended up studying theater on a full scholarship at Middle Tennessee State University. After appearing in just two plays, she surprisingly dropped out of the program. But that’s not everything she dropped out of. She ruthlessly cut off all contact with her family.
Her brother Donald has his theory about why.
3. She Had A Special Friend
While still in high school, Locke became friends with classmate Gordon Anderson. When she cut off ties with her family, her brother Donald blamed Anderson—and what he said about him was chilling. He claimed that Anderson had an “almost hypnotic effect” on her. The two were certainly close.
Little did Locke know, but Anderson would be around for the rest of her life.
Central High School, Wikimedia Commons
4. She Had To Look Younger
Sondra Locke got jobs working on radio and TV in Nashville, and then she heard about a huge audition. Locke joined the 590 actors competing for a role in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. Before her first audition, Anderson gave her a makeover. You see, the part Locke wanted was for a teenager, and she was already 23 years old.
This was going to be tricky.
Screenshot from The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1968)
5. She Worked For The Part
Anderson had made Locke look more like a teenager, but Locke wanted to go big or go home. She decided to lie about her age and cut it by six years. She passed the initial audition in Birmingham, and then two more in New Orleans and Manhattan. After knocking down almost 600 competitors, she got the role.
This was a dream come true, but it was also the beginning of a nightmare.
Screenshot from The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1968)
6. She Had Some Secrets
While filming The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Sondra Locke decided to marry Anderson. It was weird timing, and some speculated that Locke had an ulterior motive for getting married at this busy time in her life. Apparently, her reputation back at the TV station in Nashville was nasty, and she thought being married might help in case she got famous.
Well, she was right about one thing. She was about to get very famous.
Screenshot from The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1968)
7. She Had To Come Clean
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter got a lot of attention from critics and audiences. When award season came along, Locke was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars and the Golden Globes. Considering this was her first film, this was stunning news.
But now Locke would have to come clean about her real age—or would she?
Screenshot from The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1968)
8. They Redacted Her Life
To mask her true age, press materials about The Heart is a Lonely Hunter removed any mention of Sondra Locke attending university. They also didn't talk about her time working on Nashville radio and TV. It looked as though Locke had auditioned for the film right out of high school.
Locke would have to carry this secret for most of her life.
Screenshot from The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1968)
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9. He Was Crafty
When it came time for the Academy Awards, like many actors, Locke wanted to look her best. Anderson stepped in and designed a $7,000 sequined gown. Anderson was not a professional designer, but fashion critics had favorable comments about the dress. Then Jane Fonda and Candice Bergen requested their own versions of Anderson’s creation.
Things were looking up for the pair, who had gone from unknowns to a Hollywood power couple basically overnight.
10. She Missed Some Important Films
Sondra Locke somehow survived all the questions about her age and took some time to decide what her next film project would be. While waiting, she declined offers to be in True Grit and Zabriskie Point. The former was a huge hit, and the latter a huge disaster that has turned into a cult classic.
What she did instead was totally forgettable.
Screenshot from True Grit, Paramount Pictures (1969)
11. She Made A Dud
Instead of these important films, Locke made a film called Cover Me Babe. Here, Locke plays a college sophomore—so once again her true age was something she had to keep hidden. What she really needed to hide was this film. The critics hated it, and it was a financial loss for the studio.
But something else came out of this movie.
Screenshot from Cover Me Babe, 20th Century Fox (1970)
12. She Was Open
While making Cover Me Babe, Sondra Locke had a relationship with co-star Robert Fields. Wait a minute, wasn’t Locke a newlywed? Well, it turned out that there was something different about Locke’s relationships with Anderson. Something that Locke was keeping a secret for now.
What happened after Cover Me Babe was a series of missed opportunities.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
13. She Missed Out
Locke’s management team said no to a teen drama called Last Summer, and Locke passed on the lead in My Sweet Charlie. Her replacement, Patty Duke, received an Emmy for her performance. Her third missed opportunity was in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They, which received nine Academy Award nominations.
Locke was rejecting films left, right and center. But sometimes it went the other way around.
Los Angeles Times, Wikimedia Commons
14. She Had To Be Even Younger
To her humiliation, Sondra Locke lost two film roles to Liza Minnelli. As a result, she became so desperate that she tried out for a horror movie. Part of the horror of appearing in A Reflection of Fear was realizing that she was almost twice the age of her character. Locke was still lying about her age—now saying she was 23 and playing the part of a 15-year-old when she was actually 28. Locke got good reviews for this film, but it wasn't a success.
Locke had an Academy Award nomination under her belt. Certainly, she could find better projects than horror films.
Screenshot from A Reflection of Fear, Columbia Pictures (1972)
15. She Got Racy
For her next feature film, Locke eschewed horror and went for “art house”. The Second Coming of Suzanne, about a filmmaker obsessed with a female Christ, did little to amuse critics or audiences. There was one thing that stood out. A very racy scene between Locke and co-star Paul Sand, who Locke was also canoodling with off-camera.
It seemed that every film Locke did meant another romance with a co-star—despite the fact that she was still married.
CBS Photo Division, Wikimedia Commons
16. Another Film, Another Guy
After a fling with the also-married David Soul, Sondra Locke started up with another man. This was Bo Hopkins, who she starred with in the made-for-TV movie Gondola. This was a top-secret relationship, but for some reason, Locke agreed to something strange. They appeared as a couple on the TV game show Tattletales.
Before anyone noticed this inconsistency, Locke made a speedy exit.
Production still, photographer not identified, Wikimedia Commons
17. She Ran Away
After appearing on TV as Hopkins' girlfriend, Locke headed off to Arizona to make The Outlaw Josey Wales. Locke was desperate to appear in a successful film and thought for sure this was it. To make sure she got the part, she accepted a pay cut. Even though she was the female lead, she got only $18,000 for this film.
She was putting all her eggs in one basket. It had to be a success.
Warner Bros., Wikimedia Commons
18. She Got Between Two Men
Things in Arizona got off to a shaky start. Both the lead actor, Clint Eastwood and the director, Phil Kaufman, had a crush on Locke, and both asked her out to dinner—but Eastwood had an edge. He heartlessly removed the competition by getting the director fired and taking his place at the helm of this movie.
Eastwood got his date with Locke, and things got serious fast.
Screenshot from The Outlaw Josey Wales, Warner Bros. / The Malpaso Company (1976)
19. He Made His Feelings Perfectly Clear
There is evidence that the romance between Locke and Eastwood was quite serious from the start. The two were staying in a hotel while filming The Outlaw Josey Wales—and Eastwood’s next move would have shocked anyone nearby. He stepped out of their hotel, not wearing a stitch of clothing, and announced to the world that he was in love.
This was not typical Eastwood behavior.
Colin Dangaard, Wikimedia Commons
20. It Was A First For Both
Even though Locke had a husband and Eastwood was on his second marriage, Locke later said something surprising. She said that it was the first time either of the two had been in love. Eastwood had never been monogamous with any woman, but Locke said he wrote a song for her called, ”She Made Me Monogamous”.
These two had successfully found love. Let’s hope their film was half as good.
Warner Bros., Wikimedia Commons
21. It Was A Hit
Despite—or maybe because of—Locke and Eastwood’s off-screen affair, The Outlaw Josey Wales was a huge hit. Critics loved it, and audiences went in droves. While it only got a music nomination from the Academy, it did go on to make over $30 million from a less than $4 million budget.
Locke had finally found someone she could make successful movies with.
Screenshot from The Outlaw Josey Wales, Warner Bros. / The Malpaso Company (1976)
22. They Set up House
It was becoming quite clear that both Locke’s and Eastwood’s marriages were mostly of convenience. Eastwood and his then-wife Maggie Johnson were living almost completely separate lives. Because of the state of each of their relationships, Locke and Eastwood felt free to start their own lives together as a couple.
They were also ready to work together again.
The London Express News, Wikimedia Commons
23. He Raised Her Up
Locke and Eastwood were ready to make their first feature as a couple. The first thing on the agenda for The Gauntlet was deciding where the names went on the poster. Eastwood must have truly been in love. Even though he was a much bigger star, he let them put Locke’s name with his above the title of the movie.
This was the first and last time he did this.
Warner Bros. Inc., Wikimedia Commons
24. He Wanted Her Near
With only a couple of exceptions, Sondra Locke now only made films with Clint Eastwood. This was Eastwood’s idea, as she later said that he “didn’t like the idea of me being away from him”. Maybe Eastwood had issues with Locke’s performance in The Gauntlet, because in their next film, he moved her name below the title.
He also took her right off the poster.
Screenshot from The Gauntlet, Warner Bros. / The Malpaso Company (1977)
25. She Got Demoted
The promotional material for The Gauntlet showed a muscled Eastwood and a scantily clad Locke. However, for Every Which Way but Loose, Locke didn't make it to the poster. Instead, Eastwood posed with an orangutan named Manis. He later called Manis one of “the most natural actors” he had ever worked with. You couldn’t blame Locke if she took that personally.
Life back at home was also starting to feel uncomfortable.
Screenshot from Every Which Way but Loose, Warner Bros. / The Malpaso Company (1978)
26. She Didn’t Want Kids
Because Eastwood had mostly avoided monogamous relationships until that point, he had a number of children out of wedlock. The exact number is still under dispute. And when it came to having a child with Sondra Locke, the official word was that neither wanted them. When Locke became pregnant, she had a decision to make, and it was not an easy one.
Eleanor Frazetta was photographer, Wikimedia Commons
27. She Didn’t Think She’d Be A Good Mother
Locke actually became pregnant twice while with Eastwood, and she terminated both pregnancies. At the time, she suggested that she was not mother material. However, there was a reason she kept getting pregnant. She said that she’d removed her IUD because Eastwood found it uncomfortable.
To avoid future pregnancies, Eastwood had a solution.
United Press, Wikimedia Commons
28. She Agreed To A Procedure
Eastwood had concerns about Locke having abortions, so he came up with a plan. He thought Locke should undergo sterilization. In his view, it was best, as they had agreed not to have children. Locke later said that she cried, but agreed. Afterwards, she wondered why they hadn't discussed him having a procedure instead.
Eastwood must have felt a little guilty, as he had a reward for Locke.
29. She Got A Reward
Because Sondra Locke had agreed to end the possibility of her ever having children, Eastwood made one of those grand gestures that men often make when feeling guilty. He sold his home in Sherman Oaks and bought Locke a dream home in Bel Air. In her autobiography, Locke said that the house would be her baby.
But this house would be the beginning of the end for this couple.
30. She Was In The Dark
While living in their dream home, Sondra Locke began to feel a little in the dark about her relationship with Eastwood. You see, the still fertile Eastwood continued fathering children. He had two in the late 1980s that Locke had no idea about. What she did know was that the feeling in the house was tense.
She was having trouble recognizing the man she had fallen in love with.
31. He Bolted
On January 6, 1989, Locke and Eastwood attended the American Cinema Awards together. This would be their final public appearance. They spent a very unromantic two nights together at the Bel Air home, and then Eastwood was gone. After that, he slept in the caretaker's quarters, or at his Burbank apartment.
This fairy tale romance was coming to a speedy end, and Locke had her theories about why.
Pool GARCIA/URLI, Getty Images
32. She Had Him Figured Out
Locke called Eastwood’s behavior “acting out” and explained it with two reasons. She claimed that Eastwood was getting old and had thoughts about mortality. He was also losing it at the box office, and that made him feel less powerful. Even though she wasn’t ready to give up on Eastwood, she made a call to a divorce lawyer.
She was about to find out what kind of man Eastwood really was.
Thore Siebrands, Wikimedia Commons
33. He Didn’t Play By The Rules
Even though Locke and Eastwood had never tied the knot—in fact, she was still technically married to her first husband—she met up with Norman Oberstein, who was a divorce lawyer. She wanted to know what her options were if Eastwood never came home. While her conversations with Oberstein were private, Eastwood played a dirty trick. He used a wiretap to listen to her talk to her lawyer.
Something Eastwood heard made him take very serious action.
Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA, Wikimedia Commons
34. She Got The Boot
Sondra Locke had taken up directing, and in April of 1989, she was working on Impulse, her second film. When she came home to the Bel Air mansion, she found security guards outside blocking her way in. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, as Eastwood had already changed the locks. Also, he’d moved all of her possessions into a storage facility.
Basically, Eastwood had kicked her out of the house.
Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada, Wikimedia Commons
35. The Claws Came Out
It was now time for Locke to get serious with her lawyer. She started with a palimony suit that asked for $70 million. On the list of charges against Eastwood were emotional distress, forcible entry, possession of stolen goods and breach of contract. She wanted half of everything Eastwood earned and had.
But there was more.
Unknown photographer, Wikimedia Commons
36. She Wanted To Protect Her Husband
Even in this stressful time in her life, Locke’s thoughts went to her husband. Anderson was living in one of Eastwood's homes, and Locke was demanding the title to the house. By this time, Locke had come clean that Anderson was gay and that they had never consummated their marriage.
But there was something more that Locke needed to address with Eastwood.
Unknown photographer, Wikimedia Commons
37. She Blamed Him
During the proceedings, Sondra Locke also accused Eastwood of making her get two abortions and the sterilization procedure. Eastwood’s denial fueled the flames of his legal battle, which went on for a staggering 19 months. Locke was becoming exhausted as lawyers fought it out in the courtroom. Then Locke received some very bad news. She had breast cancer. Too exhausted to continue, Locke decided to settle.
Suddenly, after all that fighting, Locke was at the mercy of Eastwood and the lawyers.
Beat Albrecht, Wikimedia Commons
38. She Came Up Short
Sondra Locke didn't end up receiving anything close to what she had originally asked for. She did get the West Hollywood house where her husband lived. She also got $450,000 in cash and some monthly payments as well. More interestingly, Eastwood offered her a directing and developing film deal with Warner Bros, worth $1.5 million.
The bright side was that Locke was going to be making films once more.
Terry Tomlin, Wikimedia Commons
39. She Felt The Sting Of Rejection
Once Locke had gotten over the stress and trauma of a very public breakup, she was ready to start working on her film deal with Warner Bros. She brought over 30 scripts to the studio, and they rejected each one. Strangely, other directors made two of the scripts—Addicted to Love and Junior—that she had put forward.
It turned out that her development deal came with a problem—and Locke smelled a rat.
Colin Dangaard, Wikimedia Commons
40. She Found Out the Truth
Sondra Locke put on her detective hat and found some disturbing evidence. She now believed that Warner Bros had no deal or money for her. The money was actually coming from Eastwood’s own assets. Even more troubling? She thought he was using his film Unforgiven to launder the money.
There were two ways to look at this.
41. She Went Back To Court
An optimist might see Eastwood as a supporting ex, making sure Locke was okay financially. A second option was that Eastwood used the bogus WB deal to get Locke to agree to the settlement—and was now spitefully using it to stop her from working in Hollywood.
Locke believed the latter, and she was ready to lawyer up once more.
Pool DENIZE/PELLETIER, Getty Images
42. She Had A Good Day
Locke sued both Eastwood and Warner Bros and ended up settling outside of court with both. We don’t know what she got, but on the courthouse steps she said that "this has been the best day in a long, long time”. Locke had fought against a powerful studio and an equally powerful Hollywood star and won.
Next, Eastwood would get his few words in.
Fanny Bouton at https://www.flickr.com/photos/73783695@N00/, Wikimedia Commons
43. He Didn’t Hold Back
Eastwood had no kind words for the women who had temporarily stopped his womanizing ways. He called her his "occasional roommate” and accused her of lazily going for a money grab. He then went one tragic step further. He accused Locke of using her cancer diagnosis to win points with the jury.
If Locke had won points with the jury, she certainly deserved them.
44. She Made A Match
Sadly, because of her cancer, Sondra Locke needed a double mastectomy. The operation was a success, and Locke began her recovery. Intern Scott Cunneen got the job of checking up on her, and some sparks flew during their time together. There was a 17-year difference between the two, and, in fact, Cunneen’s mother was only three years older than Locke.
With her new love, Locke just wanted to disappear and recover.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
45. She Found Her Oasis
Locke had taken in a great deal of money from her lawsuits with Eastwood and Warner Bros. With this cash, and likely some of her own, she bought a mansion in the Hollywood Hills for her and Cunneen to live in. While she called it a “supportive and equal relationship”, it fizzled out after 11 good years. Locke seemed content to live out her remaining days tucked away in her mansion, far from the public eye.
Sadly, she didn’t have long to live.
46. She Went Quietly
In 2015, after 25 years in remission, Locke’s cancer came back. On November 3, 2018, she passed in her home from cardiac arrest. Anderson was still Locke’s husband, and he accepted her ashes. He also accepted $20 million as an inheritance. Their relationship may have been unusual, but it did last over 50 years.
Now, the world was ready to mourn.
Robin L Marshall, Getty Images
47. No One Said Anything
Locke may have passed, but no one in the media seemed to know. None of her friends, ex-lovers, her husband, not even Eastwood, said anything about her demise. More than a month after she passed, Radar Online finally broke the story. Wasn't it strange that an Academy Award nominee could pass without even a mention?
Of course, people started to speculate about what was going on.
Gerald Holly, Wikimedia Commons
48. She Wanted To Keep Her Secret
Sondra Locke had spent a lifetime lying about her age. It started with her first film role and snowballed into something bigger than she could handle. Some say that when she knew her time was up, she had requested a media blackout because she feared having her real age announced. Even the Academy Award ceremony that year made no mention of her in the “In Memoriam” segment.
But there was something a media blackout could not control.
Shelbyville Central High School, Wikimedia Commons
49. His Name Haunts Her
Even after Locke’s passing, Eastwood’s name would haunt her. When obituary articles finally began to surface, many publications had Eastwood’s name at the top of the story. It was as if all she’d ever been was Eastwood’s girlfriend and not a director and Academy Award nominee. The backlash against these publications came quickly.
But the truth was, she believed that he had destroyed her career.
Gary Harrington, Wikimedia Commons
50. She Left A Legacy
Locke’s love affair with Eastwood shouldn’t define her life, but it did have a huge impact. She believed that he sabotaged her career and had her blacklisted in Hollywood. But remember, she took both him and Warner Bros to court and won. We can only hope that her story has inspired other women who want to get behind the camera and direct a feature film.
Sunset Boulevard, Getty Images
51. She May Have Been An Unreliable Narrator
There is another way to look at Sondra Locke’s story. Back in 1967, critic and journalist Rex Reed did a profile on Locke for the New York Times. Reed believed that Locke lied through her teeth about many details of her life. After Locke passed, Reed said he initially thought that even that may have been a publicity stunt.
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