Though her longtime love affair with Clint Eastwood largely defined Sondra Locke's public
persona, she was a creative force who struggled in a paramour's considerable shadow her entire life
An actress and indie film pioneer, Locke died in 2018 at 74 years old
This is her untold story. Sondra Locke burst onto the Hollywood scene in her first feature film by earning both an
Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal as teenage Mick Kelly, opposite
Alan Arkin in 1968's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Based on Carson McCullough's acclaimed novel of the same name, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
stars Arkin as a deaf mute who rents a room in a small Georgia town to be close to his
institutionalized friend. Once there, he begins to change the lives of all those around him, including a young
girl, played by Locke, who lives in the boarding house. Locke said in an interview
"'I dreamed of being an actress in films, and then one day WB held a nationwide talent
search for an unknown actress to star in the heart as a lonely hunter, and I was swept
away from a small town in Tennessee to Hollywood and an Oscar nomination
Sandra Locke worked with Clint Eastwood for the first time in 1975, during the making of
the Civil War revenge thriller that outlawed Josie Wales. Shortly afterward Locke and Eastwood who was married to Maggie Johnson at the time began an affair that would last until 1989 There one too many women in your life The couple would go on to make five more films together with Warner Brothers The Gauntlet
Every Which Way But Loose, Bronco Billy, Any Which Way You Can, and Sudden Impact — until
creative and personal differences drove them apart. When Sondra Locke made her directorial debut with 1986's Rap Boy
her relationship with Clint Eastwood started to unravel. Locke told the LA Times in a 1996 interview
"...I was beginning to develop, maybe a little bit too much, and it changed the dynamics
He was daddy, you know? And I guess that was no longer the case." When you're a director, the job itself forces you to take charge
Reflecting on her experience in an interview with Coming Soon, Locke admitted that Eastwood seemed to be against her decision to direct
In fact, Eastwood's Malpaso company produced Rap Boy through his deal with Warner Brothers
despite objections from Locke. So, not only did he put his name on it, but then also
he felt that he was in a position to tell me what to do all the time. "'Well, I hate to argue with you, but—
"'Don't argue with me, that's the only way we're doing it. I teach you all you need to know, and then you go off and you make a million dollars.'
Sondra Locke's sophomore directorial effort to 1990s Impulse was a psychological cop thriller
starring Teresa Russell Clint Eastwood was not involved and according to Locke quote That really when it started to unravel Per Locke autobiography she alleged that Eastwood attempted to sabotage the film from
the start. She claims Eastwood tried to make her misproduction meetings, and whenever producer and longtime
Eastwood collaborator Al Ruddy would call to discuss the project, Eastwood hopped on
the piano, quote, "...banging out Scott Joplin tunes as loudly as he could.
Tensions rose to a boiling point when, per the LA Times, Eastwood changed the locks of
their Bel Air home and called a moving company to pack up and store her clothes while she
was away directing. Get off my lawn. Sondra Luck filed a lawsuit to return to the home, but according to the Los Angeles Times
she later settled for the home Eastwood had bought her husband, about $500,000, and a
three-year $1.5 million development deal at Warner Bros. When the Warners' deal turned out to be an alleged ruse, Luck sued the studio
She also sued Eastwood in 1994, after discovering that he'd allegedly bankrolled the development
deal with Warner Bros., and then made sure that none of her film pitches were approved
The suit against Warner Bros. was dismissed, but Locke sued Eastwood again for attempting
to crush her career. Eastwood eventually settled with Locke for an undisclosed amount in 1996
After the settlement Locke explained why she persevered when many thought she should just quit telling the LA Times Since everything in my life collapsed in 89 I was just determined that I wouldn cave in I wouldn just go away or become a basket case I knew the value of me as a person
1997's Trading Favors was the third and final feature film Sondra Luck directed
According to an interview, she hoped to transition from acting to directing as she felt very
at home behind the camera, but it just wasn't a future she saw herself in
I was emotionally devastated from the years of fighting my legal battles, and had become
somewhat jaded about the whole Hollywood political game. Also, I realized that all scripts which interested me were not the films the studios wanted to make
My tastes were more geared toward the smaller, independent film." Clint Eastwood's unorthodox directing style is the stuff of Hollywood legend
Locke was not a fan of Eastwood's workmanlike efficiency. She said, Locke really gave direction to the actors, certainly not to me
I was very much on my own. I always wondered how much better my performances might have been had I had a director who really
worked with me." Locke went on to say that Eastwood doesn't really direct his films, but instead just, quote
"...shoots a script." He explained, "...I would say it's not so much directing as covering the script
By that I mean he will cover a scene with all shots required to know what is going on
but doesn't express an opinion or guide the audience's emotions or eye.
Thank you