“There are times I wish I had only read it, and never lived it,” Sondra Locke once
described her tumultuous affair with Clint Eastwood.
She was an aspiring director and a brilliant actress when a 13-year-old relationship with
Eastwood shattered her life into pieces.
How could this tragedy ever happen to Locke?
In today’s episode, we’ll delve into the heartbreaking and dark love story that roared
in Hollywood for more than a decade.
Her affair with Eastwood started in 1975 and lasted for thirteen years, slowly and steadily
destroying Locke’s life.
It all sparkled as a passionate romance — she was an aspiring actress with ambitions to
shoot and direct in Hollywood, and Eastwood was on the peak of his Hollywood fame.
No doubt, he could seem like the right match for a charismatic young performer, right?
Afterall, he was an influential and widely recognized director and academy award-winning
actor who could presumably lend a helping hand to unlock Sondra’s potential.
Locke shared her vision of relationships with Eastwood, “I seemed to bring out the little
boy in him.
And although he loved me for my childlike nature, he brought out the woman in me.”
Locke thought that Eastwood was the one and only; she waited for this love to happen for
so long.
So, she fell in love.
When Sondra met Clint on the film set of The Outlaw Josey Wales in the 1970s, she was married
to Gordon Anderson, a talented gay actor.
She said that their relationship was nothing more than platonic and explained they were
like sister and brother.
Locke and Anderson presumably married for tax purposes.
Little did she know their relationships would last throughout entire Locke's life.
What's more, Anderson closely followed the unfolding of Locke's romance with Eastwood.
He sharply described his attitude towards his wife's lover, "Clint is a sociopath; I
don't think there is another explanation for the way he treats everyone.
He cares for no one.
I know it's a hard thing to accept but he's completely unevolved as a human being; he
believes in nothing - he's a zero.
I'm sorry to be so blunt, but that is it.
He needs therapy."
When Locke passed away after her prolonged struggle with breast and bone cancer in 2018,
she still was legally and officially the wife of Anderson.
But how did it happen that her fairy tale romance with Eastwood turned out to be a horror?
Locke claimed that Eastwood coerced her to have two abortions while they dated.
In her biography The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly: A Hollywood Journey, she explained
that Eastwood thought it would be impossible to balance raising children with their hectic
lifestyles.
He wouldn’t like to compromise, and she yielded to his requests.
But today, Eastwood’s reluctance to have children from Locke seems like a manipulation.
At least, he had a prolonged romance with another woman, exactly at the time when he
and Sondra were close.
Eastwood became a father of two, leaving Sondra bitter and overwhelmed with the news of his
infidelity afterwards.
She wrote in the book, "Clint complained of the IUD – it was uncomfortable for him.
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."
Locke counted fertility days and had regular pregnancy checks to avoid unpredictable situations.
She shared, "The whole process was awkward and entailed taking my temperature every morning
and marking the calendar, etc."
But the method proved itself wrong twice, forcing Locke to make a complicated decision
under Eastwood's pressure.
However, it wasn’t for the series of abortions their relationships eventually ended.
Actually, Sondra wanted to claim her professional independence and break free from Eastwood’s
charismatic influence.
“I understood it would be at the risk of our relationship.
And when I did, that was the beginning of the end,” the actress said to The Post,
describing the time when she was at odds with Eastwood.
In the memoir, Sondra also described how their relationships deteriorated over the years,
making her anxious about the future.
As she wanted to come out of his shadow, she immediately crossed the unspoken, secret boundary
set by Clint in the relationship.
He evidently thought that Sondra would remain in his shadow.
But at that period, Locke eventually managed to direct two films: Ratboy (1986) and Impulse
(1990).
It was the time when she wanted to take her chance in Hollywood.
But we’re wondering whether it was possible in an industry dominated by men?
At the end of the 1980s, their romance was on the verge of collapse.
One evening, Sondra came to the home she shared with Eastwood for more than ten years to find
the door's locks changed, and her clothes boxed up.
Locke filed a palimony lawsuit against one of the biggest Hollywood stars.
In his depositions, Eastwood described Locke as an "occasional roommate… for 10 years."
Sondra waged war against the man she used to think was the love of her life.
The couple eventually settled the suit, and Locke concluded a $1.5 million deal with Warner
Bros. It was supposed to be the time for her to become an independent director.
But things turned out differently.
As years went by, Sondra couldn’t sign the contract with Warner brothers company.
For three years, she repeatedly suggested ideas for dozens of films of professional
aspirations, but she got rejected over and over again.
Sondra risked everything and filed the second lawsuit against Eastwood.
This time, Locke accused him of fraud as the deal with the studio didn’t work, and he
could potentially stall her progress in filming.
Sondra believed her ex put up roadblocks to prevent her from becoming a self-reliant director.
In the 1990s, she filed a second lawsuit against Eastwood, accusing him of fraud.
The court settled the case, and Locke received an undisclosed sum of compensation.
Locke shared her message that “people cannot get away with whatever they want to, just
because they’re powerful.”
But the scandalous breakup with Eastwood took its toll on the actress’ reputation, leaving
Locke with no real opportunities to return to Hollywood.
Although she won the lawsuits, Sondra lost the real-life battle for her career.
Years after the scandal, Locke shared her opinion on everything that happened, “People
can say, ‘He made her famous; he gave her movies.’
He didn’t give me movies — I did a job,” she said.
“He didn’t make me famous.
It was never my fame — it was his fame.
I was Clint’s girl.
I only stood to lose professionally.”
Locke's career was overshadowed by relationship with Eastwood, making it impossible for the
actress to gain past recognition.
After the two dramatic lawsuits, Locke didn't come back to directing and played small supporting
roles in independent films, so fame never returned to her.
Years afterwards, she revealed her life struggles in the memoir.
Sondra once said, "I try to cover the good years as well as the bad and the ugly.
Also, in even the worst ugly things there can sometimes be a lot that will make you
a better person."
Chasing the Hollywood dream brought bitterness and pain into Locke's life.
And it also greatly deteriorated the actress' health.
While suing Eastwood and trying to save her career, Sondra was diagnosed with breast cancer.
It came as a bolt from the blue and became another tragedy that made her battle health
issues for years.
Locke had a double mastectomy and chemotherapy, but her heart couldn't stand the challenge.
The actress passed away in 2018, leaving behind a controversial story of hardship and triumph.
Would it have been better if Locke had never dated Eastwood?
Perhaps, a relationship with an influential actor could help an aspiring director climb
the career ladder and gain precious experience.
But the sweet romance turned into a messy decade-long scandal.
Locke was powerless to move forward in the industry, where fame and influence controlled
everything.
The actress couldn't advance in Hollywood after the tragic revelations about her relationship
with one of the most influential actors in the industry.
Living in the shadow of Eastwood's fame was a curse she couldn't overcome.
Locke's story showed that even the biggest Hollywood actors could face the consequences
of their misdeeds.
She proved her case and showed everybody the day-to-day struggles women face in the industry.
It was the first sign of massive change in perception of women in acting and directing.
But two court victories eventually turned out to be real-life failures.
Building a career in a misogynist business can be daunting.
Locke was a sexy female lead, associated primarily with Eastwood’s projects.
At its pinnacle, her career grew fast, revealing the actress’s potential to thrive in the
industry.
But Eastwood heavily punished her ambition to venture into uncharted territory and gain
more freedom.
As she struggled to come out of Eastwood’s shadow and be recognized as a professional,
her efforts went downhill over and over again.
Maybe, that's why we should remember Locke for her persistent courage to fight against
injustice?