Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke

My mind's foggy but was Clint accused of hitting her? I don't remember that.

Also, why would she get a financial settlement? They weren't married & had no kids.

r1 I read something about her accusing him of hitting her but nothing came of it. I don't know if it was a rumour or if it was part of her suit against him.

She was not a great actress but she was wonderful in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. She and Alan Arkin were terrific in it and she received an Oscar nomination for her performance. She never delivered on her promise. She also directed Impulse starring DL fave Theresa Russell and it's a pretty good flick.

R1 No, There was no domestic violence accusation. However their war was ugly and Clint used his power to ruin her because she dared to stand up to him

"From 1975 until 1989, Locke cohabited with actor Clint Eastwood.[16] They had first met in 1972, but became involved while filming The Outlaw Josey Wales. She underwent two abortions in the late 1970s[n 1] and a tubal ligation shortly after the second abortion, stating in her autobiography that she decided to have the procedures because Eastwood insisted parenthood would not fit into their lifestyle.[17] She later discovered that he secretly fathered two children with another woman during the last three years of their relationship.[17][18]

In 1989, Locke filed a palimony suit against Eastwood after he changed the locks on their Bel-Air home and moved her possessions into a storage facility while she was on the set of Impulse.[13] After a year-long legal battle, the two parties reached a settlement wherein Eastwood set up a film development/directing pact for Locke at Warner Bros. in exchange for dropping the suit.[19]

In 1994, Locke sued Eastwood for fraud, alleging that the deal with Warner was a sham[6]–the studio had rejected all of the 30 or more projects she proposed, and never assigned her to direct any of their in-house projects.[6] According to Locke's attorney, Eastwood committed "the ultimate betrayal" by arranging the "bogus" film directing deal as a way to keep her out of work.[20] The case went to trial in 1996, but just minutes before a jury was to render a verdict in Locke's favor, Eastwood agreed to settle for an undisclosed amount.[21] The outcome of the case, 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."[22][23] The case is used in some modern law-school contract textbooks to illustrate the legal concept of good faith"

I always liked Sondra Locke but I thought she looked too much like Kim Carnes.

Both with that WHITE hair....

There's certain guys in Hollywood that can get away with murder and you simply do not cross (Nicholson, Eastwood,.. etc.) or you may just find yourself penniless and in a Greyhound bus station.

Getting on the wrong side of a powerful man in Hollywood is one sure way to end a career and that seems to be the case with her.

She was very bitter after the breakup, said Clint had killed her career as an actress, director, and producer.

However, I doubt she would have had much of a career as an actress without Clint's help, she was only moderately talented and wasn't pretty enough for most leading-lady roles (a friend always referred to her as "the white rabbit"). And how the hell would she ever have had a chance to produce or direct without Clint behind her? No, if she'd never met Eastwood she'd probably have found her in the same place in middle age, but because of Clint she had a lot more credits and money than she would have had without him.

R7 Agreed. She was doing tv in the early 70s less than five years after her Oscar nomination. She got a lot of mileage and neglible film roles being the girlfriend of Eastwood. I think she was fairly talented but it only gets you so far in Hollywood. She never seemed to have luck on her side. Eastwood redeemed her film career for a time but he was also her downfall.

Her partner of many years strongly persuades her to abort two children she most likely wanted to have very much. Then she gets her tubes tied to please him. A woman wouldn't do that for a man unless she truly believed they'd be together for life. Then she finds out all that time he was with another woman who gave birth to TWO of his children - (the same number of abortions he insisted she have). Did one of those grow up to be Scott Eastwood? (glad he wasn't aborted). Obviously Clint had no intention of a life with her but made her think otherwise. I don't blame her for being bitter. And she showed true promise as a director with two better than decent movies. Much better than a lot of male hacks who get work all the time. The evidence presented made it look pretty obvious Clint prevented her from getting work after he was finished with her, otherwise he wouldn't have paid her a settlement. She knew she was ruined in the business so why not get all she could? I just hope she came to terms with it all and is living happily somewhere far from Hollywood.

And I, btw, am a big fan of most of Eastwood's movies. And I never thought Locke was a particularly good actress. But I definitely don't think she was a gold-digger. Polanski, Eastwood, and possibly Woody Allen are great examples of men with hideous character who are creative geniuses.

bump

Sondra Locke died of cancer on November 3. She was 74. Media reported it over a month late.

What? OMG, thanks for posting, R11.

I actually appreciated her in Eastwood's films. I appreciated that she wanted to direct at a time when there were very few women directors making films. That took will and ambition.

Clint Eastwood is so dull, I saw him interviewed at the NFT in London in the late 80s and he totally sucked the air from the place. The excitement at being in the same room as a superstar lasted about 10 minutes after which time you could see people's heads drooping as his low monotone turned eyelids to lead, he had no personality, nothing of interest to say and over an hour not to say it in. Audience questions led to a guy asking about Dirty Harry 'Can you say it to me, Mr Eastwood?' Everybody but Clint knew he meant the make my day quote ,this led to heavy hints from the interviewer which Clint still didn't get and then a mumble when the penny finally dropped. I imagined perhaps that's what strong and silent has to offer, but Robert Mitchum ,on another occasion, was great , open, interesting and surprisingly funny, he summed up Joan Collins with a pose/look that broke up the audience. Clint should stick to talking to chairs.

I’ve never understood the adulation for Eastwood. I find his movies clunky and heavy handed. He spells everything out for the viewer without any nuance. That Four Seasons film was especially terrible.

He was really spiteful and vindictive to her, and spent a lot of time kicking her when she was down. He had all the power in that relationship, and devoted considerable time and energy into fucking her over but good. It wasn't enough for him to ruin her, he fought to make sure she stayed ruined.

I enjoyed her in "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter". RIP..

I wonder why the media waited so long to report it? I read about it on Yahoo. I don't think I've seen anything on the morning news. She starred in some good movies. There were more obscure celebrities... from the golden era, not heard from in years (that I thought already dead) , that got more attention about their deaths. It's very odd.. and sad. She had a rocky relationship with Eastwood... but, she deserved better.

Remember when he talked to an empty chair on international TV

The media didn't report it because Clint a) still has power and b) has a long memory.

He's a dick. It goes to show that a lot of power, and being well connected can make someone disappear.... like they never existed. I'm not 100% sure, but I think it was a tweet about her death that someone picked up, then did a little investigating... and made it known. It's still being kept pretty quiet. His best role was when he spoke to the empty chair.

Wait. Clint's a Republican and he made her get, not one, but two abortions?

Funny how that works out, huh?

Amber heard was way smarter about Johnny - demanded they married and when he started going off the rails, got out with at least some cash and enough notoriety to get some roles. Aquaman might be huge for her. Sondra, although classier and more talented, was a real doormat until it was too late.