Gordon Leigh Anderson (born August 2, 1944) is an American retired sculptor, actor and fashion designer. He is the widower of actress

Sondra Locke 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 ass ...

, to whom he was married for 51 years.

Early life and education

Gordon Leigh Anderson was born on August 2, 1944, in

Batesville, Arkansas Batesville is the largest city in and the county seat of Independence County, Arkansas, United States, 80 miles (128 km) northeast of Little Rock, the state capital. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city was 10,268. The c ...

, the younger of Margaret Helen Leigh and William Basil Anderson's two sons. The family resided in

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro () is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, Craighead County. In 2023, the city had an estimated population of ...

, from 1946 to 1952.Staff (November 27, 1968). "Off the Beaten Path". ''The Jonesboro Sun''. p. 3. They subsequently moved to

Bedford County, Tennessee Bedford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,237. Its county seat is Shelbyville. Bedford County comprises the Shelbyville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also in ...

, where Anderson graduated from

Shelbyville Central High School Shelbyville may refer to: Places named Shelbyville * Shelbyville, Illinois * Shelbyville, Indiana * Shelbyville, Kentucky * Shelbyville, Michigan * Shelbyville, Missouri * Shelbyville, Tennessee * Shelbyville, Texas Fictional * Shelbyville ( ...

in 1962. Anderson attended

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a Public university, public research university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as ...

and George Peabody College for Teachers but did not graduate from either."MTSC Presents". ''The Rutherford Courier''. November 2, 1962. p. 5. He also took a summer course at the

Pasadena Playhouse Pasadena Playhouse is a Tony Award-winning historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engag ...

and studied acting at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...

, eventually signing with the General Artists Corporation.Staff (September 14, 1966). "Off the Beaten Path". ''Jonesboro Evening Sun''. p. 2.

Career

Anderson made his

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

debut in the Martinique Theatre production of ''Until the Monkey Comes'' in 1966, garnering a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Actor and receiving a

Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway. It was first awarded for the 1945–1946 theatre se ...

nomination.Associated Press (December 21, 1969). "Ex-Local Man And Wife To Star In Film". ''The Jonesboro Sun''. pp. 1–2. The play ran for 76 performances. This was followed by a year and a half of professional inactivity while Anderson managed the career of his movie star wife,

. The couple appeared together on television programs including ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'' and ''

The Dick Cavett Show ''The Dick Cavett Show'' is the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including: * ABC daytime, (March 4, 1968 – January 24, 1969) originally titled ''This Morning'' * ABC prime time, Tuesday ...

''. Anderson designed the $7,000 aqua sequined gown his wife wore to the

41st Academy Awards The 41st Academy Awards were presented on April 14, 1969, to honor the films of 1968. They were the first Oscars to be staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, and the first with no host since the 20th Academy Awards. '' Oliver!'' ...

when she was nominated for ''

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1940) is the debut novel of American author Carson McCullers, who was 23 at the time of publication. It is a Southern Gothic novel about a deaf man named John Singer and the people he encounters in a 1930s m ...

'' (1968). It received national attention in several fashion magazines, after which he was called upon to design dresses for

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...

and

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards as the title character on '' Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmi ...

. In 1969, it was announced that Anderson would co-star with his wife in a screen adaptation of ''Until the Monkey Comes'', but no movie resulted. By the early 1970s, Anderson devoted full time to

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and was in demand by private collectors. Decades later, one of his creations, a miniature set of characters from ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'', was acquired by

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...

. Anderson had voiceover roles in two of his wife's films, ''

A Reflection of Fear ''A Reflection of Fear'' is a 1972 American horror thriller film directed by William A. Fraker with a screenplay by Edward Hume and Lewis John Carlino and starring Sondra Locke, Robert Shaw, Mary Ure, Signe Hasso, Gordon Devol and Sally Kelle ...

'' (1972) and '' Ratboy'' (1986), voicing the titular character in the latter.

Marriage to Locke

Anderson married Sondra Locke on September 25, 1967, at the First Presbyterian Church in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, in what has been described as a

marriage of convenience A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. Cases whe ...

. There was no honeymoon for the newlyweds because Locke was filming ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter''. Anderson and Locke never had children. Both spouses engaged in long-term extramarital relationships. In 1989, Locke stated that their marriage had never been consummated, and in 1996, she confirmed that Anderson was gay. The pair remained married until Locke's death on November 3, 2018. Locke left an estate worth $20 million (equivalent to $25.6 million in 2025), which Anderson inherited.Yaffe, Alva (April 20, 2020)
"Her Last Years"
''History by Day''.

Filmography

Selected stage credits

Footnotes

References

External links

* *
Gordon Anderson
at

BroadwayWorld BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City, New York. Launched in 2003, the site covers Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international theater productions, with sections devoted to particular countries, cities, or regi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Gordon 1944 births 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male artists 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century people from Arkansas 20th-century people from Tennessee Age controversies American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni American gay actors American gay artists American male film actors American male sculptors American male stage actors American male voice actors Eastwood family Gay sculptors LGBTQ fashion designers LGBTQ people from Arkansas Living people Male actors from Arkansas Middle Tennessee State University alumni New York Drama Critics' Circle Award winners Off-Broadway Peabody College alumni People from Batesville, Arkansas People from Bedford County, Tennessee People from Jonesboro, Arkansas Sculptors from Arkansas