Sondra Locke

Sandra Louise Anderson (''née'' Smith; May 28, 1944 – November 3, 2018), professionally known as Sondra Locke, was an American actress and director. She achieved worldwide recognition for her relationship with Clint Eastwood and the six hit films they made together.

An alumna of Middle Tennessee State University, Locke broke into regional show business with assorted posts at the Nashville-based radio station WSM-AM, then segued into television as a promotions assistant for WSM-TV. In 1968, she made her film debut in '' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'', for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Locke went on to appear in such box office successes as '' Willard'' (1971), '' The Outlaw Josey Wales'' (1976), '' The Gauntlet'' (1977), '' Every Which Way but Loose'' (1978), ''Bronco Billy'' (1980), ''Any Which Way You Can'' (1980) and '' Sudden Impact'' (1983). She worked regularly with Eastwood, who was her companion for 14 years despite their marriages to other people. She also directed four films, notably '' Impulse'' (1990), and published an autobiography, ''The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly: A Hollywood Journey'' (1997).

Locke's persona belied her age, and she habitually played roles written for women much younger than herself. She claimed to have been born several years later than 1944, and her true age remained a secret throughout her career. For reasons never made clear, her death was not publicly announced, and was only confirmed by vital statistics six weeks after she died of cardiac arrest at the age of 74.

Background, early life and education

Sandra Louise Smith was born on May 28, 1944, the daughter of New York City native Raymond Smith, then serving in the military, and Pauline Bayne, a pencil factory worker from Huntsville, Alabama, who was of mostly Scottish descent, with matrilineages in South Carolina extending back to the late 18th century. Locke's parents separated before her birth. In her autobiography, Locke noted that "although Momma would not admit it, I knew Mr. Smith never married my mother." She had a maternal half-brother, Donald (born April 26, 1946) from Bayne's subsequent brief marriage to William B. Elkins. When Bayne married Alfred Locke in 1948, Sandra and Donald assumed his surname. She grew up in Shelbyville, Tennessee, where her stepfather owned a construction company; ''People'', February 13, 1978. the family later moved to nearby Wartrace. Self-described as introspective and ambitious, Locke started working part-time at age 16, drove her own car, and had a phone installed in her bedroom.

Locke was a cheerleader and class valedictorian in junior high. From 1958, she attended Shelbyville Central High School, where she was again valedictorian and voted "Duchess of Studiousness" by classmates. She also played on the girls' basketball team, served as PTSA representative and was president of the French club. Despite this, she wasn't considered "date material" by the more socially prominent boys in her class. Following graduation in 1962, Locke enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University (then Middle Tennessee State College) in Murfreesboro on a full scholarship. Majoring in drama, December 14, 2018. she was a member of the Alpha Psi Omega honor society while at MTSU and appeared on stage in '' Life with Father'' and ''The Crucible''. She dropped out after completing two semesters of study.

In or around 1963, Locke essentially broke off contact with her family, concluding: "It made no sense for any of us to spend our lives pretending to have relationships that did not really exist." She never knew her biological father, and did not attend the funerals of her mother (deceased 1997) or stepfather (deceased 2007), nor did she have anything to do with her brother, sister-in-law and three nieces. Donald blamed Gordon Anderson – Locke's best friend since adolescence and future husband – for the rift, claiming Anderson had "an almost hypnotic spell on her."

Locke held a variety of jobs, including as a bookkeeper for Tyson Foods and secretary in a real-estate office. For a time she lived in the commuter town of Gallatin. In 1964, she joined the staff at radio station WSM-AM 650 in Nashville and was promoted to its television affiliate WSM-Channel 4 the following year. Locke's biggest coup while employed there was hosting actor Robert Loggia when Loggia visited Nashville to promote his TV pilot ''T.H.E. Cat'', during which he "flirted outrageously" with Locke. She also modeled for ''The Tennessean'' fashion page, acted in commercials for Rich-Schwartz ladies apparel and Southerland Gel mattresses, among others, and gained further stage experience in productions for Circle Players Inc. In 1966, the 22-year-old appeared in a UPI wire photo that showed her cavorting in new fallen snow. Within one year of this exposure, she decided to pursue a career in film and changed the spelling of her first name to avoid being called Sandy.

Career

Rise to prominence

In July 1967, Locke competed with 590 other Southern actresses and dozens of New York hopefuls for the part of Mick Kelly in a big-screen adaptation of Carson McCullers' novel '' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' opposite Alan Arkin. For the first audition in Birmingham, then-fiancé Gordon Anderson gave his bride a so-called Hollywood makeover: he bound her bosom,Peer J. Oppenheimer (November 24, 1968)
Sondra Locke– They Call Her 'The Beautiful Fake' : A selfless husband with a flair for fooling catapulted this shy officeworker to overnight stardom
'' Sarasota Herald-Tribune'' bleached her eyebrows and carefully fixed her hair, makeup and outfit so as to create a more gamine appearance. They also lied about her age, shaving off six years to make her seem youngerSondra Locke obituary
''The Times'', December 15, 2018 – a pretense Locke would keep up for the rest of her career. After callbacks in New Orleans