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Sondra Locke death: Oscar-nominated actor and Clint Eastwood's former partner dies aged 74

She had a 13-year relationship with Eastwood

Jacob Stolworthy
Friday 14 December 2018 09:06 GMT
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Sondra Locke stars in Every Which Way But Loose trailer

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Oscar-nominated actor Sondra Locke has died at the age of 74.

Locke died on 3 November after suffering cardiac arrest at her home in Los Angeles, according to reports.

A death certificate obtained by The Associated Press shows that her death stemmed from breast and bone cancer. It is unclear why Locke's death took almost six weeks to be reported.

Locke was best known for the six films she made with Clint Eastwood in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including The Outlaw Josey Wales, Dirty Harry sequel Sudden Impact and Every Which Way But Loose.

She and Eastwood also had a 13-year romantic relationship.

Locke was born Sandra Louise Smith and worked at a radio station in Tennessee before winning a nationwide talent search to star alongside Alan Arkin in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter in 1968.

Her film debut later scored her an Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category. She was beat by Ruth Gordon who won for Roman Polanski chiller Rosemary's Baby.

In 1989, Locke broke up with Eastwood who changed the locks and placed her belongings outside a home that had been a gift from the actor-director.

She sued her former partner for palimony and later sued him again for fraud after alleging a movie deal he had arranged for her was designed to get her to drop palimony suit. The lawsuit was later settled for an undisclosed amount in 1996.

At the time of her death, Locke was legally married to actor Gordon Anderson, whom she wed in 1967. They remained "good friends" and he is said to have ben the one who reported her death.

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