<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hollywood actress, director and producer Sondra Locke died on November 3, 2018, but the news remained a secret for weeks.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>To this day no one knows why the death of Locke - one of the few women behind the camera in the male-dominated film industry of the 1980s - was delayed until the middle of December of that year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Locke was best known for the six films she made with legendary Hollywood actor Clint Eastwood - whom she dated for 13 years - starting with the Western </span><em><span>The Outlaw Josey Wales</span></em><span> in 1976 and ending with the Dirty Harry movie </span><em><span>Sudden Impact</span></em><span> in 1983.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE"</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/british-police-say-multiple-people-were-stabbed-on-a-train-near-cambridge-and-2-individuals-arrested/0f8497e4-a984-4b4f-b94f-875fe955340d" rel="" target="_blank" title=" UK train stabbing suspect released without charge as 'hero' fights for life"><strong><span>UK train stabbing suspect released without charge as 'hero' fights for life</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Born Sandra Louise Smith, she took her stepfather's surname, before gaining her first big break in 1967 when she won a a nationwide talent search for a major role in the movie adaptation of Carson McCullers' 1940 novel </span><em><span>The Heart is a Lonely Hunte</span></em><span>r.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She earned rave reviews for the role along with nominations for a Golden Globe and an Oscar.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Locke then had a run of unmemorable film and TV roles until meeting Eastwood on the set of </span><em><span>Josey Wales</span></em><span>, which he both directed and starred in.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-november-3-what-happened-on-this-day/99bd04e5-e73c-4da6-9dfb-3863c9c99069" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her career would mirror his for the next several years. The pair's hit films also included the 1978 street-fighting and orangutan comedy </span><em><span>Every Which Way But Loose</span></em><span> and its 1980 sequel </span><em><span>Any Which Way You Can</span></em><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Locke also played singer Rosemary Clooney in a 1982 TV biopic, and directed the 1986 film Ratboy, which flopped in the US but was popular with critics in Europe.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In 1989, Locke's charmed career came to an end as Eastwood broke up with her, she later wrote. The locks were changed and her belongings were placed outside a home she thought had been a gift from Eastwood.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The pair entered a bitter legal battle that was not settled until 1996.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The break-up proved a hammer blow for Locke's career, with her claiming she was blacklisted by Hollywood power brokers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She was not included in the "In Memoriam" section of the Oscars in 2019, and Eastwood made no public comment on her death from bone cancer</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Locke, 74, died at her Los Angeles home of cardiac arrest stemming from bone cancer, according to her death certificate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Authorities were promptly notified at the time, but her death was not publicised until six weeks later by a US media outlet.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Locke was not part of the "In Memoriam" section of the Oscars in 2019, and Eastwood made no public comment on her death.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>- With AP</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span></span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" target="" title="For more from our Today in History archive, click here."><strong><span>For more from our Today in History archive, click here</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>.</span></em></strong></div></div>