A new edition of The Intellectual Devotional, this time with a focus on Modern Culture, will be available in stores on October 14. (Click here to pre-order your copy.) As well as continuing to expand on posts from the General Edition, “The Devoted Intellect” blog will introduce and expand on material from the Modern Culture devotional. Today’s entry on Clint Eastwood is from the “Personalities” section.

Clint Eastwood’s personal life erupted into scandal when spurned former lover Sondra Locke sued Warner Bros. in 1992 for fraud and contractual interference, claiming that the studio deliberately keep her from directing, producing and acting as a favor to the star. Her lawsuit stemmed from a three-year, $1.5 million “pay or play” development deal she cut with Warner Bros. in 1990, negotiated for her by Eastwood, in exchange for dropping her palimony case against the actor. She alleged that the studio entered into the contract in bad faith, never intending to allow her to develop any of her films. Despite pitching more than 30 projects to the studio during her three-year contract, Warner Bros. never developed any of Locke’s films or offered her any opportunities to direct.

Eastwood and Locke began their tempestuous 14-year relationship when they met on the set of The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976). They subsequently co-starred together in five films: The Gauntlet (1977), Every Which Way but Loose (1978), Bronco Billy (1978), Any Which Way You Can (1980), and Sudden Impact (1983). Locke maintained that she learned of their breakup in 1989 when she came home to discover that Eastwood had changed the locks of their house and put her belongings in storage. She also asserted that he had coerced her into having two abortions and a tubal ligation. The actor adamantly denied these charges, but his reputation was tarnished when it subsequently surfaced that he had fathered two children, Scott Reeves Eastwood (b. March 21, 1986) and Kathryn Eastwood (b. Feb 2, 1988), with airline hostess Jacelyn Reeves during his relationship with Locke.

Locke filed a $1.3 million palimony suit against her ex, and Eastwood was determined to keep the salacious details of their relationship away from the press. He convinced her to drop the lawsuit, by offering to use his pull with Warner Bros. to secure her now-infamous development contract. It was during a pretrial hearing for the Warner Bros. lawsuit that Locke discovered that Eastwood had financed her entire contract, secretly paying off the studio for keeping her on at the company. This prompted Locke to sue Eastwood for fraud in 1994.
After years of public wrangling, Locke’s lawsuit was settled out of court in 1999. The settlement purportedly provided Locke with a position at Warner Bros., but specifics and monetary amounts were kept strictly hush hush. When asked how she felt about going back to the company that she believes had wronged her, Locke shrugged her shoulders and giggled, “Hey, that’s Hollywood.” For his part, While shooting the best-selling romance novel, The Bridges of Madison County, Eastwood famously quipped, ‘This romantic stuff is really tough. I can’t wait to get back to shooting and killing.’”

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