Sterling Hayden | |
|---|---|
 Hayden in 1953 | |
| Born | Sterling Relyea Walter (1916-03-26)March 26, 1916 |
| Died | May 23, 1986(1986-05-23) (aged 70) Sausalito, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Sterling Walter Hayden John Hamilton |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1941–1982 |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 6 |
| Relatives | Scott McConnell (stepson) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Marine Corps |
| Service years | 1941–1945 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Office of Strategic Services |
| Conflicts | World War II |
| Awards | List |
Sterling Walter Hayden (bornSterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor. Aleading man for most of his career, he specialized inWesterns andfilm noir throughout the 1950s, in films such asJohn Huston'sThe Asphalt Jungle (1950),Nicholas Ray'sJohnny Guitar (1954), andStanley Kubrick'sThe Killing (1956). In the 1960s, he became noted for supporting roles, perhaps most memorably as General Jack D. Ripper in Kubrick'sDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).
Hayden's success continued into theNew Hollywood era, with roles such asIrish-American policemanCaptain McCluskey inFrancis Ford Coppola'sThe Godfather (1972), alcoholic novelist Roger Wade inRobert Altman'sThe Long Goodbye (1973), elderly peasant Leo Dalcò inBernardo Bertolucci's1900 (1976), and chairman of the board Russell Tinsworthy in9 to 5 (1980). With a distinctive "rapid-fire baritone" voice and an imposing stature at 6 ft 5 in (196 cm),[1][2] he had a commanding screen presence in both leading and supporting roles.
Hayden often professed a distaste for acting and used his earnings to finance his numerous voyages as a sailor. He was also a decoratedMarine Corps officer and anOffice of Strategic Services agent during World War II.
Hayden was born March 26, 1916, inUpper Montclair, New Jersey, to George and Frances (Simonson) Walter, who named him Sterling Relyea Walter.[3][4][5] After his father died, Sterling was adopted at age nine by James Hayden and renamed Sterling Walter Hayden. As a child, he lived in coastal towns ofNew England.[6]
Hayden dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and took a job as mate on a schooner.[7] His first voyage was toNewport Beach, California, fromNew London, Connecticut.[6] Later, he was a fisherman on theGrand Banks ofNewfoundland, ran a charter yacht, and served as a fireman on 11 trips toCuba aboard a steamer.[6]
Heskippered a trading schooner in the Caribbean after earning hismaster's license, and in 1937 he served as mate on a world cruise of the brigantineYankee.[6] After working as a sailor and fireman on largervessels and sailing around the world several times, he was awarded his first command at age 22, skippering thesquare riggerFlorence C. Robinson 7,700 miles fromGloucester, Massachusetts, toTahiti in 1938.[6][8][9] Hayden spoke of his nautical experiences before the monthly meeting of theAdventurers' Club of New York on March 21, 1940.[10]
In 1938, Hayden's photo was taken during the annual Gloucester, Massachusetts, Fishermen's Race. It went on the cover of a magazine, promptingParamount Pictures to call and offer a screen test. Hayden did a test in New York with Jeanne Cagney, James Cagney's sister. Hayden later said:
I was completely lost, ignorant, nervous. But the next thing I knew, Paramount made me a seven-year contract beginning at $250 a week, which was astronomical. I got my lovely old mother and bought a car, and we drove to California... I was so lost then I didn't think to analyze it. I said, 'This is nuts, but, damned, it's pleasant.' I had only one plan in mind: to get $5,000. I knew where there was a schooner, and then I'd haul ass.[11]
Hayden went to Paramount in May 1940.[12] The studio dubbed the 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) actor "The Most Beautiful Man in the Movies" and "The Beautiful Blond Viking God".
His first film,Virginia (1941), directed byEdward H. Griffith, starredMadeleine Carroll whom he married. He, Griffith and Carroll were reunited inBahama Passage (1941). By December 1941, it was reported that Hayden had quit the movie business and declared, "I'm no actor! I'm a sailor."[13]
After his two Paramount film roles, Hayden left Hollywood to fight in World War II. He enlisted in theArmy and was sent toScotland for training, but broke his ankle and was discharged.[14]
Once he recovered from his injury, he chose to re-enlist in theMarine Corps. He was reportedly worried that his fellow Marines would not take him seriously because of his Hollywood fame, and so he adopted thepseudonym "John Hamilton", which he would carry throughout his war service.[15] In June 1943, he had his name legally changed to John Hamilton.[16]
After selection to and graduation from Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS), Hamilton was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve and was transferred for duty as an undercover agent withWilliam J. "Wild Bill" Donovan'sOffice of the Coordinator of Information. Hamilton remained there after it became theOffice of Strategic Services (OSS).[17][18][19]
He received theSilver Star for gallantry in action in theBalkans andMediterranean (according to his citation, "Lt. Hamilton displayed great courage in making hazardous sea voyages in enemy-infested waters and reconnaissance through enemy-held areas"), aBronze Arrowhead device for parachuting behind enemy lines, and a commendation from Yugoslavia'sJosip Broz Tito. He left active duty on December 24, 1945.[19] Tito awarded him the Order of Merit.[20]
He returned to the United States and told the press, "I feel a real obligation to make this a better country – and I believe the movies are the place to do it."[21] He signed a contract with Paramount and was cast as one of several brothers in an aviation film,Blaze of Noon (1947). The studio suspended him when he turned down a role inThe Sainted Sisters.[22]
Hayden made two films forPine Thomas Productions which distributed through Paramount: one was a Western,El Paso (1949), featuringJohn Payne; the other wasManhandled (1949), a thriller withDorothy Lamour. In 1950, Hayden appeared in one of his most celebrated roles as the "hooligan" (tough guy) Dix Handley in the Academy Award-nominated filmThe Asphalt Jungle.
Hayden's admiration for the Communist partisans he had fought alongside during World War II led him into a brief membership in theCommunist Party (CPUSA) from June to December of 1946.[14] In one of his CPUSA assignments, he supported an effort by the Communist-controlled motion picture painters union to absorb other film industry unions.[23]
In September 1947, theHouse Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) subpoenaed ten screenwriters and directors (known later as the "Hollywood Ten") as part of an investigation into "subversive" elements in the film industry. Immediately, a large group of movie luminaries, including Hayden, formed theCommittee for the First Amendment to protest what they perceived as political harassment. In the next few years, as theSecond Red Scare gripped the U.S., the HUAC expanded its probe to include all entertainment industry professionals with suspected links, past or present, to the CPUSA. Consequently, Hayden became a target.[3]
In 1950, fearful that "his past might cost him his future", the actor sought the aid of entertainment lawyerMartin Gang, known as the best "clearance lawyer" in Hollywood.[24] Gang first sent a letter toFBI DirectorJ. Edgar Hoover, asking about "an unnamed client who had joined the Party as a youthful indiscretion, now regretted it, and wanted to clear his name." Hoover recommended talking to the local FBI people, "so that if anybody subsequently makes a complaint we'll know he [the unnamed client] is all right as far as we're concerned.[25] Gang then met with HUAC Chief CounselFrank Tavenner to work out an acceptable format for Hayden's testimony.[25]
Upon Gang's advice—and in a decision that would haunt Hayden—the actor agreed to become a "friendly witness" and "name names". He later said, "the FBI made it very clear to me that, if I became an 'unfriendly witness', I could damn well forget the custody of my children. I didn't want to go to jail, that was the other thing."[11] The HUAC subpoenaed Hayden in late March 1951. On April 10, he testified before the Committee inWashington, D.C. that joining the Party was "the stupidest and most ignorant thing I have ever done in my life".[14] He added that after he quit the Party, actressKaren Morley tried to persuade him to rejoin but he refused.[14]
Due to his decorated war service in the Marines, and his decision to cooperate with the Committee, Hayden received favorable press coverage during this period.[26] ButVictor Navasky wrote that the actor "named his former mistress, Bea Winters (his agent's secretary), who had recruited him into the Party.[27] He also named, among others,Robert Lees,Karen Morley,Maurice Murphy, andAbraham Lincoln Polonsky. The result was that he ended up as a hero to the public but a coward to himself".[28][29] For decades afterward, Hayden expressed remorse over his testimony. In his autobiography he wrote, "I don't think you have the foggiest notion of the contempt I have had for myself since the day I did that thing."[3] Because of his cooperative testimony, Hayden was "cleared" by the HUAC and avoided theHollywood blacklist.
In the 1951 filmJourney into Light, Hayden portrayed a minister who doubts his faith. He had a prominent role alongsideBette Davis inThe Star (1952). He followed these two performances with a series of action films:Denver and Rio Grande (1952), a Western for Paramount;Hellgate (1952), another Western;The Golden Hawk (1952), a pirate swashbuckler for producerSam Katzman;Flat Top (1952), aKorean War drama; andFighter Attack (1953), a World War II film.[30]
By working regularly in leading and supporting roles, Hayden earned a substantial income. In November 1952, at the start of his lengthy divorce from his second wife, Betty Ann de Noon (whom he married in 1947[31]), it was revealed in court proceedings that he made $100,000 in the prior year.[32]
In 1953, he co-starred withJane Wyman inSo Big, a melodrama adapted from anEdna Ferber novel. He then returned to medium-budget action films:Take Me to Town (1953), a Western withAnn Sheridan;Kansas Pacific (1953), a Western forWalter Mirisch; andCrime Wave (1954), a film noir.[33]
Hayden had a supporting role in a major studio picture,Prince Valiant (1954), playingSir Gawain. He followed it with a conventional Western "B picture",Arrow in the Dust (1954). At first his next project,Johnny Guitar (1954), seemed like just another Western, but this one starredJoan Crawford and was directed byNicholas Ray. It became a box office hit and a cult favorite. It was financed byRepublic Pictures, which used Hayden on several other occasions.[34]
He was cast in more film noirs:Naked Alibi (1954) withGloria Grahame andSuddenly (1954) with Frank Sinatra. Then it was action films:Battle Taxi (1955), about helicopter rescue teams in theKorean War;Timberjack (1955), a Western for Republic;Shotgun (1955), a Western withYvonne de Carlo;The Eternal Sea (1955), a World War II naval story;Top Gun (1955), a Western for producerEdward Small.
The Last Command (1955) was a Republic Pictures film about theAlamo, with Hayden asJim Bowie.The Come On (1956) was a film noir withAnne Baxter. Hayden also began obtaining acting jobs on TV shows such asCelebrity Playhouse.
In 1956, Hayden starred in a heist film,The Killing, by an up-and-coming filmmaker namedStanley Kubrick. AlthoughThe Killing fared poorly at the box office, it garnered strong critical praise. Hayden would work again later with Kubrick onDr. Strangelove (1964).
Notwithstanding his occasional appearances in acclaimed films, Hayden remained a "B picture" star in the 1950s:Crime of Passion (1957), a noir;5 Steps to Danger (1957), a mystery film;Valerie (1957), a Western "noir";Zero Hour! (1957), a disaster film;Gun Battle at Monterey (1957), a Western;The Iron Sheriff (1957), a Western for Edward Small;Ten Days to Tulara (1958), an adventure film;Terror in a Texas Town (1958), a Western.[35]
He also worked frequently on television, in shows such asDick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre,Wagon Train,General Electric Theater,Schlitz Playhouse,Playhouse 90,Goodyear Theatre, andThe DuPont Show of the Month.
Hayden often professed distaste for film acting, saying he did it mainly to pay for his schooners and voyages. In 1958, after a bitter divorce from Betty Ann de Noon, Hayden was awarded custody of their four children.[36] In 1959, he defied a court order, which barred him from taking the children out of the U.S., by sailing toTahiti with all four: Christian, Dana, Gretchen and Matthew.[37][38]
The crew sailed from San Francisco Bay to Tahiti, where Hayden had planned to film a movie. He also invited along the well-known photographerDody Weston Thompson to document the trip and to help shoot location choices. Her South Seas folio contains photographs of Hayden's 98-footschooner,Wanderer; on-deck photos of life aboard the ship; colorful prints of his children, as well as Tahitian women and children; and unique artifacts on shore. The film never materialized; however, according to Dody's notes,U.S. Camera and Travel printed her photographs of paradise in 1961.Marin County Superior Court JudgeHarold Haley later ordered Hayden to repayRepublic Pictures nearly $50,000 to recover the cost of financing the trip.[39]
In 1960, he married Catherine Devine McConnell. They had two sons, Andrew and David, and were married until his death in 1986. McConnell also had a son (Scott McConnell) from her first marriage to Neil McConnell, an heir toAvon's founding family.
In November 1960, Hayden said he was a "sailor or writer" rather than an actor.[40] He was still troubled by his HUAC testimony and was quoted as saying, "I'd had it... One way or another, I felt that I had sold out – or failed – at almost everything in my whole life. It was either turn things around or hang myself."[41]
In the early 1960s, he rented one of the pilot houses of the retired ferryboatBerkeley, docked inSausalito, California, where he lived while writing his autobiographyWanderer, which was first published in 1963.[3]
In 1963, Stanley Kubrick coaxed Hayden out of retirement to play one of his best-known characters, the deranged General Jack D. Ripper inDr. Strangelove (1964). In that same year, Hayden appeared inA Carol for Another Christmas on television.
In 1964 Hayden joinedMark Lane'sCitizens Committee of Inquiry.[42] He bought a canal barge in the Netherlands in 1969, eventually moving it to the heart of Paris and living on it part of the year. He also kept a home inWilton, Connecticut with his family, and he had an apartment in Sausalito.[43]
Hayden returned to acting withHard Contract (1969), supporting James Coburn, andLoving (1970), co-starringGeorge Segal andEva Marie Saint. "I'll go back to Hollywood to pick up a dollar, but that's all", he said. "Everything is wrong with that city."[44]
He went to Europe where he appeared inTernos Caçadores (1970),Angel's Leap (1971) andLe grand départ (1972). He had small but important parts inThe Godfather (1972) andThe Long Goodbye (1973). He did more films in Europe:The Final Programme (1973),Deadly Strangers (1975),Cipolla Colt (1975) and1900 (1975). He was offered the role of "Quint" inJaws (1975) but turned it down.[45][46]
In the 1970s, after his performance inThe Godfather reintroduced him to American audiences, Hayden was a guest several times on NBC'sTomorrow Show withTom Snyder. In the interviews, Hayden was sporting a long, scraggly beard. He talked about his career resurgence and how it had funded his travels and adventures around the world.[47] He also appeared on the Canadian sci-fi TV seriesThe Starlost, and the American detective showBanacek.
He returned to Hollywood forKing of the Gypsies (1978),Winter Kills (1979),The Outsider (1980),9 to 5 (1980),Gas (1981),Venom (1981) andThe Blue and the Gray (1982).
In 1981, he was arrested for possession ofhashish atToronto International Airport.[48]
Hayden wrote two acclaimed books: an autobiography,Wanderer (1963), and a novel,Voyage (1976). He said they made him "a lot of money" but he lost most of it to taxes.[49]
In 1983, he appeared in a documentary of his life,Pharos of Chaos.[50]
Hayden's first wife was actress Madeleine Carroll.
In 1947 he Married Betty Ann de Noon, and they had four children.
Hayden was later married to Catherine Devine McConnell from 1960 until his death. They had two children, Andrew and David.[51]
Hayden died ofprostate cancer in Sausalito in 1986, age 70.[7]
Hayden received the following awards during World War II:
 | Silver Star Medal |
 | American Campaign Medal |
   | European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal withArrowhead Device and 1 bronze service star |
 | World War II Victory Medal |
Hayden, under his nom de guerre Lieutenant John Hamilton, and in his role as an OSS agent, appears as a secondary figure inJames R. Benn's 2012 novelDeath's Door, which was part of the Billy Boyle World War II Mystery series. Hayden/Hamilton assists in getting protagonist Billy Boyle through German-occupied Italy.[52]
In the 1975 filmThree Days of the Condor, when John Houseman's CIA character, Mr. Wabash, is asked if he served in theOSS duringWorld War II underColonel Bill Donovan, Wabash replies, "I sailed theAdriatic with a movie star at the helm. It doesn't seem like much of a war now, but it was." He was referring to Sterling Hayden, who was attached to the OSS at the time.
In the 2020 filmFriend of the World, the General Gore character portrayed byNick Young is juxtaposed with Hayden's General Jack D. Ripper character fromDr. Strangelove.[53][54][55]
Not often does a man find himself eulogized for having behaved in a manner that he himself despises.
Sterling Hayden will not be fired for admitting he once was a member of the Communist party, but at least one of the Hollywood people he named in Washington today may fare less well. Bea Winter, stenographer for Horizon Pictures, was told 'not to come to work until this thing is cleared up,' a studio spokesman said.
