Sterling Hayden

Active - 1941 - 2023  |   Born - Mar 26, 1916 in Montclair, New Jersey, United States  |   Died - May 23, 1986   |   Genres - Drama, Western, Crime

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Biography by AllMovie

American actor Sterling Hayden was a Hollywood leading man of the '40s and '50s who went on to become a character actor in later years. At age 16 he dropped out of school to become a mate on a schooner, beginning a life-long love affair with the sea; by age 22 he was a ship's captain. Extremely good looking, he modeled professionally to earn enough money to buy his own vessel; this led to a movie contract with Paramount in 1940. Within a year he was famous, having starred in two technicolor movies, Virginia (1941) and Bahama Passage (1942); both featured the somewhat older actress Madeleine Carroll, to whom he was married from 1942-46. With these films, Paramount began trumpeting him as "The Most Beautiful Man in the Movies" and "The Beautiful Blond Viking God." Shortly after making these two films he joined the Marines to serve in World War II. After the war he landed inconsequential roles until a part as a hoodlum in The Asphalt Jungle (1950) demonstrated his skill as an actor. After this his career was spotty, marked for the most part by inferior films (with some notable exceptions, such as Dr. Strangelove [1964]) and frequent abandonment of the screen in favor of the sea. It was said that Hayden was never particularly interested in his work as an actor, vastly preferring the life of a sailor. His obsession with the sea and his various voyages are described in his 1963 autobiography, Wanderer, in which he also expresses regret for having cooperated with the House Un-American Activities Commission during the early '50s McCarthy-Era "witch trials." He published a novel in 1976, Voyage: A Novel of 1896; it was named as a selection of the Book of the Month Club.

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  • Dropped out of high school to pursue his love of sailing; served as a sailor and fireman on vessels and eventually captained a ship around the world at age 22.
  • Took up modeling and acting in order to financially support his sailing hobby; received his first movie contract with Paramount Pictures in 1940.
  • Promoted by Paramount as "The Most Beautiful Man in the Movies" and "The Beautiful Blond Viking God."
  • Served in World War II for the Office of Strategic Services under the pseudonym John Hamilton; awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action.
  • Testified for the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1951, admitting his past membership with the Communist party and naming names. 
  • A custody battle with his second wife, Betty Ann de Noon, caused him to leave Hollywood in 1959; defied court orders and sailed with his children to the South Seas, which inspired his 1963 autobiography Wanderer.