Sterling Hayden
Biography
Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor and author. He dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and hired on as mate on a schooner. He was a ship's captain at 22, and in need of cash to buy his own boat, established himself as a model in New York, discovered by Paramount Studios talent scouts and offered a contract. Sterling Hayden, the handsome tall blond actor who played wholesome leading-man movie roles in the 1940's and 1950's and later weathered into a rough-hewn solid character actor in films such as "Dr. Strangelove", "The Godfather," "Nine to Five" and "King of the Gypsies". He appeared in 71 feature films and tv-productions from the debut in "Virginia" 1941 to the tv mini-series "The Blue and the Gray" in 1982. He wrote of his obsessive fascination with the sea in a 1963 autobiography, "Wanderer," and in 1970 his 700-page epic novel of the sea, "Voyage," was a main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. Sterling Hayden appeared in the German documentary, "Pharos of Chaos," (1983) filmed aboard his barge in Europe, and seemed to be in an alcoholic stupor much of the time, supplementing his wine intake with hashish. On camera he said: "What confuses me is I ain't all that unhappy. So why do I drink, I don't know."
Known For
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
The Godfather
1972
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
Playhouse 90
1956
Banacek
1972
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
1964
The Killing
1956
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
1977
The Starlost
1973
Nine to Five
1980
The Blue and the Gray
1982
Kubrick by Kubrick
2020
Filmography
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self · 1962
The Godfather
as Captain McCluskey · 1972
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Link Stevens · 1956
Playhouse 90
· 1956
Banacek
as Tony Fowler · 1972
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
as Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper · 1964
The Killing
as Johnny Clay · 1956
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
as Capt. Mark McCluskey · 1977
The Starlost
as Old Jeremiah · 1973
Nine to Five
as Russell Tinsworthy · 1980
The Blue and the Gray
as John Brown · 1982
Kubrick by Kubrick
as Self (archive footage) · 2020
The Long Goodbye
as Roger Wade · 1973
General Electric Theater
as Joe Turner · 1953
The Iron Sheriff
as Sheriff Samuel Galt · 1957
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
as Maj. Jim Curtis · 1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
· 1951
The Asphalt Jungle
as Dix Handley · 1950
The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980
as Captain Mark McCluskey · 1992
1900
as Leo Dalcò · 1976
King of the Gypsies
as King Zharko Stepanowicz · 1978
Prince Valiant
as Sir Gawain · 1954
The Last Command
as Jim Bowie · 1955
Johnny Guitar
as Johnny 'Guitar' Logan · 1954
Winter Kills
as Z.K. Dawson · 1979
Crime of Passion
as Lt. William Doyle · 1956
Crime Wave
as Det. Lt. Sims · 1953
Denver and Rio Grande
as McCabe · 1952
The Albatross
as Glass Man (voice) (archive footage) · 2016
Suddenly
as Sheriff Tod Shaw · 1954
Valerie
as John Garth · 1957
Naked Alibi
as Joe E. Conroy · 1954
Rat Pack
as Self (archive footage) · 2022
5 Steps to Danger
as John Emmett · 1956
Johnny Guitar: A Western Like No Other
as Self (archive footage) · 2016
Flaming Feather
as Tex McCloud · 1952
Venom
as Howard Anderson · 1981
Sweet Hunters
as Allan · 1970
The Starlost: The Beginning
as Jeremiah · 1980
Carol for Another Christmas
as Daniel Grudge · 1964
A Sound of Different Drummers
as Gordon Miller · 1957
Terror in a Texas Town
as George Hansen · 1958
Tell Us She Was One of You: The Hollywood Blacklist and 'Johnny Guitar'
as Self (archive footage) · 2016
Days of Wine and Roses
as Self (introduction) · 1958
Angel's Leap
as Mason / Custer · 1971
The Cinema According to Bertolucci
as Self · 1976
Arrow In The Dust
as Bart Laish · 1954
The Final Programme
as Maj. Wrongway Lindbergh · 1973
Cry, Onion!
as Henry 'Jack' Pullitzer · 1975
Ten Days To Tulara
as Scotty · 1958
Zero Hour!
as Captain Martin Treleaven · 1957
The Eternal Sea
as Rear-Adm. John Madison Hoskins · 1955
Hellgate
as Lt. Tod Voorhees · 1952
Johnny Guitar: A Feminist Western?
as Self (archive footage) · 2016
Gas
as Duke Stuyvesant · 1981
The Star
as Jim Johannsen aka Barry Lester · 1952
Take Me to Town
as Will Hall · 1953
Hard Contract
as Michael Carlson · 1969
El Paso
as Bert Donner · 1949
Variety Girl
as Sterling Hayden · 1947
Requiem for a Heavyweight
as Self (intro/outro) · 1956
So Big
as Pervis De Jong · 1953
Top Gun
as Rick Martin · 1955
Old Man
as Tall Convict · 1958
The Golden Hawk
as Kit 'The Hawk' Gerardo · 1952
Gun Battle at Monterey
as Jay Turner / John York · 1957
Kansas Pacific
as Capt. John Nelson · 1953
The Big Departure
as M. Nature / The Leader · 1972
Flat Top
as Commander Dan Collier · 1952
Deadly Strangers
as Malcolm Robarts · 1975
Blaze of Noon
as Tad McDonald · 1947
The Come On
as Dave Arnold · 1956
Shotgun
as Clay Hardin · 1955
The Outsider
as Seamus Flaherty · 1979
Fighter Attack
as Steve · 1953
Pharos of Chaos
as Self - Actor · 1983
Irving Johnson High Seas Adventurer
as Himself · 1985
Manhandled
as Joe Cooper · 1949
Journey Into Light
as Rev, John Burrows · 1951
Timberjack
as Tim Chipman · 1955
Battle Taxi
as Capt. Russ Edwards · 1955
Loving
as Lepridon · 1970
At Anchor / Land Under: A Film With Sterling Hayden
as Himself · 1982
Virginia
as Norman Williams · 1941
Bahama Passage
as Adrian Ainsworth · 1941