Sterling Walter Hayden

Sterling Walter Hayden, born Sterling Relyea Walter (March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986)

Hayden was an actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle, and The Killing. Later on he became noted for appearing in supporting roles such as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). He also played the Irish American policeman Captain McCluskey in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather in 1972 and the novelist Roger Wade in 1973's The Long Goodbye. He played the role of Leo Dalcò in Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900 in 1976. At 6 feet 5 inches he towered over most other actors. In the 1970s, after his appearance in The Godfather, he appeared several times on NBC's Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder, where he talked about his career resurgence and how it had funded his travels and adventures around the world.

Hayden bought a canal barge in the Netherlands in 1969, eventually moving it to the heart of Paris and living on it part of the time. He also shared a home in Wilton, Connecticut, with his family and had an apartment in Sausalito. He returned to Hollywood for King of the Gypsies (1978), Winter Kills (1979), and 9 to 5 (1980). Hayden wrote two acclaimed books: an autobiography, Wanderer (1962), and a novel, Voyage (1976). Sterling Hayden died of prostate cancer in Sausalito in 1986, age 70.