Sterling Hayden
Known for: Acting
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."
Filmography
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Film
The Godfather
Captain McCluskey
1972
Series
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Link Stevens
1956
Series
Playhouse 90
1956
Film
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper
1964
Series
Banacek
Tony Fowler
1972
Series
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
Capt. Mark McCluskey
1977
Film
The Killing
Johnny Clay
1956
Film
The Long Goodbye
Roger Wade
1973
Film
Nine to Five
Russell Tinsworthy
1980
Series
The Starlost
Old Jeremiah
1973
Film
The Asphalt Jungle
Dix Handley
1950
Film
1900
Leo Dalcò
1976
Film
Johnny Guitar
Johnny 'Guitar' Logan
1954
Series
The Blue and the Gray
John Brown
1982
Film
Prince Valiant
Sir Gawain
1954
Film
Suddenly
Sheriff Tod Shaw
1954
Series
General Electric Theater
Joe Turner
1953
Film
King of the Gypsies
King Zharko Stepanowicz
1978
Film
Winter Kills
Z.K. Dawson
1979
Film
The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980
Captain Mark McCluskey
1992
Film
Kubrick by Kubrick
Self (archive footage)
2020
Film
Crime of Passion
Lt. William Doyle
1956
Film
Venom
Howard Anderson
1981
Film
Cry, Onion!
Henry 'Jack' Pullitzer
1975
Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Maj. Jim Curtis
1951
Series
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
Film
The Last Command
Jim Bowie
1955
Film
The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
Capt. Mark McCluskey
2016
Film
Crime Wave
Det. Lt. Sims
1953
Film
Rat Pack
Self (archive footage)
2022
Film
Zero Hour!
Captain Martin Treleaven
1957
Film
Variety Girl
Sterling Hayden
1947
Film
Flaming Feather
Tex McCloud
1952
Film
Shotgun
Clay Hardin
1955
Film
Sweet Hunters
Allan
1970
Film
Terror in a Texas Town
George Hansen
1958
Film
El Paso
Bert Donner
1949
Film
Arrow In The Dust
Bart Laish
1954
Film
Naked Alibi
Joe E. Conroy
1954
Film
Hellgate
Lt. Tod Voorhees
1952
Film
Valerie
John Garth
1957
Film
Kansas Pacific
Capt. John Nelson
1953
Film
Manhandled
Joe Cooper
1949
Film
Denver and Rio Grande
McCabe
1952
Film
The Final Programme
Maj. Wrongway Lindbergh
1973
Film
5 Steps to Danger
John Emmett
1956
Film
The Eternal Sea
Rear-Adm. John Madison Hoskins
1955
Film
Top Gun
Rick Martin
1955
Film
The Golden Hawk
Kit 'The Hawk' Gerardo
1952
Film
Tell Us She Was One of You: The Hollywood Blacklist and 'Johnny Guitar'
Self (archive footage)
2016
Film
The Albatross
Glass Man (voice) (archive footage)
2016
Film
Carol for Another Christmas
Daniel Grudge
1964
Film
The Big Departure
M. Nature / The Leader
1972
Film
The Cinema According to Bertolucci
Self
1976
Film
The Star
Jim Johannsen aka Barry Lester
1952
Film
So Big
Pervis De Jong
1953
Film
The Come On
Dave Arnold
1956
Film
Timberjack
Tim Chipman
1955
Film
Angel's Leap
Mason / Custer
1971
Film
Old Man
Tall Convict
1958
Film
A Sound of Different Drummers
Gordon Miller
1957
Film
Johnny Guitar: A Western Like No Other
Self (archive footage)
2016
Film
Deadly Strangers
Malcolm Robarts
1975
Film
Blaze of Noon
Tad McDonald
1947
Film
Pharos of Chaos
Self - Actor
1983
Film
Fighter Attack
Steve
1953
Film
Gas
Duke Stuyvesant
1981
Film
The Iron Sheriff
Sheriff Samuel Galt
1957
Film
Days of Wine and Roses
Self (introduction)
1958
Film
The Outsider
Seamus Flaherty
1979
Film
Bahama Passage
Adrian Ainsworth
1941
Film
Flat Top
Commander Dan Collier
1952
Film
Requiem for a Heavyweight
Self (intro/outro)
1956
Film
Journey Into Light
Rev, John Burrows
1951
Film
Hard Contract
Michael Carlson
1969
Film
Loving
Lepridon
1970
Film
Take Me to Town
Will Hall
1953
Film
Gun Battle at Monterey
Jay Turner / John York
1957
Film
The Starlost: The Beginning
Jeremiah
1980
Film
Johnny Guitar: A Feminist Western?
Self (archive footage)
2016
Film
Ten Days To Tulara
Scotty
1958
Film
Battle Taxi
Capt. Russ Edwards
1955
Film
Virginia
Norman Williams
1941
Film
At Anchor / Land Under: A Film With Sterling Hayden
Himself
1982
Irving Johnson High Seas Adventurer
Himself
1985