Sterling Hayden (1916-86) was a fine actor who never really wanted to act. His first love was the sea, and in fact, the desire to buy a boat prompted him to begin modeling which led, in 1940, to a contract with Paramount. With no previous acting experience, he starred in several films that made him a star. But his career stalled while he served overseas in World War II. Back home after five years, he continued acting with BLAZE OF NOON, but apart from a brief appearance later that year in VARIETY GIRL, no other offers were forthcoming. In 1949, Hayden resurfaced in a John Wayne Western, EL PASO, and his first film noir, MANHANDLED. Then he starred in John Huston's classic noir THE ASPHALT JUNGLE in a hard-boiled role that pretty much defined the remainder of his career. He spent the majority of the early ‘50s in a variety of other genre outings, many of them Westerns. He played a tough sheriff in the Sinatra noir SUDDENLY and headlined the oft-imitated and widely acclaimed crime story THE KILLING, similar in many ways to THE ASPHALT JUNGLE. Saddled with a series of lackluster films, he again left acting in 1958 to return to the sea, and spent the rest of his life zigzagging between retirement and acting.
STERLING HAYDEN
Sterling Hayden (1916-86) was a fine actor who never really wanted to act. His first love was the sea, and in fact, the desire to buy a boat prompted him to begin modeling which led, in 1940, to a contract with Paramount. With no previous acting experience, he starred in several films that made him a star. But his career stalled while he served overseas in World War II. Back home after five years, he continued acting with BLAZE OF NOON, but apart from a brief appearance later that year in VARIETY GIRL, no other offers were forthcoming. In 1949, Hayden resurfaced in a John Wayne Western, EL PASO, and his first film noir, MANHANDLED. Then he starred in John Huston's classic noir THE ASPHALT JUNGLE in a hard-boiled role that pretty much defined the remainder of his career. He spent the majority of the early ‘50s in a variety of other genre outings, many of them Westerns. He played a tough sheriff in the Sinatra noir SUDDENLY and headlined the oft-imitated and widely acclaimed crime story THE KILLING, similar in many ways to THE ASPHALT JUNGLE. Saddled with a series of lackluster films, he again left acting in 1958 to return to the sea, and spent the rest of his life zigzagging between retirement and acting.
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