Sterling Hayden's Wars

by Lee Mandel

Overview

A master sailor when he was barely in his twenties, Sterling Hayden (1916-1986) became an overnight film star despite having no training in acting. After starring in two major films, he quit Hollywood and trained as a commando in Europe. Hayden joined the OSS and fought in the Balkans and Mediterranean, earning a Silver Star for his distinguished service. Hayden's wartime admiration for the Yugoslavian Partisans led to a brief membership in the Communist Party after the war, and this would come back to haunt him when he was called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee where he became the first star to name names.

After returning to Hollywood, Hayden's film career flourished as he starred in several films including The Asphalt Jungle, Denver and Rio Grande, and The Killing. His personal life, however, descended into chaos. His bitter custody battle with his second wife led to his well-publicized and controversial kidnapping of their four children for a voyage to Tahiti. Increasing alcohol and substance abuse would take its toll, but Hayden's career would be revived as a character actor in such classics as Dr. Strangelove and The Godfather. In addition, he proved to be an excellent author, penning two international bestsellers.

Despite these achievements, his later years were characterized by depression, self-doubt, alcoholism, and substance abuse. His life was metaphorically a series of wars, including the most difficult of them all—the war that Sterling Hayden fought with himself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496816979
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	05/03/2018
Series:	Hollywood Legends Series
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Lee Mandel, Suffolk, Virginia, is a retired US Navy physician with a passion for history and writing. He is author of two previous books and has appeared on the History Channel twice as a result of his work on the health history of President John F. Kennedy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Prologue xi

Introduction 3

Part 1 Preparing to Engage 7

Chapter 1 Beginnings 9

Chapter 2 The Lure of the Sea 14

Chapter 3 Mentors 30

Chapter 4 Youngest Captain 40

Chapter 5 Inventing a Hollywood Star 48

Part 2 The First War 57

Chapter 6 Walking Out on Hollywood 59

Chapter 7 Joining the OSS 82

Chapter 8 Yugoslavia 90

Chapter 9 Bravery, Chaos, and a Rescue Mission 104

Chapter 10 Missions to Albania and an Effort in Filmmaking 117

Chapter 11 Air Crew Rescue Unit and a Loss of Faith 131

Chapter 12 European Theater 150

Part 3 The Second War 157

Chapter 13 Joining the Communist Party in Hollywood 159

Chapter 14 Searching for Subversives in Hollywood 171

Chapter 15 Naming Names 192

Part 4 Later Battles 233

Chapter 16 Divorce and Escape 235

Chapter 17 Wanderer to Tahiti and Back 247

Chapter 18 A New Bride and Literary Acclaim 259

Chapter 19 Radical Redux 269

Chapter 20 Return to Film 274

Chapter 21 Alcohol, Hashish, and River Barges 278

Chapter 22 A Literary Triumph and Final Years 288

Epilogue 311

Notes 312

Bibliography and Sources 335

Index 339

Editorial Reviews

"Well-written and exhaustively researched. This is the definitive biography of Sterling Hayden."

—Irwin F. Gellman, author of The Contender: Richard Nixon, the Congress Years, 1946-1952 and The President and the Apprentice: Eisenhower and Nixon, 1952-1961




"Lee Mandel's Sterling Hayden's Wars is a tour de force about a famous American worthy of study. In this first-ever biography of Hayden, Mandel uses this man's life to document several interesting epochs of US history. In reading this book, one comes to appreciate the beginning of the Special Forces culture of the US Armed Forces since Hayden, as a Marine Corps officer, participated in the OSS fighting the Nazis in Europe. Furthermore, it goes into the culture of Hollywood and politics and how often these two worlds collide and influence one another. Since Hayden was caught up in the witch hunt of the Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s, this book shows that America unfortunately is not always the land of political freedom and ideological thought. By reading Hayden's biography, one gets into the psyche of a troubled mind and a man's journey in life that rivals those of other great 'troubled' Americans like Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, and Ernest Hemingway. On a micro-level, Hayden's life mirrors many of these Americans just mentioned. Hayden was a sailor, warrior, tormented soul, man of action, and talented author. By studying Hayden's life, one comes to learn about the US military of World War II, Hollywood during its glorious years of growth, American society, and the story of a fascinating man. Anyone interested in popular culture, Hollywood, war, and psychology will enjoy this book."

—Bryan Mark Rigg, author of Hitler's Jewish Soldiers: The Untold Story of Nazi Racial Laws and Men of Jewish Descent in the German Military

From the Publisher