Louis Hayward

Louis Hayward was a South African-born British-American actor whose Broadway career spanned from 1935 to 1963. Born Louis Charles Hayward on 19 March 1909 in Johannesburg, he was raised in South Africa before receiving his education in France and England, attending Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, London. He died on 21 February 1985 in Palm Springs at the age of 75.

Before pursuing acting professionally, Hayward managed a nightclub, then bought into a stock company to launch his stage career. He became a protégé of Noël Coward and built his early theatrical reputation in London, appearing in productions including Dracula, Another Language, and Gerald du Maurier's The Church Mouse. He also appeared in Coward's musical Conversation Piece in 1934. Alongside his stage work, Hayward began taking roles in British films in the early 1930s, including Self Made Lady (1932), The Man Outside (1933), Chelsea Life (1933), in which he had the lead, and several supporting parts in Sorrell and Son, The Thirteenth Candle, and I'll Stick to You, all from 1933. He then starred in The Love Test (1935), directed by Michael Powell.

Hayward made his Broadway debut in 1935 in Coward's Point Valaine, performing alongside Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Though the production ran only six weeks and was considered a failure both critically and commercially, Hayward received the Donaldson Award, a precursor to the Tony Awards, for his performance. His second and final Broadway credit was Camelot, in which he appeared as King Arthur during the national tour in the early 1960s.

Following Point Valaine, Hayward signed a four-picture contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His Hollywood career began with a supporting role in The Flame Within (1935), written and directed by Edmund Goulding. He subsequently appeared in A Feather in Her Hat for Columbia, billed after Basil Rathbone, and returned to MGM for supporting parts in Absolute Quiet (1935) and Trouble for Two (1936). His profile rose considerably when he was cast in the prologue of Warner Bros.' Anthony Adverse (1936), playing the father of the title character. At Universal he took the male lead in The Luckiest Girl in the World (1936) opposite Jane Wyatt, and at RKO he supported Paul Muni and Miriam Hopkins in The Woman I Love (1937). He also starred in Midnight Intruder (1938), directed by Arthur Lubin, and RKO's Condemned Women (1938).

A significant career milestone came when Hayward was cast as the first screen Simon Templar in The Saint in New York (1938) at RKO, a commercially successful film that launched a long-running series, though the subsequent five entries starred George Sanders. Hayward eventually reprised the role in The Saint's Return in 1954. Producer Edward Small signed Hayward to a three-film contract beginning with The Duke of West Point (1938), then built him into a star through a dual role in The Man in the Iron Mask (1939), directed by James Whale and co-starring Joan Bennett, which proved a notable success. Small continued the partnership with My Son, My Son! (1940) and The Son of Monte Cristo (1940), another swashbuckler with Bennett. RKO borrowed Hayward for Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), in which he appeared alongside Maureen O'Hara and Lucille Ball. He was also loaned to Columbia to co-star with his then-wife Ida Lupino in Ladies in Retirement (1941).

In July 1942, Hayward enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He commanded a photographic unit that filmed the Battle of Tarawa, resulting in the documentary With the Marines at Tarawa, which won the 1944 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and attained the rank of captain.

Returning to Hollywood after the war, Hayward played Philip Lombard in René Clair's And Then There Were None (1945). He went on to co-star with Jane Russell in Young Widow (1946), support Hedy Lamarr in The Strange Woman (1946), and return to the swashbuckler genre with Monte Cristo's Revenge (1947). Further film work in the late 1940s and early 1950s included Repeat Performance (1947), Ruthless (1948) with Zachary Scott, Walk a Crooked Mile (1948), House by the River (1950) directed by Fritz Lang for Republic Pictures, and several Columbia adventure films including Fortunes of Captain Blood (1950) and The Son of Dr. Jekyll (1951).

Hayward transitioned into television in 1952 with an appearance on The Ford Television Theatre and starred in the 1954 syndicated series The Lone Wolf, which ran for 39 episodes. He also starred in the British television series The Pursuers from 1961 to 1962 and appeared in a 1961 television production of The Picture of Dorian Gray alongside George C. Scott. His guest appearances spanned numerous series including Climax!, Studio One in Hollywood, Rawhide, Burke's Law, and the Alfred Hitchcock Hour. His final screen appearance was in a 1974 episode of The Magician titled "The Illusion of the Lethal Playthings."

In recognition of his contributions to film and television, Hayward received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, located at 1500 and 1680 Vine Street. In his personal life, he married actress and director Ida Lupino on 17 November 1938 in Santa Barbara, California; they divorced in 1945. He subsequently married Peggy Morrow on 29 May 1946, and they divorced on 13 March 1950. With his third wife, June Hanson, he had one son, Dana. Hayward publicly attributed his cancer to a habit of smoking three packs of cigarettes daily for more than five decades.