Brooke Hayward is an American actress. Her memoir, ''
Haywire'', was a best-seller.
Early life and education
Born in Los Angeles in 1937, Hayward is the eldest of three children born to agent turned film, television, and stage producer
Leland Hayward
Leland Hayward (September 13, 1902 – March 18, 1971) was an American talent agent and theatrical producer. He was an agent to about 150 artists in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood, and produced the original Broadway theatre, Broadway st ...
and actress
Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1909 – January 1, 1960) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career onstage in 1929 with the University Players on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1933, she caught the attention of film direct ...
. Brooke Hayward is a great-granddaughter of
Monroe Hayward, former U.S. Senator-elect from Nebraska, and the granddaughter of Colonel
William Hayward, who led the United States'
369th Infantry Regiment, aka the "Harlem Hellfighters", the first regiment composed entirely of African-American soldiers during the First World War. She is also a descendant of
Mayflower
''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...
passenger William White, and
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
colonist
Robert Coe. Hayward had a younger sister, Bridget, who died of a drug overdose, and a brother, producer William Hayward III, known as "Bill Hayward", who died by suicide.
When Hayward was seven years old, the family moved to a farm in
Brookfield, Connecticut
Brookfield is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, situated within the southern foothills of the Berkshires, Berkshire Mountains. The population was 17,528 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The t ...
. Hayward's parents divorced in April 1948. The following year, Hayward's father married
Nancy "Slim" Hawks (later known as Slim Keith). After his divorce from Slim Hawks, Leland Hayward married
Pamela Harriman
Pamela Beryl Harriman (''née'' Digby; 20 March 1920 – 5 February 1997), also known as Pamela Churchill Harriman, was an English political activist for the Democratic Party, diplomat, and socialite. She married three times: her first husband ...
. Her mother married importer and producer
Kenneth Wagg in 1950.
[ Margaret Sullavan died of an accidental drug overdose on January 1, 1960. Nine months later, on October 17, 1960, Hayward's younger sister Bridget was found dead of a drug overdose in her apartment in New York City. Bridget left what was described as an "incoherent note", the contents of which never were made public. Her death was ruled a suicide. Hayward's brother Bill died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 9, 2008.
Hayward attended ]Vassar College
Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...
and studied acting with Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American acting coach and actor. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed ...
at the Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City.
The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...
.
Career
As a model, Hayward appeared on the August 15, 1959, cover of ''Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ' ...
'', shot by Horst P. Horst.
In May 1961, Hayward made her Broadway debut in the stage production of '' Mandingo'' opposite her future husband Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...
. She made her film debut that same year in Burt Balaban
Burt Balaban (March 6, 1922 – October 14, 1965) was an American film producer and director.
Biography
Balaban was born to a Jewish family, the son of Tillie (née Urkov) from her first marriage, and stepson of Barney Balaban, longtime pres ...
's ''Mad Dog Coll
Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll (born Uinseann Ó Colla, July 20, 1908 – February 8, 1932) was an Irish-American mob hitman in the 1920s and early 1930s in New York City. Coll gained notoriety for the alleged accidental killing of a young child during ...
''. In one early episode of ''Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
'' ("The Storm", 1962), she played sea-ship captain's daughter Laura White. She delivered a memorable performance in the '' Twilight Zone'' episode "The Masks
"The Masks" is episode 145 of the American television series ''The Twilight Zone''. It originally aired on March 20, 1964 on CBS. In this episode, set on Mardi Gras, a dying man coerces his relatives into wearing grotesque masks that reflect thei ...
" in March 1964. Over the next 30 years, Hayward appeared in a handful of screen roles.
Throughout the 1960s, while married to actor, director, and photographer Dennis Hopper, Hayward took an active role in the contemporary art world, collecting works by such artists as Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
, Ed Ruscha
Edward Joseph Ruscha IV (, ''roo-SHAY''; born December 16, 1937) is an American artist associated with the anti- pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and film. He is also noted for creating s ...
, Frank Stella
Frank Philip Stella (May 12, 1936 – May 4, 2024) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. He lived and worked in New York City for much of his career befor ...
, and Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Fox Lichtenstein ( ; October27, 1923September29, 1997) was an American pop artist. He rose to prominence in the 1960s through pieces which were inspired by popular advertising and the comic book style. Much of his work explores the relations ...
. She was also an avid collector of antiques from various periods and known for a highly idiosyncratic sense of design, as demonstrated by the house she shared with Hopper and their children, 1712 North Crescent Heights Boulevard in Los Angeles.
In 1977, Hayward wrote the best-seller '' Haywire'', a childhood memoir that expounded on her family, the mental breakdowns of her mother and sister, and her own personal demons. Her last screen appearance was in a small role in John Guare
John Guare ( ; born February 5, 1938) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is best known as the author of '' The House of Blue Leaves'' and '' Six Degrees of Separation''.
Early life
He was raised in Jackson Heights, Queens.Druckma ...
's 1993 film adaptation of ''Six Degrees of Separation
Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. As a result, a chain of "friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps. It is al ...
'', with Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Stockard Channing, Her accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a nomination for an Acade ...
, Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...
, and Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...
.
Personal life
Hayward was married to Michael M. Thomas from July 1956 until their July 1960 divorce. They had two sons.
Hayward met actor Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...
when they were both cast in ''Mandingo'' on Broadway in the spring of 1961. They were married in August 1961. They had a daughter, designer Marin Brooke Hopper, in June 1962 and together went on to be a force at the center of the creative scene in Los Angeles in the 1960s, collecting Pop art and enjoying a high degree of access to the worlds of contemporary art, rock music, and Hollywood. They separated in 1968 and divorced in 1969. The story of Hayward and Hopper's marriage, along with their childhoods and later lives, was told by Mark Rozzo in the best-selling 2022 cultural history/biography ''Everybody Thought We Were Crazy''.
Hayward married Peter Duchin, the musician and orchestra leader, in 1985. They divorced in 2008.
Hayward was Jane Fonda
Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...
's best friend growing up. Fonda stated in 2017: "Unfortunately, we are no longer friends which makes me sad."[ GIVING THANKS]
. ''www.janefonda.com''. December 14, 2017.
Filmography
Film
Television
Selected works
*
References
External links
*
*
Brooke Hayward papers, 1911–1977
Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...
Hayward Family Tree
- ''Hayward Luxury''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayward, Brooke
20th-century American actresses
Actors Studio alumni
Actresses from Connecticut
Actresses from Los Angeles
American film actresses
American memoirists
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Living people
People from Litchfield County, Connecticut
Vassar College alumni
American women memoirists
21st-century American women
Year of birth missing (living people)