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Chuck Hayward

Chuck Hayward

Acting

January 20, 1920 – February 23, 1998 (died at 78)
Alliance, Nebraska, U.S.A.
Male
109 Movies
24 TV Shows

Charles Bert Hayward (January 20, 1920 – February 23, 1998) was an American motion picture stuntman and actor. He was associated particularly with the films of John Wayne. He doubled for most of the great Western and action stars of the 1950s-1980s. His parents, Bert and Hazel Hayward, were cattle ranchers on a farm near Hyannis, Nebraska, about sixty miles east of Hayward's birthplace in Alliance. He spent his early youth working cattle, then, at 16, left home to join the rodeo circuit as a bronc rider and horse trainer. In 1947, he arrived in Los Angeles and sought work as a wrangler on motion pictures. He began doing stunts in 1949 on The Fighting Kentuckian, doubling for John Wayne. The two became pals and Hayward subsequently stunted and doubled for Wayne on nearly two dozen of the latter's films. Excelling at all sorts of horseback stunts, Hayward doubled most stars of the period who found themselves in Westerns or otherwise astride a horse, including Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and Gregory Peck. He was prominent in The Big Country, co-produced by Peck. He was known as "Good Chuck" in contrast to "Bad Chuck", in reference to Chuck Roberson, another of Wayne's stunt doubles. He graduated into stunt coordination, arranging the stunts in films such as The Deadly Companions and the TV series The Rat Patrol. He played small roles in numerous films and TV shows, and his appearance often served as an accurate predictor of an upcoming fight scene. He retired from stunt work in 1981, and from acting in 1989. Hayward was a member of the unofficial John Ford Stock Company, a lifetime member of the Stuntmen's Association of Motion Pictures, and an inductee into the Stuntmen's Hall of Fame. He died from Hodgkin's Disease at his home in North Hollywood, California, in 1998. He was married three times, to Ellen Powell, by whom he had a daughter, and to Carol Lynn Shepherd. He had two children with Carol Lynn Shepherd. They were divorced in 1982. He then married Sally Pape Callaghan on October 30, 1982. Before his Hollywood stuntman career, Hayward also worked as a medic in the United States Merchant Marine and he stated that he served on liberty ships. His two boys, along with his wife Carol's best friend who was trying to save them, perished in a forest fire in the early 1980s.

The Big Country
The Big Country

The Big Country

1958 7.6

as Rafe Hannassey

Age 38 (now 78)
The Horse Soldiers
The Horse Soldiers

The Horse Soldiers

1959 7.0

as Union Captain

Age 39 (now 78)
Sergeant Rutledge
Sergeant Rutledge

Sergeant Rutledge

1960 7.0

as Capt. Dickinson (uncredited)

Age 40 (now 78)
Joe Kidd
Joe Kidd

Joe Kidd

1972 6.4

as Eljay

Age 52 (now 78)
The Searchers
The Searchers

The Searchers

1956 7.7

as Man at Wedding (uncredited)

Age 36 (now 78)
Night of the Lepus
Night of the Lepus

Night of the Lepus

1972 4.4

as Jud

Age 52 (now 78)
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings

1978 6.6

as Character Actor (voice)

Age 58 (now 78)
Rooster Cogburn
Rooster Cogburn

Rooster Cogburn

1975 6.5

as Jerry (uncredited)

Age 55 (now 78)
Forty Guns
Forty Guns

Forty Guns

1957 6.6

as Charlie Savage

Age 37 (now 78)
The Deadly Companions
The Deadly Companions

The Deadly Companions

1961 5.6

as Card Sharp (uncredited)

Age 41 (now 78)
True Grit
True Grit

True Grit

1969 7.3

as Card Player / Raft Man (uncredited)

Age 49 (now 78)
The Longest Yard
The Longest Yard

The Longest Yard

1974 6.8

as Trooper I

Age 54 (now 78)
Merrill's Marauders
Merrill's Marauders

Merrill's Marauders

1962 6.2

as Officer

Age 42 (now 78)
Hustle
Hustle

Hustle

1975 5.7

as Morgue Attendant

Age 55 (now 78)
The Great Race
The Great Race

The Great Race

1965 7.1

as Soldier (uncredited)

Age 45 (now 78)
Rio Lobo
Rio Lobo

Rio Lobo

1970 6.5

as (uncredited)

Age 50 (now 78)