Sterling Hayden (Actor) Cause of Death

Sterling Hayden died of prostate cancer in Sausalito in 1986 at 70. Sterling became noted for supporting roles in the 1960s, perhaps as General Jack D. Ripper in Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb.

Hayden returned to Paramount and was cast as one of several brothers in an aviation film, Blaze of Noon (1947). The studio suspended him when he turned down a role in The Sainted Sisters.

Hayden made two films for Pine Thomas Productions distributed through Paramount; a western, El Paso, supporting John Payne and Manhandled, a thriller with Dorathy Lamour.

Hayden’s career was boosted when John Huston was cast in the starring role in MGM’s heist thriller, The Asphalt Jungle (1950). It was only a minor hit but was highly regarded critically and established Hayden as a leading man.