Subject was born March 26, 1916, in Montclair, New Jersey and was christened Sterling Walters. He later adopted the name Sterling Hayden. He loved the sea, and was the First Mate on the schooner "Yankee" and the skipper of the Brigantine Florence C. Robinson. He married Madeleine Carroll in Peterboro, New Hampshire on February 14, 1942. He changed his name to John Hamilton in Bridgeport, Connecticut on June 25, 1943. He enlisted in the Marines on October 24, 1942, and was stationed in Washington, D.C. Hayden was employed by the Office of Strategic Services. He was sent overseas on April 9, 1945, to rescue American fliers shot down over enemy territory in Europe. He returned to Hollywood to his movie career after he was discharged from active duty as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps on December 24, 1945. Hayden was estranged from Ms. Carroll in January 1946 and they obtained a divorce on May 8, 1946. On April 25, 1947, he married Betty DeNoon of Pasadena, California and divorced her on January 15, 1959. The court awarded him custody of the four children. Hayden had a book published in October of 1963. He moved to Redding, Connecticut in 1965.
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