Lunching with Leland Hayward

Born of a September 13, talent agent and producer Leland Hayward (1902-71). Hayward wasn’t the flashy impresario type like so many I’m drawn to and have written about. He’s one of those figures you dig down to through the exploration of higher profile personalities to whom he was connected. But once have stumbled upon such people you appreciate their significance.

Surely one reason Hayward was content to be behind the scenes was that he was born with a leg up, he had no need to prove himself. His paternal grandfather was U.S. Senator from Nebraska. His father was a war hero who led the Harlem Hellfighters in World War One. His stepmother Maisie Manwaring Plant was one of the richest women in America. (The Cartier jewelers HQ on Fifth Avenue? That used to be her mansion). Hayward dropped out of Princeton, but he quickly found his niche in the world as a newspaperman, then a press agent, then an artists representative. His client roster was hugely impressive. At its core was Margaret Sullavan, who became his second wife in 1936, and who brought with her her two ex-husbands, Henry Fonda, and William Wyler, as well as their good friend Jimmy Stewart. Prior to marrying Sullavan, Hayward is said to have romanced two of his other clients, Greta Garbo, and Katharine Hepburn, the latter of whom he was involved with for three years. His very first client was Fred Astaire, and he also was the rep for Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland, and Boris Karloff.

In 1944 Hayward produced the Broadway stage adaptation of A Bell for Adano starring Fredric March. It ran for nearly a year. At this stage he sold his agency and devoted himself strictly to being a producer. His next project Lindsay and Crouse’sState of the Union (1945) with Ralph Bellamy, Ruth Hussey, and Kay Johnson ran for nearly two years and was subsequently made into a movie by Frank Capra. Long separations from the volatile Sullavan resulted in their divorce during this period. (Their daughter Brooke Hayward wrote about much of this in her book Haywire, which was later made into a TV movie. Jason Robards played Leland Hayward in the film). In 1948, Hayward opened his next Broadway blockbuster hit Mister Roberts, starring Henry Fonda. This was followed by another hit that was later filmed Anne of the Thousand Days, that same year.

Hayward was also an amateur pilot who sat on the board of TWA. In 1941 he cofounded a new airline of his own, Southwest Airways, which began operations after World War Two. It was later rebranded and then merged with other small airlines in 1968.

While staying with Ernest Hemingway (one of his former clients) in Cuba, Hayward met Slim Hawks wife of Howard Hawks, from whom she was then separated. She divorced Hawks and married Hayward in 1949. During this same period Hayward produced the original Broadway productions of South Pacific (1949) and Call Me Madam (1950).

Hayward broke into television in 1953, by producing the all-star extravaganza The Ford 50th Anniversary Show, which I wrote about here. He followed this up by creating the series Producers Showcase (1954-56) but was obliged to withdraw from producing it for health reasons.

Hayward then turned his attention to producing films: the screen version of Mister Roberts (1955), The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) with Stewart, and Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (1958) starring Spencer Tracy. In 1959, he produced two more blockbuster musicals on Broadway: Gypsy and The Sound of Music.

Sullavan’s suicide in early 1960 affected Hayward deeply. In 1960 he and Slim were divorced and he married Pamela Churchill, ex-wife of Randolph Churchill, only son of the former British prime minister.

In 1961 Hayward shepherded the original Broadway production of A Shot in the Dark, the basis for the later Pink Panther movie of the same name. He was also the executive producer of the American version of the TV comedy show That Was the Week That Was (1964) with David Frost et al.

Hayward’s last major project was the Broadway play The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. By the time it opened in June 1971, Hayward had died of a stroke several months before.

For more on show biz history consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, and stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.