Chuck Hayward: Movies & Box Office

Charles "Chuck" Hayward was an American motion‑picture stuntman and character actor whose career spanned four decades of classic Hollywood westerns and adventure epics. Born on January 20, 1920, in Alliance, Nebraska, he grew up on his parents’ cattle ranch near Hyannis and left home at sixteen to become a rodeo bronc rider and horse trainer, experiences that later made him a sought‑after horse‑stunt specialist in the film industry. After serving as a medic in the United States Merchant Marine during World II, Hayward arrived in Los Angeles in 1947 and quickly found work as a wrangler on studio sets. His first credited stunt work came on The Fighting Kentuckian (1949), where he doubled for John Wayne, a partnership that would define much of his career; he went on to double for Wayne in nearly two dozen pictures, earning the affectionate nickname “Good Chuck” to distinguish him from fellow double Chuck Roberson. Hayward’s versatility allowed him to double for other legends such as Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and Gregory Peck, performing daring horseback jumps, falls, and fight choreography in films like The Big Country (1958) and The Great Escape (1963). In addition to stunt performance, he coordinated complex sequences for projects such as The Deadly Companions (1961) and the TV series The Rat Patrol. Beyond his behind‑the‑scenes work, Hayward appeared in small acting roles in over thirty‑five productions, from uncredited townsmen in High Noon (1952) to an outlaw in Blazing Saddles (1974). He retired from stunt work in 1981 and from acting in 1989, leaving behind a legacy honored by the Stuntmen’s Hall of Fame and lifelong membership in the Stuntmen’s Association. Hayward battled Hodgkin’s disease and died on February 23, 1998, in North Hollywood, California, survived by his three children and his last wife, Sally Pape.