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Nora Hayden Profile
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Photo gallery |
| (Norah Helene Hayden) |
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| 29 September 30 | is born of Irish descent in Los Angeles. Her father, John Hayden, is a reporter on the Los Angeles Times. She is a distant relative of the writer of Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Jean Kerr. Her mother’s maiden name is Bussens. Her brother will become a professor at an Ivy League college. |
| December 49 | as Helene Hayden, she is featured in Glamorous Models |
| January 50 | as Helene Hayden, she’s on the cover of LAFF |
| 51 | is discovered by a William Morris Agency man when buying magazines in a Beverly Hills drugstore |
| March 53 | the caption of a syndicated newspaper article reads: "Pretty Helene Hayden, who stands six feet even herself, has set out to prove by census the age-old claim that Texans are taller than the native-born of any other state. She's from El Paso and is 'gunning' for information to back up the Lone Star State's boast. She's invited all Texans who are six feet or over to write her. Helene, now breaking into the movies in Hollywood, has formed a 'Tall Texan Club.'" |
| November 55 | she and Betty Ames are two starlets making "Magic Miles in a Mercury through Southwestern Driveaways of Pleasure," a promotional 3000-mile tour of the Southwest. Sponsored by Milbeck Lincoln-Mercury Inc., they drive a Mercury convertible and boost vacation attractions of Southern California, Southern Nevada, and Arizona, appearing in 68 cities. |
| ? | changes her name to Nora Hayden |
| 58 | is cast by producer Sid Pink for the part of an interviewer in a TV series pilot. In 1989 he will remember, "... when this girl walked in, we knew we were right to wait. The beautiful redhead that came into our office was Nora Hayden, and she was gorgeous. There was nothing traditionally beautiful about her; her face was too long, her eyes set too far apart, her Irish chin was too strong, and her teeth were too big, but when she smiled, the room lit up... She was extremely bright and articulate, with a vivacity that was completely natural... That's the way our friendship of four years began." |
| is under a five-year contract to Sid Pink's company. She is signed on an exclusive basis and cannot accept any other work. Eventually, she voluntarily offers to cancel her contract, since she has no desire to accept money for not working. |
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| is off to New York City to charm the networks into buying the pilot |
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| Pink gets her a part in "77 Sunset Strip" |
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| is off to Montreal for Li'l Abner as Stupefyin' Jones / Appassionata von Climax |
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| April 58 | is named a merely perfect "Wilson Girl" by columnist Earl Wilson |
| c. 59 | while filming Angry Red Planet, co-star Gerald Mohr proves to be "quite arrogant and nasty," and producer Sid Pink to be "very protective" |
| May 59 | columnist Earl Wilson writes: “Hey, Joe DiMaggio! Beautiful redhead Nora Hayden, the Hollywood TV actress, is here visiting her aunt, Phyllis McGinley, the poetess...” |
| June 59 | makes personal appearances in Oneida, New York |
| July 59 | flies to New York to audit for the Bert Lahr show, The Boys Against the Girls |
| October 59 | is unmarried and leaves a French poodle named Maurice Chevalier behind in her Hollywood apartment when she goes out at night to attend psychology classes at UCLA |
| c. 59 | introduces scriptwriter Ib Melchior to Sid Pink to rewrite Invasion of Mars; later, she helps rewrite it, too |
| accompanies Pink to Denmark at the invitation of Danish movie mogul Henrik Sandberg. They stay at the Palace Hotel in R'dhuspladsen. |
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| November 59 | tells columnist Earl Wilson that a rat-bat-spider bit co-star Gerald Mohr’s arm while they were on Mars filming Angry Red Planet |
| December 59 | Danish producer Sandberg inks a deal with Pink for Scandinavian distribution of The Angry Red Planet. He also signs her for his adventure film, Gateway to Gaza/Operation Camel, slated for shooting in Egypt in April, 1960. |
| is a friend of ABC executive Hank Plitt, which helps to sell the script of her up-coming TV-series "The Green Eyed Elephant" |
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| First half 60 | makes three trips to Europe for location filming |
| is off to London with Pink to cast for the 30-minute TV pilot, to be filmed in Denmark. They choose English stage actress Delphi Lawrence as her co-star. The pilot will later become a feature film. |
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| Summer 60 | is to star in Reptilicus, to be filmed in Denmark, but "circumstances" make her leave four days before production begins. She refuses to be billed second to Ann Smyrner, a Danish actress who is actually better known in Germany, and promptly returns to the States. |
| June 60 | columnist Mike Connolly reports her taking off for Europe to film Green Eyes and Green-Eyed Elephant, both deals made by her manager, Sid Pink |
| August 60 | dates Danny Arnold, writer with ”The Dinah Shore Chevy Show,” in Copenhagen, Denmark. She’s scheduled to return to Hollywood in September for The Naked Eve. |
| c. 61 | collapses on the set while filming a "Bonanza" episode |
| March 61 | Jackie Barnett, the boy producer and writer of Jimmy Durante’s material, acts like a school kid with her. She’s the girl actress at Hollywood’s Crescendo. |
| March 62 | columnist Earl Wilson expects her to settle in New York and to try for a singing career |
| sings at the Roundtable. Desi Arnaz is among her admirers. |
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| April 62 | Desi phones from Hollywood to arrange a dinner at the Chateau Madrid with her and her brother |
| ? | does a famous RCA color commercial |
| May 62 | hosts the New York City portions of NBC’s “The Emmy Awards Show.” The Hollywood hosts are Diana Millay and Bob Newhart. |
| says at the Chateau Madrid that she has turned down a chance to co-star in a TV series but will study here, instead |
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| September 62 | is featured in Man’s Book magazine |
| 29 September 63 | opens her Opera Espresso coffeehouse in the Empire Hotel in Lincoln Square, opposite Lincoln Center, 63rd and Columbus Avenue, New York, with a chic champagne-and-meatballs reception. The restaurant is graced with a glassed-in sidewalk cafe. Columnist Earl Wilson adds: “Red-haired Nora, niece of Phyllis McGinley, whose RCA commercial is the longest-run TV commercial, snatched the choice inaction away from huge restaurant operating tycoons...” |
| November 63 | becomes engaged to her partner at the Opera Espresso, John Harrison |
| May 64 | she and her husband, John Harrison, serve complimentary imported wine with meals while waiting for their beverage license |
| August 64 | throws a midnight shower for Roz Strarr Krieger, whose son Kevin is 3 weeks old |
| October 64 | celebrates getting her wine license after a 9 month wait |
| November 64 | her Cafe Espresso sidewalk cafe, Lincoln Square, is glass-enclosed to allow dining no matter what the weather, the first to do so in New York |
| May 65 | attends the opening of Our Place together with some of its other many owners such as Eva Gabor, David Susskind, Ben Gazzara, Les Crane |
| July 65 | she and her husband John Harrison have to call detectives when Les Crane and ex-wife Eve try to take control of their new club, Our Place. “Nora and John are still there, claiming victory. There’ll be a stockholders’ showdown this week...” |
| May 66 | she and furrier Mike Forrest are a duo at Danny's |
| ? | begins to suffer from depression and goes to a psychiatrist who gives her uppers and downers. This doesn't work and starts her on her eventual career as a self-help author. |
| c. 67 | changes her name to Naura Hayden |
| c. 68 | is operator of Our Place |
| January 68 | is so excited about getting cast in a South American film comedy, Pate Katelin en Buenos Aires, a.k.a. P.K. in B. A., that she phones Earl Wilson all the way from Buenos Aires |
| January 69 | returns from Argentina, where she will soon be releasing a movie, which she co-owns and co-stars in, P. K. in B. A. |
| 69 | secretly marries handsome Gary Stevens, brilliant former general manager of Warner Brothers' TV division. He's about 16 years her senior and the ex-suitor of actresses Rhonda Fleming, Julie Wilson, and Arleen Whelan. |
| July 71 | columnist Earl Wilson discloses that she and Stevens have been secretly married for two years |
| September 72 | Earl Wilson reports: "'Soy meets Girl' is the love story told by beautiful red-haired actress and housewife Naura Hayden, who found that with meat prices so high, soy beans are cheaper, more proteinish and "the least expensive food known to man.' She's stuffed many recipes involving soy beans, soy powder, soy grits and powdered yeast into her fascinating Hip, High-Prote, Low-Cal, Easy Does-It Cookbook." |
| November 72 | her cookbook goes into its second printing |
| March 73 | is on hand to grace singer Frankie Laine’s birthday party at the Waldorf Astoria |
| September 73 | she and Stevens split. Wilson writes "She's a superactive blond of whom it's been said, 'Vitamine should take her.'" |
| brings her Argentine-made Perils of P. K. to the States for release |
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| December 73 | romances with her manager, attorney Martin Heller |
| May 74 | she and Kevin Sanders romance since she co-hosted his TV show |
| September 74 | dates Bob Fallon, the travel executive |
| October 74 | tours the country promoting her book Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Energy But Were Too Weak to Ask. In her interviews for the book, she asked a variety of notables how they assessed themselves. She reports "Walter Cronkite says that sex is very important in his life and that a healthy sex life is a great aid to being well adjusted." And "Arlene Dahl says sex is the number one beauty treatment - and thank God something so good is good for us." |
| December 74 | will star in a zany musical, Be Kind to People Week, off-Broadway. Mario Puzo and David Susskind are among the backers. |
| March 75 | stars in Be Kind to People Week at the Belmont Theater at the Belmont Hotel |
| c. June 75 | gets a quick divorce from Gary Stevens in the Dominican Republic and marries prominent New Jersey attorney Theodore W. Geiser in Newark the next day. Geiser's 50; she's 44. Geiser will later become special council to the New Jersey Republican State Committee. |
| March 76 | acquires a movie script, Eve in the Garden, for herself and hopes for Henry Fonda, Art Carney or somebody "mature," for a leading man |
| June 76 | issues her album And Then She Wrote, including 10 well-known tunes written by women, like "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and "I'm in the Mood for Love" |
| 80 | publishes Isle of View - Where Love Energy Grows. For Everyone Who Wants to Say "I Love You" |
| June 80 | in her book Isle of View, she accuses husbands of not knowing how to make love. "The majority of 478 wives I interviewed said they were unable to be sexually satisfied and 460 admitted they faked a climax." She gives wives a few hints for increasing husbands' ardor and says that guys who want to have a super sex life “should quit booze and cigarettes and start jogging." On TV's "Good Morning, New York," she picks the lover of the week. First prize for a great idea for love is a dinner with her at Claret. |
| July 81 | in health food stores, posters showing her healthy figure call special attention to her Dynamite Milkshake, Dynamite Vitamin Paks and Energy Bars and her book Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Energy But Were Too Weak to Ask. Her teeny bikini has the approval of her former husband and still friend, Gary Stevens. Stevens will die at age 86 in 2005 in New York. |
| July 82 | does a pilot for a TV version of her radio show, "Naura's Good News." She has the idea that good news can be as interesting as bad news and even claims there is some to be found. |
| 90s | her address is 156 East 61st Street, New York, NY 10021 |
| 10 November 92 | is sued by a former friend for not repaying a $25,000 loan. Frances Whyatt, a Greenwich poet, says in papers filed in state court that on July 26, 1987, she lent Hayden $25,000 at interest of 15 percent a year with a promise to repay in 90 days. Only $17,000 has been paid, she says, and by October 26, the remaining principal and interest was $28,000. The press notes: "Hayden, an actress who has written several self-help and health books, hit the jackpot with her sex manual, How to Satisfy a Woman Every Time. She first wrote the 123-page book in 1983. It has been on best-seller lists in 1983, 1984, and 1992. More than 500,000 copies have been sold. Hayden didn't return a call to her home Wednesday." |
| February 95 | publishes How to Satisfy a Woman Every Time... and Have Her Beg for More |
| September 95 | publishes God is Alive and Well and Living in Each One of Us |
| April 95 | publishes How to Satisfy a Man Every Time... and Have Him Beg for More |
| 06 | as Naura Hayden, she resides in New York |
| 10 August 13 | dies at age 80 in New York City |
| Sources: The Lima News, The Daily Intelligencer, Mansfield News-Journal, Reno Evening Gazette, The Times Recorder, The Sheboygan Press, Chronicle-Telegram, Van Nuys News, Nevada State Journal, Bucks County Courier Times, Niles Suburban Newspaper, The Intelligencer & The Record, Long Beach Press-Telegram,So You Want to Make Movies by Sidney Pink, Reptilicus by Kip Doto, Baby Boomer Collectibles, www.Ancestry.com | |
| Recommended Books: | |
| Links: Filmography Great Moments in Film History: Angry Red Planet | |