Susan Hayward Profile

Susan Hayward

	(Edith Marrener)
30 June 17	is born in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Walter, is a subway guard and Coney Island barker; her mother, Ellen, is from Sweden.
	at age six, she suffers fractures to both legs and a dislocated hip when she's hit by an automobile; for six months she’s confined to bed
	attends Girls Commercial High School and begins modeling during her school years
Early 37	is spotted in a Saturday Evening Post layout and is considered for the lead in Gone with the Wind
Mid-37	goes to Hollywood for a screen test for the part of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind
	meets agent Benny Medford by accident. He changes her name to Susan Hayward and takes her screen test to Warner Brothers, where she is given a six-month contract.
	is on stage with young actor Ronald Reagan and dislikes him. She falls for an unknown while touring with the play.
38	Paramount signs her to a $200-a-week contract
40	dates Jon Whitcomb, a commercial artist
November 43	meets actor Jess Barker while entertaining soldiers at the Hollywood Canteen
	starts an on-again, off-again romance with Barker
23 July 44	marries Barker at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. She’s 20; he ‘s 30. She has her lawyers draw up an agreement separating her income from his.
September 44	the Barkers separate for two weeks but reconcile and purchase a house at 3737 Longridge Avenue, Van Nuys, California
	is short tempered and bored with small-talk
19 February 45	her twin sons, Timothy and Gregory, are born two months prematurely. The Barkers later quarrel about how to discipline their children.
46	producer Walter Wanger takes a strong liking to her and signs her to a personal contract
1 October 47	sues Barker for divorce on the grounds of cruelty and grievous mental anguish. The action is dropped two weeks later.
20 March 48	is nominated for Best Actress for Smash-Up, but the Academy Award goes to Loretta Young
51	her husband’s salary this year is $655; her income is $175,000
December 51	Photoplay names her number ten of the twelve most beautiful women in Hollywood
February 53	she and John Wayne are named the most popular stars of 1952
12 July 53	after some drinking, there’s a violent quarrel at the Barker’s house. He moves out.
23 July 53	announces she will file for divorce
September 53	files for divorce
17 November 53	after two hours of attempting to resolve the difficulties with the children’s court, the divorce action proceeds
17 August 54	is awarded her divorce from Barker in Burbank Superior Court. She receives custody of the twins. It’s revealed that she extinguished a cigarette in her husband’s face.
	her escorts before and after the trial are actors Richard Egan and Jeff Chandler
	it seems to get serious between Chandler and her
	Clark Gable wants Grace Kelly for his upcoming Soldiers of Fortune, but the part goes to Susan. She and Gable don’t get along well on the set.
26 April 55	is hospitalized after attempting suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills
4 November 55	hits the news when starlet Jil Jarmyn charges that Susan beat her with a hairbrush in the bedroom of supporting actor Don "Red" Barry. Jarmyn claims that she walked into Barry’s house unannounced and found Susan, clad in polka-dot pajamas, in Barry’s bedroom.
54-55	her escorts are producer John Beck and billionaire Howard Hughes
54-55	while filming The Conqueror, she and the crew are exposed to tons of radioactive red earth from the Utah desert’s "Dirty Harry" nuclear test accident, which is spread out at the indoor sound stages of RKO studios
21 March 56	is nominated for Best Actress for I’ll Cry Tomorrow, but the Academy Award goes to Anna Magnani
May 56	is awarded the 1955 Best Actress Award at the Cannes Festival
56	refuses to star in The Three Faces of Eve. The part goes to newcomer Joanne Woodward.
8 February 57	elopes to Phoenix, Arizona, with Floyd Eaton Chalkley, a former FBI agent and successful automobile dealer. He’s 47; she’s 37.
	the Chalkleys make their home in Carrollton, his hometown near Atlanta, Georgia, where he owns a private lake and 450 acres with cows and the family residence.
	is considered for Peyton Place, but the part goes to Lana Turner
	tries hard for the leading part in South Pacific, but finally refuses to test for it. The role goes to Mitzi Gaynor.
6 April 59	wins an Academy Award for I Want to Live!
61	the Harvard Lampoon names her the worst actress of 1961 for Ada and Back Street
63	films Stolen Hours in England
64	travels to Los Angeles for the filming of Where Love Has Gone
Late 65	films The Honey Pot in Venice, Italy. The filming stops when her husband becomes sick back in Georgia with hepatitis, resulting from an untreated World War II blood infection.
9 January 66	Chalkley dies in Carrollton. She locks herself in the bathroom and cries her lungs out.
	sells the Chalkley holdings in Georgia and moves to Fort Lauderdale, Florida
68	performs Mame 96 times at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas
22 January 71	fire breaks out at night in her Fort Lauderdale apartment, but she’s saved, unhurt
72	experiences severe headaches. She’s hospitalized at Century City Hospital in Los Angeles under the name of Margaret Redding.
May 73	leaves the hospital with a wig after her hair falls out due to chemotherapy and radiation treatments
December 73	is partially paralyzed on her right side, except for her arm
74	it is revealed that she suffers from a brain tumor
14 March 75	dies at her home in Culver City, California. Her body is flown to Carrollton, Georgia, to be buried next to her husband at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church.

Sources: The Forties Gals by James Robert Parish and Don E. Stanke, Motion Picture, A Star Is A Star Is A Star. The Lives and Loves of Susan Hayward by Christopher P. Andersen
Recommended Books:
Links: Filmography Meredy's Susan Hayward Trivia Mania Susan Hayward - Survivor Find A Grave