Haywire (book)
Haywire is a 1977 memoir by actress and writer
Important characters
Margaret Sullavan – Brooke's mother, who was both a Hollywood and a Broadway star, by all accounts a superb actress, and known for her husky voice and "irresistible crooked grin."[2] She performed with the University Players at Harvard, made her Broadway debut in 1926,[8] and starred in 16 films including the classics Only Yesterday (1933), The Shop Around the Corner (1940), and Back Street (1941).[9] Before Leland Hayward, she was married to actor Henry Fonda and director William Wyler. According to Brooke, she loathed Hollywood, was fanatical about her privacy, and was determined to bring up her children properly in a perfect, beautiful home. Her death at age 50 (in 1960) by barbiturate poisoning was ruled an accident.[2][6]
Brooke Hayward – Brooke, who appeared on the cover of Life magazine when she was 15,[10] became a model and actress before she wrote Haywire.[2] Her film and television credits include Mad Dog Coll, the Twilight Zone episode "The Masks," and Six Degrees of Separation.[1] She has been married to Michael Thomas, Dennis Hopper, and Peter Duchin, and now lives in Connecticut and New York.[3]
Bridget Hayward – Brooke’s younger sister. She was in and out of mental institutions in her teens, and worked at the Williamstown Theatre as an apprentice. She “succumbed to a recurrent, unexplained illness marked by epileptic seizures and bouts of severe depression” and her death at age 21 is considered to be a suicide.[2]
William (Bill) Hayward – Brooke’s younger brother. He, too, was in and out of mental institutions such as the Menninger Foundation. He produced Easy Rider in partnership with Peter Fonda and loved motorcycles for the rest of his life. He shot himself in the heart in 2008.[11]
Contributors
Throughout Haywire, Hayward uses snippets of oral history from interviews she conducted with people who knew her immediate family members (several of whom were "family friends")[6] to provide outside perspectives on what they were like and on how the family operated. These contributors include:[12]
- James Stewart (Jimmy Stewart)
- Henry Fonda
- Jane Fonda
- Peter Fonda
- Truman Capote
- Sara Mankiewicz – wife[13] of Herman J. Mankiewicz
- Tom Mankiewicz
- Paul Osborn
- Millicent Osborn – wife[14] of Paul Osborn
- John Swope
- H. C. Potter (Hank Potter)
- Joseph Cotten (Joe Cotten)
- Joshua Logan (Josh Logan)
- William Wyler
- Diana Vreeland
- King Vidor – Margaret’s director on So Red the Rose
- Nancy (“Slim” Hayward) Keith – Leland Hayward’s wife after Sullavan
- Bill Francisco – Bridget Hayward’s boyfriend at the time of her death
- Edward H. Griffith (E. B. Griffiths) – Margaret’s director on Next Time We Love
Although their contributions (of “time, memories, and love”) are not marked as quotes in the text, Hayward acknowledges:
- Billy Wilder
- Fredric and Florence March
- Peter Hunt
- Charles and Ray Eames
- George Cukor
- Jules Stein
- Swifty Lazar
- George Axelrod
- Bill and Greta Wright
- Kenneth Wagg – Margaret Sullavan's husband at the time of her death
- Martha Edens
- Kathleen Malley
Introduction and epilogue
The 2011 paperback edition includes an introduction by Hayward’s family and friend Buck Henry – actor, director, and Oscar-nominated screenwriter (The Graduate)[15] – and an epilogue by the author, both of which are dated May 2010. Henry introduces Leland and his "crazy kids," while Hayward’s epilogue discusses the years since Haywire was first published, thanks Henry for urging her to finish writing it, and, most notably, covers her brother William’s death (he shot himself in the heart in 2008).[16] The "epilogue is remarkable for its uninflected tone. She offers nothing remotely consoling about redemption or overcoming adversity. And that is one of the most bracing and strangely affirming aspects of this book."[17]
Reception
Within a month of its publication, Haywire was “heading for what appears to be a huge commercial success.”
Another New York Times reviewer wrote that one of Haywire’s themes contributed to a 1970s trend: "'Survival,' as opposed to action and creativity, seems to be the dominant motif in much of 70’s popular culture, especially in some books...Brooke Hayward’s childhood, described in Haywire, has been discussed as if it had been the domestic equivalent of an Iranian torture chamber."[18]
Movie
Haywire inspired a Warner Bros. TV movie by the same name. First aired in 1980, it was directed by Michael Tuchner and starred Lee Remick, Jason Robards, and Deborah Raffin.[19] The film was produced by Brooke’s younger brother, Bill Hayward.[11] A New York Times TV writer made note of its non-chronological “ambitious time scheme” and called it “an exceptionally fine-tuned television drama.”[20]
Work
References
- ^ a b "Brooke Hayward". IMDb. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gould, Lois (6 March 1977), "A star-crossed childhood", The New York Times, p. 290, retrieved 7 February 2011
- ^ a b c "Biography for Brooke Hayward". IMDb. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ a b "Best Sellers". The New York Times. 17 July 1977. p. 190.
- ^ "Leland Hayward". IMDb. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Klemesrud, Judy (9 March 1977), "Something Has Gone Haywire", The New York Times, pp. C1 (47)
- ^ "Leland Hayward". IBDb. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
- ^ "Margaret Sullavan". IBDb. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
- ^ "Margaret Sullavan". IMDb. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
- ^ Clarke, Gerald (28 March 1977). "Books: Elegy from a Hollywood Graveyard". Time. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008.
- ^ a b "William Hayward". IMDb. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ Note: Contributors are listed in parentheses under the most formal name that Hayward uses for them in the book (i.e., Hayward never lists Joshua Logan as such, so here he is “Josh,” while Henry Fonda is sometimes referred to simply as “Hank” but also mentioned under his full, more recognizable name).
- ^ "Biography for Herman J. Mankiewicz". IMDb. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- ^ "Biography for Paul Osborn". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- ^ "Buck Henry". IMDb. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ "Haywire by Brooke Hayward". Random House. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- ^ Brown, Liz (24 February 2011). "Family glitz and dysfunction in "Haywire"". Newsday. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ Marcus, Greil (5 June 1977), "Pop Culture: The Style of the 70's", The New York Times, pp. 44 (BR6)
- ^ "Haywire (TV 1980)". IMDb. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (14 May 1980), "TV: 'Haywire,' Brooke Hayward's Account of Her Family", The New York Times, pp. C27
External links
- Haywire at Random House
- Haywire at IMDb
- LA Times article
- Random House Word & Film article