In 1976 he published a novel, “Voyage,” which a Time magazine reviewer called “a somber study of the human condition.” The voyage inspired his 1963 autobiography, “Wanderer.” In the late 1950s, he defied court custody orders and sailed with his children to Tahiti. He was assigned to run guns and supplies to Tito’s guerrillas in Yugoslavia, using his maritime skills to slip across the Adriatic sea at night in sailboats, evading German patrol boats.

Using his real name, John Hamilton, he joined the Marine Corps and volunteered for the Office of Special Services, the spy-and-guerrilla unit that was the ancestor of the CIA. The outbreak of World War II gave Hayden another excuse to leave Hollywood, even though he had just begun getting starring roles. He became a star twice more, and abandoned his career both times to roam the oceans on a sailboat.

A former sailing ship captain who was an instant success at the box office when he began appearing in “B” movies in 1940, he quit after two films because he was “restless” to return to his great love-the sea.

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