Chard Hayward
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chard Hayward (born Roy Hayward, in Wales, UK in 1949) was an Australian and later US-based television actor. In Australia he was best known for his long-running role of Dudley Butterfield in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96.
Hayward had initially pursued a military career and by 19 was commissioned as an officer in the Engineers. He eventually decided the career was not for him, however a legacy of his army years was the nickname Chard - the surname of a famous British Army officer - which he would use as his official stage name throughout his subsequent acting career while refusing to reveal his original first name.
After jobs as an actuary and part-time work in catering Hayward heard about the National Institute of Dramatic Art, auditioned, and was accepted. However he left NIDA after only 12 months to join the Pageant Theatre Company which toured schools throughout New South Wales. He eventually worked at both Directing and Producing plays for the company.
Hayward's role of the high-camp gay caterer and old-movie fan Dudley Butterfield in Number 96 began in late 1973 and quickly became one of the show's most popular and recognised characters. Dudley was involved in a long-running gay male relationship with Don Finlayson in the show. Dudley was later revealed as a bisexual and embarked on relationships with women, opened a hairdressing salon and then a disco, briefly became a television star, and then was shot to death in June 1977 after Hayward decided to leave the series.
His career continued steadily with roles in Australian feature films, drama series and miniseries through the 1980s. In the 1990s he acted on US television with a role in soap opera Santa Barbara. More recent appearances include Babylon 5 and Lost.
Chard Hayward has two sons, Adam with his first wife, former Miss Australia Sarah Gray, and Sean with one-time US actor Cynthia Killion.
