Haywire (book)
Haywire is a 1977 memoir by Brooke Hayward, the daughter of famous agent and producer Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan. The book became a best seller and is a frank look at a privileged life in Hollywood and Broadway that eventually fell apart.
Leland Hayward was a charismatic, influential figure who worked as a theatrical agent and producer. He managed many stars and produced hit shows like Call Me Madam, South Pacific, Gypsy, The Sound of Music, and Mister Roberts. His marriages included to Margaret Sullavan; after they split in 1948, he married several other women.
Margaret Sullavan was a celebrated film and stage star who valued privacy and wrote about wanting a perfect, beautiful home for her children. She died in 1960 from barbiturate poisoning, ruled an accident.
Brooke Hayward herself became a model and actress before writing Haywire. She appeared on Life magazine’s cover at age 15 and later acted in films and television. She married multiple times and lived in Connecticut and New York.
The book also tells the stories of Brooke’s siblings. Her sister Bridget struggled with serious mental health problems and died by suicide at 21. Her brother William (Bill) faced mental health issues, produced the film Easy Rider with Peter Fonda, and died by suicide in 2008.
Haywire uses interviews with friends and family to give outside perspectives on the Hayward household. In 2011, a paperback edition added an introduction by Buck Henry and an epilogue by Brooke that discussed later years and her brother’s death. Critics praised the book for its beauty and honesty, though it mostly covers Brooke’s life up to her early 20s.
The memoir inspired a 1980 Warner Bros. TV movie also called Haywire, directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Lee Remick, Jason Robards, and Deborah Raffin, produced by Brooke’s brother Bill Hayward.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:29 (CET).