Chard Hayward

Chard Hayward (born Roy Hayward, 1949) is a Welsh-born Australian-American former actor, director, writer, producer and singer. He is best known for his role of camp barman Dudley Butterfield in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96, he had previously appeared in a small role as a hippie in earlier episodes. Since the early 90s he has been based in the US.

Biography Early life Born as Roy Hayward in Swansea, Wales, in 1949, he initially pursued a career in the military, and at 19 become a commissioned as an officer in the engineers, but decided it was not for him. 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. as well as acting in plays by Shakespeare and Tennessee Williams.

Career Hayward's role of 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 relationship with Don Finlayson (Joe Hasham) in the show. Dudley was later revealed as a bisexual and embarked on relationships with women, Dudley 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, Lost and, in 2007, as a surprise guest for the Number 96 reunion on Australia's Where Are They Now?.

Personal life 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.

Chard Hayward has two sons, Adam with his first wife, former Miss Australia Sarah Gray, and Sean with one-time US actor Cynthia Killion.

Filmography (selected)

Film Year Title Role Type 1971 Homedale Man at Bar (uncredited) 1974 Number 96 Dudley Butterfield Feature film 1979 The Journalist Barry Feature film 1979 Thank You Early Mason Short film 1981 Lady Stay Dead Gordon Mason Feature film 1982 Brothers Adam Wild TV movie 1987 Crackdown Alex Murdock 1988 The Killing Game Max 1988 The Tourist Abu Gassam TV movie 1988 Outback Bound David TV movie 1988 Violent Zone Norman McCloskey 2007 Metamorphosis Narrator (voice) 2009 2084 Professor 2010 Play On Finlay Kilgour

Television Year Title Role Type 1967 Bellbird TV series 1971 Homicide Johnny Parsons TV series 1972 Lane End Wentworth TV series 1972–77 Number 96 Hippy / Dudley Butterfield TV series, 209 episodes 1983 The Thorn Birds Arne Swenson TV miniseries 1984 Carson's Law Randolph Seaton TV series 1991 Hunter Titus Hall TV series 1991 Santa Barbara Richard Sedgewick TV series 1997 Babylon 5 Religious #2 TV series 2000 Days of Our Lives Barry TV series 2005 Lost Australian Official TV series