“A very, very well-dressed gentleman.”

Barbara Eden on Hayden Rorke

Barbara is right. Hayden was a very, very well-dressed gentleman. Hayden didn’t so much dress to impress as just get dressed—except a Brooks Brothers double-breasted blazer and neckerchief were his version of a T-shirt and jeans. As Hayden’s niece recalled, “Even when he was casual, he was well-dressed. He was very sure of what he had on.” At home, Hayden would greet guests in his loungewear: velvet slippers, trousers, and a smoking jacket topped off with an ascot.

Hayden was also an avid swimmer, saying in a 1977 interview that “swimming keeps me trim and stuff.” He would swim every morning, even while traveling for dinner theatre (if the hotel had a pool). And you know Hayden made sure to make a fashion statement while getting his laps in. “[He always wore a] Speedo,” said Mike, his partner in the 1980s. “A 75-year-old in a Speedo and still cutting a very, very dashing figure.”

These are two items from Hayden Rorke’s closet: a bold pocket square and one of Hayden’s swimsuits. These items were handed down from Hayden’s partner to the author of Hayden’s biography (me, Brett, hi).