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than like General Ripper in Dr. Strangelove. If you've never seen it, I recommend it. Ed Begley sr.'s role as General Midwinter is a classic. Classic stereotype of the American breed of crackpot billionaire faux patriot.
But I always loved Sterling Hayden more than a lot of the characters he played. The ironic thing about him playing Ripper is that he was the exact opposite in real life. He always played reactionary crackpots in movies, but in real life he was a hippie who spent a lot of his time living on a boat in Mexico, and smoking copious amounts of dope. He only used to come back to the USA when he ran out of money, and had to make a movie to get some cash for more weed.
My favorite Sterling Hayden character was 'Roger Wade' in Altman's The Long Goodbye. At least that character was a little more like the real Starling Hayden.
