Heywood Hale Broun was an American author, sportswriter, commentator and actor. He was born and reared in New York City, the son of writer and activist Ruth Hale and newspaper columnist Heywood Broun.
Broun was educated at private schools and Swarthmore College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 1940, Broun joined the staff at the New York tabloid PM as a sportswriter. His career was interrupted by World War II in which he served in the United States Army field artillery. When the war ended he returned to the PM newspaper and wrote for its successor, the New York Star, which ceased operations in 1949.