John Michael Hayes
John Michael Hayes was an influential American screenwriter born on May 11, 1919, in Worcester, Massachusetts. Growing up in a family connected to show business, he developed an early interest in writing and literature. After working as a cub reporter during his teenage years, he pursued a career in radio while attending the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His military service in the army’s entertainment unit during World War II paved the way for his post-war career at CBS in Hollywood, where he focused on comedy and suspense.
Hayes is best known for his successful collaborations with famed director Alfred Hitchcock, contributing to classic films such as "Rear Window" and "To Catch a Thief." Throughout his prolific career, he also wrote for Universal Pictures and was recognized with two Academy Award nominations and multiple accolades from the Writer's Guild of America. After moving to Maine with his wife, Mildred, and their four children, Hayes continued writing until the 1980s and taught film studies and screenwriting until his retirement in 2000. In 2004, he received the Screen Laurel Award, celebrating his significant impact on the film industry.
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Subject Terms
John Michael Hayes
Writer
- Born: May 11, 1919
- Birthplace: Worcester, Massachusetts
- Died: November 19, 2008
Biography
John Michael Hayes was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on May 11, 1919. The middle child and only son of a Vaudeville performer, the world of show business was familiar to the boy. A sickly child, Hayes soon learned to entertain himself by reading and developed an affinity for literature. By nine years of age, he knew that he wanted to write. During the 1930’s, Hayes’s family moved fairly often as a result of the Great Depression and his father’s search for work. Eventually the family returned to Worcester where, at age sixteen, Hayes began writing for the Worcester Telegram as a cub reporter.
Soon after that, Hayes became interested in radio and worked his way through the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. On graduation, he was drafted into the army, where he served in special entertainment for the troops. After the war, Hayes went to work for CBS in Hollywood and specialized in comedy and suspense programming. Although he developed My Favorite Husband for Lucille Ball, Hayes’s most successful concept was The Adventures of Sam Spade.
Hayes and his wife Mildred, a former fashion model, were married on Aug. 29, 1950. In 1951, he began writing scripts for Universal Pictures. His first produced script was Red Ball Express. Some of his greatest successes came from a collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock with Hayes scripting such classics as Rear Window (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), The Trouble with Harry (1956), and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956).
At the end of the 1950’s, Hayes moved his family to Maine, where he and Mildred raised their four children, Rochelle, Garrett, Meredyth, and Corey. Hayes continued to write screenplays through the 1980’s and also taught film studies and screenwriting at Dartmouth until 2000, when he formally retired. In the meantime, Mildred had died in 1989.
During his long career, Hayes was twice nominated for Academy Awards for screenplays and received three nominations for awards by the Writer’s Guild of America. In 2004, he was the recipient of the Screen Laurel Award.