Joseph Hayes (August 2, 1918 – September 11, 2006) was an

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playwright, novelist and screenwriter born in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, the son of Harold Joseph, a furniture dealer, and Pearl M. Arnold Hayes. Hayes entered a Benedictine monastery at the age of thirteen, attending St. Meinrad Seminary High School in southern Indiana for two years, though graduated from

Arsenal Technical High School Arsenal Technical High School, commonly referred to as Tech or Arsenal Tech, is a public high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, which is run by the Indianapolis Public Schools district. The school is located on a , multiple buildin ...

in Indianapolis in 1936. He married Marrijane Johnston in 1938 and they had three children: Daniel, Gregory, Jason. Hayes studied at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, along with his wife, from 1938–1941.University Archives, Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington Indiana In 1949, his play, "Leaf and Bough", was performed on Broadway. In 1954, he wrote the novel '' The Desperate Hours'', his most successful work. In an interview in 1987, Hayes said of the novel that his main influence was "desperation": "I wrote it in six weeks, working 16 to 17 hours a day." Regarding the home invasion that occurred in the novel, he said it "was the most dramatic thing I could think of that would relate to the most people.” Hayes wrote the Broadway play The Desperate Hours, which won the 1955

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

for Best Play, was awarded an

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for Best Screenplay by the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

for the 1955

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, and received the Indiana Authors Day Award for the novel version. He was the first individual to write a novel, play, and screenplay of the same story. Hayes later wrote the screenplay for a 1990 re-make, about which he said “Since I’m the only writer who has ever done novel, play and screenplay solo from a single work of his own I can’t let anyone else at it." Hayes co-wrote with his wife both the original novel (1956) and screenplay for the Walt Disney movie '' Bon Voyage!'' in 1962. Hayes also wrote his final Broadway play, ''Calculated Risk'' in 1962. Among his other novels are ''The Hours After Midnight'', ''Don't Go Away Mad, The Third Day, The Deep End, Like Any Other Fugitive, The Long Dark Night, Missing and Presumed Dead, Island on Fire, Winner's Circle, No Escape,'' and ''The Ways of Darkness.'' Among his other plays are ''The Happiest Millionaire, The Midnight Sun, The Deep End, Is Anyone Listening?, Summer in Copenhagen, Impolite Comedy,'' and ''Come into my Parlor.'' Hayes was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Service Award from Indiana University in 1970, and received the Honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Indiana University in 1972. Hayes died of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

in 2006. Survivors included three sons, ten grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren.

References

Obituary
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', September 20, 2006, by Campbell Robertson * ''10 Classic Mystery and Suspense Plays of the Modern Theatre'', edited by Stanley Richards (1973)
University Archives
Indiana University Libraries, Bloomington Indiana * "The Undesperate Hayes," ''The Indianapolis Star,'' September 11, 1983, by Alice Dailey ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Joseph 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Edgar Award winners 1918 births 2006 deaths Writers from Indianapolis 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Indiana