Peter Háy (born 9 February 1944, in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

), the son of Gyula Háy, is the author of over a dozen books, including an anecdote book series for

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, a history of

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

(''MGM: When the Lion Roars''), and ''Ordinary Heroes: Chana Szenes and the dream of Zion'', the story of Hannah Senesh, the Hungarian

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

poet and heroine of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was educated at

Haileybury and Imperial Service College Haileybury is a co-educational public school (fee-charging boarding and day school for 11- to 18-year-olds) located in Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire. It is a member of the Rugby Group and enrols pupils at the 11+, 13+ and 16+ stages of edu ...

near

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...

, England, and read classics and literature at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

. He emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1967 and taught at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

and at

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

in the United States. Before moving to

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

in 1980, he founded the play publishing arm of

Talonbooks Talonbooks is an independent publisher of Canadian literature based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Its repertoire features authors writing in the literary genres of poetry, fiction and drama, as well as non-fiction books in the fields of ethnogra ...

, a Canadian cultural publisher, and was responsible for publishing the plays of dozens of Canadian playwrights. After working in the professional theatre world, including as the first

dramaturg A dramaturge or dramaturg (from Ancient Greek δραματουργός – dramatourgós) is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and pr ...

of the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, he was a dramaturg at the O'Neill Playwrights Conference in Waterford, Connecticut, and at the early Sundance Institute Playwrights Workshops in the early 1980s. While teaching in Los Angeles at

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, he, together with

Didi Conn Edith "Didi" Conn (née Bernstein; born July 13, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her work as Frenchy in '' Grease'', Denise Stevens Downey in '' Benson'' and Stacy Jones in '' Shining Time Station''. Early life Edith Bernst ...

, Ethan Phillips, and Virginia Morris, co-founded First Stage, a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

non-profit organization that helps writers develop new scripts for the stage and screen, and for which he holds the title of Founding Artistic Director. Háy started Book Alley, an

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...

bookshop in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, with his wife Dorthea Atwater in 1992. He retired to

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

in 2008.

Books

*''Canned Laughter'',

, 1992 *''Movie Anecdotes'',

, 1991 *''MGM: When the Lion Roars'',

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters * Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for tur ...

, 1991 *''Ordinary Heroes: The Life and Death of Chana Szenes, Israel's National Heroine'', Athena (paper), 1989 *''Krishnamurti: The Reluctant Messiah'', co author with Sydney Field, Paragon House, 1989 *''The Book of Business Anecdotes'',

, 1988 *''The Book of Legal Anecdotes'',

, 1987 *''All the Presidents' Ladies'', Viking Penguin, 1986 *''Broadway Anecdotes'',

, 1985 *''Theatrical Anecdotes'',

, 1984 *''Ordinary Heroes: Chana Szenes and the dream of Zion'', Putnam, 1984

Translations

*''The Horse'', in ''Three East European Plays'',

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

, 1970

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Peter 1944 births Living people Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian film historians Canadian male non-fiction writers Hungarian expatriates in Canada Western Washington University faculty Canadian book publishers (people) Dramaturges Male dramatists and playwrights Alumni of Merton College, Oxford