John Michael Hayes dies at 89

Screenwriter John Michael Hayes died of natural causes this past Wednesday, November 19. Best known for his extensive collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock, Hayes worked with Hitch on To Catch a Thief, The Trouble With Harry and The Man Who Knew Too Much. Hayes was nominated for two Academy Awards including Rear Window and Peyton’s Place.

Hayes was born in Worcester, Mass., in 1919. He got his start writing for newspapers and radio. After paying his way through school at Massachusetts State College, Hayes moved to Hollywood. There he landed a job writing for Lucille Ball’s radio program “My Favorite Husband” and the serial drama “The Adventures of Sam Spade.” His radio work caught the attention of Universal Studios, which hired him as a screenwriter during the early 1950s. Hayes donated his collection of scripts, photographs, letters and clippings from his Hollywood career to Dartmouth in 1990. — [source: AP, via HollywoodReporter.com]