Joseph Hayes was an American

American literature

American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...

 author and playwright, born in Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

. When he was thirteen, he entered a Benedictine monastery, staying there for two years. He graduated from Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

.

In 1949, he brought "Leaf and Bough" to Broadway. In 1954, he wrote the novel The Desperate Hours, his most successful work, which he brought to Broadway as The Desperate Hours

The Desperate Hours (play)

The Desperate Hours is a 1955 play by Joseph Hayes, based on his 1954 thriller novel of the same title. The story, about three escaped convicts, was the basis for the films The Desperate Hours in 1955 and Desperate Hours in 1990....

in 1955 and turned into the screenplay for The Desperate Hours

The Desperate Hours (film)

The Desperate Hours is a 1955 film from Paramount Pictures starring Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March. The movie was produced and directed by William Wyler and based on a novel and play of the same name written by Joseph Hayes which were loosely based on actual events.The original Broadway...

, also in 1955. He won an Edgar Award

Edgar Award

The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...

 from the Mystery Writers of America

Mystery Writers of America

Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York.The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday....

 for Best Motion Picture Screenplay

Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay

The following is a list of Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture, one of the Edgar Awards awarded to authors and others by the Mystery Writers of America...

 for that screenplay in 1956. Joseph Hayes also won two Tony Awards.

In 1962, he wrote his last script for Broadway, Calculated Risk

Calculated Risk

Calculated Risk is a finance and economics blog. It was started in early 2005 by former technology executive Bill McBride , with frequent posts by Doris Dungey until her death on November 30, 2008 from ovarian cancer...

, and also wrote Bon Voyage!

Bon Voyage! (1962 film)

Bon Voyage! is a 1962 Walt Disney film directed by James Neilson and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company. Following their practice of the time, it was also issued as a comic book...

, a Disney movie, in the same year.

His books include Ways of Darkness, No Escape, Winner's Circle, Island on Fire, Missing...and Presumed Dead, The Long Dark Night, Like Any Other Fugitive, The Deep End, The Third Day, Bon Voyage (with his wife Marrijane Hayes), Don't Go Away Mad, The Hours After Midnight, and The Desperate Hours.

He died in a nursing home from Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

in 2006. His survivors include three sons, ten grandchildren, and eleven great-grand children.