{{Short description|American dramatist (1922–2015)}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2015}} {{Infobox person | name = Hal Hackady | birth_name = Harold Clayton MacHackady | birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|02|10}} | birth_place = [[Middletown, Connecticut]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|2015|10|12|1922|02|10}} | death_place = [[The Bronx]], New York | occupation = {{hlist|Lyricist|librettist|screenwriter}} | alma_mater = [[Wesleyan University]] }} '''Harold Clayton MacHackady''' (February 10, 1922 – October 12, 2015), best known as '''Hal Hackady''', and sometimes credited as Hal Hackaday, was an American [[lyricist]], [[librettist]] and [[screenwriter]].
==Early life== He was born in [[Middletown, Connecticut]] in 1922.<ref name=playbill>[[Robert Simonson]], [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/hal-hackady-broadway-lyricist-of-minnies-boys-goodtime-charley-dies-at-93-366842 "Hal Hackady, Broadway Lyricist of Minnie's Boys, Goodtime Charley, Dies at 93", ''Playbill'', 13 October 2015]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.copyrightencyclopedia.com/blocks-by-jonathan-d-larson-1960-1996-hal-hackady-1939-i/|title = Blocks. By Jonathan D. Larson, 1960-1996, Hal Hackady, 1939, I tell her lies, Save me a piece of your broken heart}}</ref> He studied at [[Wesleyan University]], before starting work in New York City in the 1950s.<ref name=playbill/>
==Career== He began his career writing [[television movie|teleplays]] for early [[anthology series]] ''[[General Electric Theater]]'' and ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]''. He graduated to feature [[film]]s as the screenwriter of [[B-movies]] capitalizing on the [[rock and roll]] craze, including ''Let's Rock'', ''Senior Prom'' (both with music by Don Gohman), and ''Hey, Let's Twist'', which earned him a [[Writers Guild of America Awards 1962|Writers Guild of America]] nomination for Best Written Musical.
Hackady's theatrical career began with the 1955 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] revue ''Almost Crazy'' starring [[Kay Medford]], for which he wrote sketches and lyrics. Additional Broadway credits include ''[[Minnie's Boys]]'' (1970), ''[[Ambassador (musical)|Ambassador]]'' (London, 1971. Broadway, 1972), ''[[Goodtime Charley]]'' (1975), and ''[[Teddy & Alice]]'' (1987). He also wrote lyrics for ''Divorce, of course!'' (1987) with [[Angela Paton]] and Robert Goldsby writing the book, and [[Lee Pockriss]] writing the music, based on the French play ''[[Divorçons]]'' by [[Victorien Sardou]] and [[Émile de Najac]].<ref>[http://www.faqs.org/copyright/he-happy-from-the-musical-production-minnies-boys-w-hal-3/ Faqs.org]</ref>
Hackady wrote the lyrics for ''[[Snoopy!!! The Musical]]'' in 1975, a sequel to ''[[You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown]]''. It premiered at the Little Fox Theatre in [[San Francisco]], but it was not until 1982 that it was staged in [[New York City]], at the [[off-Broadway]] Lamb's Theatre, with a cast that included [[David Garrison]], [[Vicki Lewis]], and [[Lorna Luft]]. It was then mounted in the [[West End theatre|West End]] at the [[Duchess Theatre]], where it enjoyed a successful run. Hackady was also represented off-Broadway with a musical adaptation of ''[[The Hunchback of Notre-Dame]]'' (1993) and the revue ''[[Little by Little (musical)|Little by Little]]'' (1999). ''Alias Jimmy Valentine'' and ''Empty Pleasures'' have received [[Regional theatre in the United States|regional theatre]] stagings.
In addition, he wrote the lyrics for the 1984 London musical ''Blockheads'', based on the lives of [[Stan Laurel]] and [[Oliver Hardy]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/08/arts/broadway-a-musical-about-laurel-and-hardy-due-next-season.html|title=Broadway; A Musical About Laurel and Hardy Due Next Season|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 June 1984|last1=Nemy|first1=Enid}}</ref>
Hackady wrote the lyrics for [[Eddie Fisher (singer)|Eddie Fisher]]'s 1956 hit "Without You". With co-writer Charles Naylor, he wrote the sentimental ballad "[[Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)]]", originally recorded by the [[Lennon Sisters]] in 1957; it became a national chart record for [[Marion Worth]] in 1962-63, and returned as a country music hit for [[Cristy Lane]] in 1977-78. It has been recorded as a Christmas song. Hackady also wrote the lyrics for the song "[[Kites (song)|Kites]]", composed by Lee Pockriss, which was first recorded by [[the Rooftop Singers]] and became a top ten hit in Britain in 1967 for [[Simon Dupree and the Big Sound]].<ref>[http://www.musicvf.com/songs.php?page=artist&artist=Hal+Hackady&tab=songaswriterchartstab Songs written by Hal Hackady, ''MusicVF.com'']. Retrieved 22 October 2015</ref> Hackady and Pockriss also co-wrote a song called "The Key" that Billy Thornhill recorded for [[Wand Records]] in 1968.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicstack.com/item/141262969 |title=Problem Encountered |access-date=2013-04-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009012455/http://www.musicstack.com/item/141262969 |archive-date=2014-10-09 }}</ref>
[[New York Mets]] fans are familiar with Hackady's lyrics for "Let's Go, Mets," the team's theme song that was commissioned by advertising executive [[Jerry Della Femina]] in 1986. The recording earned a [[music recording sales certification|gold record]] and its companion video was a best-seller.<ref>[http://www.shellypalmer.com/Pages/mets.htm Shellypalmer.com]</ref>
==Death== He died in [[the Bronx]], New York City, on October 12, 2015, aged 93.<ref name=playbill/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Archival records|title=Hal Hackady collection, circa 1940-2015|location= [[Music Division, Library of Congress]]|description_URL=https://lccn.loc.gov/2014572494}} *{{IBDB name|6032}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235734/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&keyword=name&first=Hal&last=Hackady&middle= Lortel Archives listing] *[http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/musreism.pdf Don Gohman papers, 1946-1974] Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. *{{IMDb name|0352381}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackady, Hal}} [[Category:American musical theatre librettists]] [[Category:American musical theatre lyricists]] [[Category:American male screenwriters]] [[Category:American television writers]] [[Category:1922 births]] [[Category:2015 deaths]] [[Category:People from Middletown, Connecticut]] [[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]] [[Category:American male television writers]] [[Category:American male dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:American dramatists and playwrights]] [[Category:Songwriters from Connecticut]] [[Category:Screenwriters from Connecticut]]