{{short description|American screenwriter and playwright (1932–1993)}} {{Use American English|date=January 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see :Template:Infobox writer/doc --> | name = Oliver Hailey | image = | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = July 7, 1932 | birth_place = Pampa, Texas, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|1|23|1932|7|7}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, US | occupation = Screenwriter, playwright | spouse = Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey | children = 2, including Kendall Hailey }} '''Oliver Hailey''' (July 7, 1932{{snd}}January 23, 1993) was an American screenwriter and playwright. Hailey's television writing credits include episodes of ''Bracken's World'' and ''McMillan & Wife''. He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for writing the 1981 television film ''Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend''. As a playwright, Hailey wrote over 20 plays, three of which were produced on Broadway.
==Career== Hailey wrote for various television series including episodes of ''Bracken's World'',<ref name=gale2/> ''McMillan & Wife'', ''Family'', and ''The Cosby Show''.<ref name=nyt/><ref name=latimes/> He also co-wrote the screenplay for the 1979 theatrical film ''Just You and Me, Kid'', and wrote the 1981 television films ''Isabel's Choice'' and ''Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend'',<ref name=gale2/> the latter of which featured one of the earliest depictions of a gay man on American prime time television.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/television/2009/09/14/good-reception|title=Good Reception|first=Josh|last=Kilmer-Purcell|date=September 14, 2009|work=The Advocate|access-date=December 8, 2022|archive-date=December 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208175023/https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/television/2009/09/14/good-reception|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Sidney Shorr'' earned Hailey the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Comedy Anthology,<ref>{{cite news|title=Nominees for Writers Guild Awards|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 11, 1983|page=22|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114304571/the-los-angeles-times/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 9, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Writers honor 'E.T.,' 'Tootsie'|work=The Miami Herald|date=April 9, 1983|page=6C|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114304796/the-miami-herald/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=December 9, 2022}}</ref> as well as a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series or a Special.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/sidney-shorr|title=Sidney Shorr|website=emmys.com|publisher=Academy of Television Arts & Sciences|access-date=December 9, 2022|archive-date=December 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208183352/https://www.emmys.com/shows/sidney-shorr|url-status=live}}</ref>
While writing for television and film was Hailey's main livelihood, his preference was for writing stage plays.<ref name=dmag>{{cite web|url=https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1984/july/elizabeth-oliver/|title=Elizabeth & Oliver|work=D Magazine|first=Katherine|last=Dinsdale|date=July 1, 1984|access-date=December 8, 2022|archive-date=December 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208161543/https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1984/july/elizabeth-oliver/|url-status=live}}</ref> Hailey wrote over 20 plays, many of which were produced regionally or Off-Broadway.<ref name=nyt/> Three of his plays were produced on Broadway:<ref name=nyt/> ''First One Asleep, Whistle'' opened and closed at the Belasco Theatre on February 26, 1966;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://playbill.com/production/first-one-asleep-whistlebroadway-belasco-theatre-1966|title=First One Asleep, Whistle|work=Playbill|access-date=December 9, 2022|archive-date=December 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208185528/https://playbill.com/production/first-one-asleep-whistlebroadway-belasco-theatre-1966|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Father's Day'' opened and closed at the John Golden Theatre on March 16, 1971;<ref name=fathersday>{{cite web|url=https://playbill.com/production/fathers-day-john-golden-theatre-vault-0000008427|title=Father's Day|work=Playbill|access-date=December 9, 2022|archive-date=December 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208190020/https://playbill.com/production/fathers-day-john-golden-theatre-vault-0000008427|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''I Won't Dance'' opened and closed at the Helen Hayes Theatre on May 10, 1981.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://playbill.com/production/i-wont-dance-helen-hayes-theatre-vault-0000004463|title=I Won't Dance|work=Playbill|access-date=December 9, 2022|archive-date=December 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208190232/https://playbill.com/production/i-wont-dance-helen-hayes-theatre-vault-0000004463|url-status=live}}</ref> All three of his Broadway plays closed after playing just one regular performance each,<ref name=nyt/><ref name=blink/> with one reviewer describing Hailey as the "most produced, least successful" New York theater playwright.<ref name=nyt>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/24/nyregion/oliver-hailey-60-author-of-plays-and-scripts.html|title=Oliver Hailey, 60, Author of Plays And Scripts|work=The New York Times|first=Seth|last=Faison|date=January 24, 1993|access-date=December 8, 2022|archive-date=December 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208154656/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/24/nyregion/oliver-hailey-60-author-of-plays-and-scripts.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite only running for one performance, the Broadway production of ''Father's Day'' received nominations for Best Actress in a Play (Marian Seldes) and Best Scenic Design (Jo Mielziner) at the 25th Tony Awards.<ref name=fathersday/><ref name=blink>{{cite web|url=https://playbill.com/article/dont-blink-some-of-broadways-shortest-runs-earned-the-biggest-awards|title=Don't Blink! Some of Broadway's Shortest Runs Earned the Biggest Awards|work=Playbill|first1=Harry|last1=Haun|first2=Robert|last2=Viagas|date=September 30, 2016|access-date=December 9, 2022|archive-date=December 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208223602/https://playbill.com/article/dont-blink-some-of-broadways-shortest-runs-earned-the-biggest-awards|url-status=live}}</ref>
Many of Hailey's works fall under the "black comedy" genre, with a common theme of exploring familial and personal relationships.<ref name=nyt/> Hailey said his plays are mainly the result of him trying to find humorous takes on a serious subject matter. He added: "I try not to start writing until I have found a comic point of view for the material."<ref name=latimes/>
==Personal life== Hailey was born on July 7, 1932, in Pampa, Texas.<ref name=gale1>{{cite book|section=Oliver Hailey|title=Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television|volume=11|publisher=Gale|issn=0749-064X|year=1993|section-url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1609006883/BIC?u=wikipedia&sid=ebsco&xid=0ada4946|access-date=December 8, 2022|via=Gale In Context: Biography}}</ref> His parents were Oliver D. and Hallie May Hailey ({{nee|Thomas}}); his father worked as a butcher.<ref name=gale2/> When he was young, Hailey was determined to move out of his hometown and used to dream about one day writing a book called ''Content to be Common'', which was to be "all about those people who were content to stay in tiny little houses in that Godforsaken town in West Texas."<ref name=dmag/>
After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 1954,<ref name=gale2>{{cite book|section=Oliver Hailey|title=Contemporary Authors|publisher=Gale|year=2000|section-url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000041061/BIC?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-BIC&xid=4d86f204|access-date=December 8, 2022|via=Gale In Context: Biography}}</ref> Hailey spent three years serving in the United States Air Force.<ref name=nyt/> He worked as a reporter for ''The Dallas Morning News'' from 1957 to 1959,<ref name=gale1/> and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama in 1962.<ref name=nyt/>
Hailey met journalist Elizabeth Forsythe while working for ''The Dallas Morning News''. The couple were married in 1960 and have two daughters, Brooke and Kendall Hailey.<ref name=nyt/> Hailey died from liver cancer on January 23, 1993, at the age of 60.<ref name=latimes>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-25-mn-1568-story.html|title=Oliver Hailey; Successful Regional Playwright, TV Writer|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Burt A.|last=Folkart|date=January 25, 1993|access-date=December 8, 2022|archive-date=December 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208165753/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-25-mn-1568-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hailey, Oliver}} Category:1932 births Category:1993 deaths Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Category:American male dramatists and playwrights Category:American male television writers Category:American television writers Category:Military personnel from Texas Category:People from Pampa, Texas Category:Screenwriters from Texas Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni Category:David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni Category:20th-century American screenwriters Category:Deaths from liver cancer in California Category:20th-century American male writers