Peter Hay
Encyclopedia
Peter Háy, is the son of Gyula Háy
Gyula Háy
Gyula Háy was a Hungarian communist intellectual and playwright.Gyula Háy was born in 1900 in Abony, Hungary. He was involved in the German communist movement in the 1920s, particularly in agitprop plays...

, and is the author of over a dozen books, including an anecdote book series for Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...

, a history of MGM, MGM: When the Lion Roars and Ordinary Heroes: Chana Szenes and the dream of Zion the story of Hannah Senesh, the Hungarian Jewish poet and heroine of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Born in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

 in 1944, Hay was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Haileybury and Imperial Service College, , is a prestigious British independent school founded in 1862. The school is located at Hertford Heath, near Hertford, from central London, on of parkland occupied until 1858 by the East India College...

 and read classics and literature at Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...

.

Háy emigrated to Canada in 1967 and taught at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...

 and Western Washington University
Western Washington University
Western Washington University is one of six state-funded, four-year universities of higher education in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in Bellingham and offers bachelor's and master's degrees.-History:...

. Before moving to Southern California in 1980, he founded the play publishing arm of Talonbooks
Talonbooks
Talonbooks is an independent publisher of Canadian literature, whose repertoire features authors writing in the literary genres of poetry, fiction and drama, as well as non-fiction books in the fields of ethnography, environmental and social issues, cultural studies, and literary criticism.The...

, 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 of the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company
Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company
The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company is a regional theatre company, producing plays since 1962. Its first production was The Hostage by Brendan Behan, which opened on October 2, 1963...

, he was a dramaturg at the O'Neill Playwrights Conference in Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...

, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, and at the early Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981 that actively advances the work of filmmakers and storytellers worldwide...

 Playwrights Workshops in the early '80's. While teaching in Los Angeles at USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

 and UCLA, he, together with Didi Conn
Didi Conn
Didi Conn is an American film, stage and television actress.-Personal life:Conn was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of a clinical psychologist. "Didi" was her childhood nickname...

, Ethan Phillips
Ethan Phillips
Ethan Phillips is an American actor, playwright and author. He is known for television roles such as Star Trek: Voyager's Neelix and Benson's Pete Downey.-Personal life:...

, and Virginia Morris, co-founded First Stage, a 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 bookshop in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...

, with his wife Dorthea Atwater in 1992. He retired to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 in 2008.

Books

  • MGM: When the Lion Roars, Turner
    Turner
    Turner is a common surname of English 12th Century origin, meaning "one who works with a lathe". Turner is the 28th-most common surname in the United Kingdom.-List of people with surname Turner:...

    , 1991
  • Canned Laughter, Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...

    , 1992
  • Ordinary Heroes: The Life and Death of Chana Szenes, Israel's National Heroine, (Paper) Athena
    Athena
    In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...

    , 1989
  • Krishnamurti: The Reluctant Messiah, co author with Sydney Field, Paragon House, 1989
  • The Book of Business Anecdotes, Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...

    , 1988
  • The Book of Legal Anecdotes, Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...

    , 1987
  • All the Presidents' Ladies, Viking Penguin, 1986
  • Broadway Anecdotes, Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...

    , 1985
  • Theatrical Anecdotes, Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...

    , 1984
  • Ordinary Heroes: Chana Szenes and the dream of Zion, Putnam
    Putnam, Connecticut
    Putnam is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,002 as of the 2000 census. It is home to WINY, an AM radio station.-History:...

    , 1984

Translations

  • The Horse, in Three East European Plays, Penguin
    Penguin
    Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...

    , 1970
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