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Screenwriter Alfred Hayes was born in London, but raised in New York City. Following graduation from City College and experience as a newspaper reporter, Hayes began writing fiction and poetry. He next served in the US Army Special Services in Europe during WW II. Following the war, he stayed in Rome and became a screenwriter of neo-realist films. In 1946, he earned an American Academy Award nomination for his co-writing on Rossellini's Paisan. Hayes also worked without credit on the script of De Sica's b The Bicycle Thief. In 1951, Hayes was again Oscar-nominated for the screenplay of Teresa. In 1954, his play The Girl on the Via Flaminia, itself an adaptation of his novel, became a film. Eventually Hayes began writing television scripts for such American series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Twilight Zone, and Mannix. He also continued to write poems and song lyrics. Of the latter, his most famous are the words for the ballad "Joe Hill," which singer Joan Baez made famous.