John Hayes(1930-2000)

John Patrick Hayes was a writer, director, editor, producer and occasional actor who made a wide variety of offbeat and interesting low-budget independent pictures throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Born in New York, he began his film career making short movies in the 1950s--his 1958 short "The Kiss" was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. John made his feature-length debut with the obscure drama The Grass Eater (1961). He went on to make a diverse array of drive-in exploitation outings in such sub-genres as World War II potboilers (Shell Shock (1964), The Cut-Throats (1971)), rowdy redneck romps (The Farmer's Other Daughter (1965), All the Lovin' Kinfolk (1970)), sleazy crime fare (Bust Out (1973), Mama's Dirty Girls (1974)), horror (Dream No Evil (1970), Garden of the Dead (1972), Grave of the Vampire (1972)), low-brow comedy (Up Yours (1979)) and even science-fiction (End of the World (1977)). In addition to directing, Hayes usually produced and edited, as well as often penning the scripts for his films. He pops up in bit parts in the wholesome Disney family features The Shaggy D.A. (1976) and Treasure of Matecumbe (1976) (he also has cameo roles in two of his own movies).

His last directing credit was an episode of the horror anthology TV series Tales from the Darkside (1983).