Harold T. P. Hayes Papers
Harold Hayes, a 1948 graduate of Wake Forest College, is perhaps best known for his role as editor of Esquire magazine (1963 to 1973). He later authored two books on ecological issues and worked on several television projects. In 1987, Hayes wrote an article on Dian Fossey for Life magazine, which was the basis for the 1988 film Gorillas in the Mist. He had nearly completed an expanded version of the article when he died of cancer at age 62. This collection consists of Harold Hayes's personal papers and other materials dating from his high school and college years through the posthumous publication of his last book. There is considerable material on Hayes's work at Esquiremagazine, both in the Esquire series and in the personal correspondence. Post- Esqire projects are also well-documented, particulary Hayes's book projects, his editorship of California magazine, and his brief tenure with the CBS news program 20/20. The Dian Fossey series contains extensive material on Fossey's life and work, including many interviews with her friends and associates.
Biographical and Historical Note
Harold Thomas Pace Hayes was born April 18, 1926 in Elkin, North Carolina. He was the second of three children of the Rev. James Madison Hayes, Sr., a Baptist minister, and his wife Aline Pace Hayes. The family lived in Beckley, West Virginia for much of Harold's childhood, then moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina when he was 11 years old. Hayes graduated from Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem and went on to what was then Wake Forest College. He received a B.A. from Wake Forest in 1948 and then attended Wake Forest's law school for an additional year, mostly so that he could continue to edit the college's student literary magazine, The Student.
Hayes worked briefly for the Atlanta bureau of the United Press, then enlisted in the Marines in 1950. He did not see active duty, and after his discharge Hayes went to New York to pursue a career in journalism. Arnold Gingrich, publisher of Esquire, hired Hayes as his assistant in 1956. He was promoted to managing editor in 1960, and to editor in 1963.
During Hayes's editorshipEsquire magazine was on the forefront of the 1960s New Journalism. Contributors like Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, Susan Sontag, Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, Nora Ephron, and many others captured the essence of the turbulent decade in the magazine's pages. Hayes's frequent collaborations with George Lois made Esquire's design as cutting-edge as its content.
Hayes left Esquire in 1974 after a dispute with the publishers. He worked as a freelance consultant and writer and pursued his growing interest in ecology and African conservation. He authored two books on ecological issues, worked on several television projects, and served as editor of California magazine. In 1987 Hayes wrote an article on Dian Fossey for Life magazine, which was the basis for the 1988 film Gorillas in the Mist. He had nearly completed an expanded version of the article when he died of cancer at age 62. The Dark Romance of Dian Fossey was published shortly after Hayes's death in 1989. He was survived by his second wife, Judy Kessler, and two children, Thomas and Carrie, from his first marriage to Susan Meredith Hayes.
Collection Overview
The collection consists of Harold Hayes's personal papers and other materials dating from his high school and college years through the posthumous publication of his last book. There is considerable material on Hayes's work at Esquiremagazine, both in the Esquire series and in the personal correspondence. Post- Esqire projects are also well-documented, particulary Hayes's book projects, his editorship of California magazine, and his brief tenure with the CBS news program 20/20. The Dian Fossey series contains extensive material on Fossey's life and work, including many interviews with her friends and associates. The collection also includes various forms of multimedia such as VHS tapes and audiocassettes, as well as photographs of Hayes, his family, and his travels.
Collection Arrangement
The collection is divided into 26 series. The first contains general biographical information about Hayes, and the next 4 relate to aspects of his personal life, such as his education, his early career, and his family. The next series, Personal correspondence, is arranged chronologically by year and contains letters written to and from Hayes. The following 12 series contain materials related to various facets of Hayes's career, including his involvement with editing, television, and writing. The next series deals with Hayes's work on the Dian Fossey project, including research materials, interviews, and drafts. The following three series consist of different formats (as opposed to written materials): Photographs, Notebooks and diaries, and Audio and video. The WFU Harold Hayes Event series contains materials regarding an event celebrating Hayes's life and the donation of his papers to ZSR Library, held at Wake Forest's campus in 1994. Finally, Uncategorized Printed Materials consists of any items that do not neatly fit into the above series, and oversize materials are housed in an oversize box.
Controlled Access Headings
Personal Names
Subjects
Administrative Information
- Publication Information
- Processed by Megan Mulder, 2012
- Revision Description
- Updated by Kristin Weisse, Stephanie Bennett, 2014, 2023
- Access Restrictions
- This collection is open for use.
- Copyright Notice
- The nature of the WFU Z.Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
- Preferred Citation
- Harold T. P. Hayes Papers (MS596), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.