Will H. Hays facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Will H. Hays
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| Chairman of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America | |
| In office 1922–1945 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Eric Johnston |
| 46th United States Postmaster General | |
| In office March 5, 1921 – March 3, 1922 |
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| President | Warren G. Harding |
| Preceded by | Albert S. Burleson |
| Succeeded by | Hubert Work |
| Chair of the Republican National Committee | |
| In office February 13, 1918 – June 8, 1921 |
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| Preceded by | William Willcox |
| Succeeded by | John T. Adams |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Harrison Hays
November 5, 1879 Sullivan, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | March 7, 1954 (aged 74) Sullivan, Indiana, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
Helen Louise Thomas
(m. 1902; div. 1929)Jessie Herron Stutsman
(m. 1930) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Wabash College (BA) |
William Harrison Hays Sr. (born November 5, 1879 – died March 7, 1954) was an important American politician. He was a member of the Republican Party. From 1918 to 1921, Hays led the Republican National Committee. He helped Warren G. Harding win the presidential election in 1920.
After Harding became president, he made Hays the first Postmaster General. Hays left this job in 1922. He then became the first chairman of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. In this role, Hays helped create the Motion Picture Production Code. This code, also known as the Hays Code, set rules for movies. It guided how movies should be made to avoid showing things that some people found inappropriate.
Contents
Early Life and Education
William Harrison Hays Sr. was born on November 5, 1879. His hometown was Sullivan, Indiana. He later went to Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Political Career Highlights
Will Hays was the manager for Warren G. Harding's successful run for president. This happened during the 1920 election. After Harding won, Hays was chosen to be the Postmaster General. This was a top job in the president's team. While working for President Harding, Hays was briefly connected to a big government investigation.
Leading the Movie Industry
Hays left his government job on January 14, 1922. He took on a new role as Chairman of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. This organization had just started. He began his new job on March 6, 1922.
The main goal of this group was to make the movie industry look better. Many religious groups wanted the government to control movies. Hiring Hays was a way to show that the movie industry wanted to improve itself. People often talked about his strong, traditional values. He was a church leader and had led the Republican Party.
In Hollywood, Hays worked to stop states from banning movies. He also tried to reduce the costs for studios. State laws made studios pay for every part of a film that was cut. They also paid for changes to title cards. Studios also had to make different versions of movies for different states.
Hays tried to help studios make movies that would not be cut. Each state had its own secret rules for movies. Hays had to guess what would be allowed. He first used "The Formula," but it did not work well. Then he made a new list of rules called "The Dont's and Be Carefuls." But his efforts did not stop people from wanting government control over movies.
Creating the Production Code
Some Catholic leaders and others supported Hays' idea of self-control for movies. They did not want the government to censor films. One important Catholic, Martin J. Quigley, was a publisher for movie businesses. In 1929, Quigley and others talked about making stricter rules for movies.
With support from a Chicago church leader, Father Daniel A. Lord wrote these new rules. This set of rules became known as "The Production Code" or "The Hays Code." When Will Hays read it in 1930, he was very excited. He felt it was exactly what he needed.
Movie studio bosses were not as excited at first. They agreed to follow the code. But they left many ways to get around the rules. From 1930 to 1934, the code did not fully stop calls for government censorship.
Things changed in 1934. Many Catholic groups threatened to stop watching "immoral" movies. Also, some Catholic money lenders, like A. P. Giannini of the Bank of America, reduced their funding. Because of this, studios gave Hays' organization full power to enforce the code. This created strict self-censorship that lasted for many years. The code was replaced in the 1960s by the movie rating system we have today.
Hays hired Joseph Breen to help censor films. Breen also made a list of 117 performers. Hays thought their personal lives made them unsuitable for movies. Hays also worked with the U.S. government. He helped Hollywood keep its strong position in movie markets around the world.
Helping Movie Extras
In the early 1920s, many people moved to Hollywood. They hoped to become movie stars. These hopefuls were called "extras." They were the extra people who filled out scenes in movies. To find work, extras often waited outside studio gates. They hoped to be hired right away.
There were not many rules for hiring extras. This led to many people being treated unfairly. To fix these problems, Hays asked for studies on working conditions in Hollywood. One study was done by Mary van Kleeck, a well-known sociologist.
After looking at the study results, Hays followed a suggestion from van Kleeck. In 1925, he created the Central Casting Corporation. This organization helped control how extras were hired in Hollywood. It made the process fairer for everyone.
Production Code Principles
The Production Code had three main rules:
- No movie should be made that lowers the moral standards of viewers. The audience should never support crime or wrongdoing.
- Movies should show correct ways of life. This is only changed for drama and entertainment.
- Laws, both natural and human, should not be made fun of. Movies should not make people want to break laws.
Later Life and Legacy
After he retired, Will H. Hays went back to Sullivan, Indiana. He passed away there on March 7, 1954. His wife died in 1960.
The Los Angeles Street post office in Los Angeles is named the Will Hays Station. This is to remember him.
See also
In Spanish: William H. Hays para niños
- List of people on the cover of Time Magazine: 1920s – September 13, 1926
