Michael R. Haley ’65
Michael Haley on campus speaking at Memorial Hall in October 2009.
Part one of video: "Growing up in Pittsfield."
Part two of video: Getting Started in Movies
Part three of video: Working with Sophia Loren
Part four of video: The Famous Japanese Actor
Just like a plot for one of his movies, Michael Haley’s 40-year career in the film industry has taken many twists and turns. The Emmy Award-winning producer, director and actor shared his experiences behind and in front of the camera as the Alumni Association’s Eleanor Bateman Scholar in Residence.
Haley’s career started in the late 60s after graduating from UMass Amherst with a degree in speech therapy. While working as a part-time teacher and bartender, he helped develop an avant-garde theater troupe that performed in the Berkshires, Cambridge and New York. This experience landed him a job with a low budget film called Honeymoon Killers, which subsequently led to a position as a production manager for WNET channel 13 in New York.
In 1971, Haley was one of only 10 applicants accepted into the first Directors Guild of America’s Assistant Directors Training program. Since that time, he has worked as either assistant director or producer on over 60 feature films and 18 movies for television.
The list of directors that Haley has worked with includes: Sidney Lumet, Sidney Pollock, Barry Levinson, Penny Marshall, Harold Ramis and Mike Nichols. Haley has worked with Nichols on 13 projects including Biloxi Blues, Working Girl, Primary Colors, Angels In America and Charlie Wilson’s War. He’s also had the privilege of working with some of Hollywood’s premier actors and actresses such as Katherine Hepburn, Harrison Ford, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks.
In his own career as an actor, Haley has played roles opposite Sophia Loren, Christian Slater, and John Travolta. His most memorable role was the umpire who throws Tom Hanks out of the game after the classic, “There’s no crying in baseball” scene in A League of Their Own.
Haley has been recognized many times over for his impressive body of work. He has received two Humanitas Awards: one for Wit and the other for Angels In America; a Directors Guild of America Citation for Working Girl, a Directors Guild of America Award, as well as an Emmy for Angels In America; and the first Berkshire International Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He was nominated as Best Actor for his role in Wilde Irish Women at the Dundalk, Ireland Theater Festival in 2004. Haley is currently writing a book about his career in the film industry and lives with his wife of 25 years, Joan, in Conway, Massachusetts.
By Elena Lamontagne
10/7/09