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Michael Sayers
Michael Sayers
Michael Sayers
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Michael Sayers (19 December 1911 – 2 May 2010) was an Irish poet, playwright, writer and journalist whose books co-authored with Albert E. Kahn made him a target of US blacklisting during the McCarthyism era of the 1950s. He wrote scripts for TV in the 1950s, and as a screenwriter in the 1960s for movies including James Bond film Casino Royale.[1][2][3][4]

Key Information

Background

[edit]
Sayers studied at Trinity College Dublin (here, Parliament Square circa 2010), where he learned French from Samuel Beckett.

Michael Sayers was born on 19 December 1911, in Dublin, Ireland, one of four children.[2] His parents were Philip Sayers and Molly Harmel.[3][4] His father, strongly committed to Irish Republicanism, was a friend of Michael Collins.[2][3][4] Sayers went to school in Dublin and briefly at Cheltenham College in England.[4] He studied briefly at London University[3] and at Trinity College Dublin.[2] At Trinity, he studied French under Samuel Beckett. At Micheál Mac Liammóir's Gate Theatre, he interacted with actors like Orson Welles and James Mason. He published poetry and wrote for the theater magazine Motley as well as College Miscellanyas.[3] His cousin was the South African activist and journalist, Michael Harmel.[5]

Career

[edit]
Sayers first worked for T. S. Eliot (here, 1923) at The Criterion as a theater reviewer

In the 1930s, age 18, Sayers first worked for T. S. Eliot, who made him a theater reviewer for The Criterion.[2][3][4] A.R. Orage gave him the same role for The New English Weekly.[3] Through A.R. Orage, Sayers wound up sharing a flat with fellow writers Rayner Heppenstall and Eric Blair ("George Orwell").[1][3] Sayers published stories in Edward J. O'Brien's annual Best British Short Stories.[1][2]

In 1936, Sayers moved to New York City as dramaturge for Norman Bel Geddes.[2][3][4] In 1939, Sayers worked for Friday (magazine)[4] and investigated pro-Nazi activities (e.g., Henry Ford[3]) in the United States. By 1942, he was working with Kahn for The Hour newsletter, also investigating Nazis.[2] Together, Sayers and Kahn wrote three books: Sabotage!: The Secret War Against America (1942), The Plot Against the Peace: A Warning to the Nation! (1945), and The Great Conspiracy: The Secret War Against Soviet Russia (1946).[2][3][4] Sayers claimed he was the first journalist to report on the newly liberated Nazi death camps – stories his Fortune (magazine) editor rejected the story as unbelievable.[1]

In March 1944, Sayers published a four-part series of articles entitled "Rise of Anti-Semitic Fifth Column in Eire" in PM newspaper. The title of one article was "Truth About Nazi Espionage in Eire: Irish Terrorists Work Directly Under Hitler's Order." The Irish consul general in New York City and the government in Ireland exchanged worried messages. The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland became involved and had 14 representatives sign a document that declared, "No Irish Government has ever discriminated between Jew and Non-Jew." Fianna Fáil T.D. Robert Briscoe, Jewish, wrote to the same effect. Their statements appeared in Irish and Catholic newspapers in the USA. On 25 March 1944, PM responded, denying it had imputed the current Irish government but also asserting that anti-Semitism did exist in Ireland and that some people there supported the Nazis, e.g., the Irish Fascist Party. Later, documentary evidence showed that pro-Nazi, anti-Semitic sentiments did exist among some people in Ireland. Also, the German embassy did foster such sentiments. Further, there were connections between Father Charles Coughlin and the Christian Front in the USA and a Father Denis Fahey of the Kimmage Manor seminary in Ireland. Exacerbating the cross-Atlantic concerns was that, in February 1944, the Irish government had published the contents of an "American Crisis Note," in which US Secretary of State Cordell Hull asked Ireland to expel German and Japanese government representatives.[4]

Sayers was a flatmate and friend of George Orwell (here, during WWII)

In mid-1945, Sayers returned to London, where he saw Orwell, who had just published Animal Farm. In the later 1940s, Sayers helped inaugurate live television by writing plays for NBC for stars like Rex Harrison and Boris Karloff.[1][2][3]

In the 1950s, Sayers was blacklisted because of his left-wing sympathies. The renewal of his US passport was threatened. He reclaimed Irish citizenship and was helped to get an Irish passport by Irish writer and diplomat Conor Cruise O'Brien. Sayers seemed to escape anti-Communist efforts in theater (e.g., Maria Duce's Catholic Cinema and Theatre Patrons Association) when his play Kathleen ("a light romantic comedy") debuted in Dublin in the mid-1950s.[4] In the 1950s he lived in France and, under the pseudonym "Michael Connor"[2] he wrote plays for BBC television's Armchair Theatre. He also wrote drama series such as The Adventures of Robin Hood, William Tell, and Ivanhoe. He introduced Joseph Losey to Dirk Bogarde; Bogarde appeared in Losey films, e.g., The Servant and Accident.[1][4]

In the 1960s, Sayers worked for Charles K. Feldman on the screenplays of Zorba the Greek and Hair,[1][2] and wrote the final version of the screenplay of the James Bond film Casino Royale.[citation needed]

In the 1980s, Sayers moved to New York City to stay[3] and spent the rest of his life writing poems and plays and teaching screenwriting until shortly before his death.[1][4]

Personal life and death

[edit]
Sayers married Mentana Galleani, daughter of Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani.

In 1938, Sayers married Mentana Galleani, daughter of the militant Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani[3] (whose followers included Sacco and Vanzetti). They had two sons.[3][2] In 1955, they divorced. In 1957, Sayers married Sylvia Thumin (who died in 2006)[1][3] and he adopted her son.

Sayers died age 98 on 2 May 2010, in New York.[1][2][3][4]

Legacy

[edit]

At his death, the UK's The Independent wrote of him: "Sayers had a sharp political intelligence and spoke of his persecution in America with realism and resignation. He was a gentle, humorous man, who, like many gifted writers of his generation, paid the price for having the wrong opinions at the wrong time in the wrong place, and whose career never quite recovered from the set-back."[1]

Works

[edit]
Books written with Alfred E. Kahn
Articles
  • "Japan's Undercover Drive in America," Friday (14 February 1941)
Plays
  • Kathleen (1955)[3]
  • Electra: the Legend (1997)
  • The Neutrals (1998)
  • Joan Saint Joan (1991)
Screenplays
Teleplays
  • Der Spazierstock (1955)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Michael Sayers

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Michael Sayers is an Irish writer, poet, playwright, journalist, and screenwriter known for his early literary prominence in 1930s London as a protégé of T.S. Eliot and friend of George Orwell, his influential co-authored books exposing Nazi activities and political conspiracies in the United States during World War II, and his enduring screenwriting career in television and film despite being blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Born in Dublin on 19 December 1911 to parents of Lithuanian Jewish descent whose father supported Irish republicanism, Sayers briefly attended Trinity College Dublin before launching his career by sending poems to T.S. Eliot at The Criterion, which led to reviewing assignments and immersion in London's literary circle. He contributed to The New English Weekly, had stories selected for Best British Short Stories, and shared a flat with George Orwell while reviewing works including Orwell's early novels. Seeking broader opportunities, he moved to New York in 1936, where he served as dramaturge for Norman Bel Geddes and married Mentana Galleani, daughter of Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani. Radicalized by the approach of war, Sayers wrote investigative journalism on Nazi influences in America and collaborated with Albert E. Kahn on three books: Sabotage! The Secret War Against America (1942), The Plot Against the Peace (1945), and the international bestseller The Great Conspiracy (1946). His play Kathleen had a Broadway production in 1948, and he helped pioneer live television drama for NBC. His left-wing views and associations resulted in blacklisting by the House Un-American Activities Committee after the war, compelling him to leave the United States for Europe, where he wrote television scripts under the pseudonym Michael Connor for series including The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Invisible Man, and others. Sayers later contributed to screenplays for films such as Zorba the Greek (1964), Casino Royale (1967), and Hair (1979), and returned to New York in 1980 to see his plays produced while mentoring younger writers. He died in New York on 2 May 2010 at the age of 98.

Early Life and Education

Family Background and Childhood

Michael Sayers was born on 19 December 1911 in Dublin, Ireland, the youngest of four children (three sons and one daughter) born to Lithuanian Jewish immigrants Philip Sayers and Molly (née Harmel). His father, Philip Sayers (1876–1964), arrived in Ireland as a young man and established himself as a businessman while becoming deeply involved in the Irish republican movement as a supporter of Sinn Féin. Philip maintained personal connections with prominent republicans including Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins, contributing to a politically charged atmosphere in the family home. During the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921), the Sayers household experienced police raids, events that remained vivid in Michael Sayers' childhood memories and reflected the family's active sympathy with the republican cause. This blend of Lithuanian Jewish heritage and immersion in Irish nationalist politics shaped his early years in Dublin. Philip Sayers was later buried in the Jewish cemetery at Dolphin's Barn, Dublin.

Education and Early Literary Pursuits

Michael Sayers attended Cheltenham College before undertaking brief law studies at University College London at his father's insistence. He then transferred to Trinity College Dublin, where he studied French under Samuel Beckett, who served as his tutor in the subject. During this period, he contributed poetry to the College Miscellany and wrote for Motley, the magazine published by the Gate Theatre and edited by Mary Manning. Influenced by James Joyce, Sayers composed short stories depicting Irish life, three of which appeared in successive issues of Edward O’Brien’s annual Best Short Stories anthology from 1935 to 1937. After graduating from Trinity College Dublin, Sayers moved to London to pursue full-time literary work.

Early Career in Britain and Move to the United States

Literary and Journalistic Work in the 1930s

In the early 1930s, Michael Sayers established himself in London's literary scene after moving from Dublin, where at age 18 he attracted the attention of T. S. Eliot by submitting poems to The Criterion, leading Eliot to recruit him as a drama critic for the magazine. He contributed theatre reviews to The Criterion, including assessments of plays by Eliot and W. H. Auden, and soon expanded his journalism to other periodicals. A. R. Orage, editor of the New English Weekly, appointed him as a theatre reviewer, and he also contributed drama criticism and stories to the Adelphi under John Middleton Murry. Living a bohemian existence in London supported by subsidies from his mother, Sayers' personal life was complicated by his parents' separation and an intense love affair with his cousin Edna. Through his work for the New English Weekly and Adelphi, he became acquainted with Rayner Heppenstall, and in 1935 the two shared a flat at 50 Lawford Road, Kentish Town, with Eric Blair (George Orwell) for six months. During this period, Sayers and Heppenstall engaged in intense intellectual exchanges with Orwell, whom they regarded as an amiable eccentric with low-brow tastes favoring A. E. Housman, Rudyard Kipling, detective stories, and boys' comics over the high-modernist canon of Yeats, Eliot, and Pound; Sayers later recalled Orwell reciting Kipling "like a barrel-organ … but he did it with great feeling" and characterized their relationship as "very gentle, affectionate and almost ‘homo-erotic’". As a communist fellow traveller at the time, Sayers viewed Orwell as a "sentimental tory anarchist" and was impressed by his efforts to develop a transparent literary style, though he and Heppenstall doubted Orwell's potential for lasting artistic achievement. Sayers reviewed Orwell's early novels Burmese Days and A Clergyman's Daughter in the Adelphi. His growing left-wing sympathies contributed to his decision to relocate to the United States in 1936.

Relocation to America and Initial Projects

In 1936, Michael Sayers relocated to New York City with letters of introduction from T. S. Eliot, where he assumed the role of dramaturge for the prominent theatrical designer and producer Norman Bel Geddes. This move marked his transition from British literary and journalistic circles to opportunities in American theater and publishing. In 1938, Sayers married Mentana Galleani, daughter of the Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani, and the couple had two sons; the marriage contributed in part to his further radicalization. Soon after arriving in the United States, Sayers began contributing articles to left-wing publications including the magazines Friday and PM as well as the anti-fascist newsletter The Hour, with his early American work reflecting a growing focus on anti-Nazi exposés.

Wartime and Post-War Political Writing

Anti-Nazi Investigations and Journalism

In the early 1940s, Michael Sayers contributed to The Hour, an anti-fascist newsletter edited by Albert E. Kahn that focused on exposing Nazi espionage, sabotage, and propaganda operations in the United States and beyond. His investigative journalism for the publication highlighted pro-Nazi activities and fifth-column threats during World War II. In 1945, while on assignment for Fortune magazine, Sayers traveled to Europe and reported on newly liberated Nazi concentration camps, but his editor rejected his story as unbelievable. Sayers' most controversial wartime journalism appeared in March 1944 in the New York newspaper PM, where he published a four-part series beginning with the article "Truth about Nazi espionage in Eire – Irish terrorists work directly under Hitler’s orders" on March 14, followed by pieces addressing the "Rise of Anti-Semitic Fifth Column in Eire." The articles accused the Irish government under Éamon de Valera of tolerating Axis spy networks, including German Legation courier systems and activities linked to figures such as broadcaster Francis Stuart, IRA members Sean Russell and Stephen Hayes, and arrests like that of Henry Lundborg. They further alleged German success in fostering an organized anti-Semitic movement in Ireland, citing elements associated with General Eoin O'Duffy's former fascist group, Fr. Denis Fahey's writings, and American radio priest Charles Coughlin's influence. The series sparked significant diplomatic controversy amid the ongoing American diplomatic note crisis urging Ireland to expel Axis representatives. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs investigated Sayers' background, and prominent Irish Jewish leaders issued statements repudiating claims of government anti-Semitism or an organized anti-Semitic movement in the country. The Jewish Representative Council of Eire declared that no Irish government had discriminated against Jews and denied the existence of any such organized movement. PM responded by clarifying that it did not accuse the de Valera government of official anti-Semitism but maintained that an organized anti-Semitic element existed in Ireland. In a subsequent American radio debate, Sayers repeated his allegations but refused to name supposed Axis agents active in Ireland, leading de Valera supporters to accuse him of making unsubstantiated claims and lying about the Irish people. Later historical assessments have found some of Sayers' espionage-related claims to be substantially accurate, supported by evidence of Axis intelligence operations and individual pro-Nazi activities in Ireland during the war. However, the extent of widespread anti-Semitism was more limited than alleged, rooted in certain Catholic right-wing and opportunistic fascist circles rather than broad state policy or a dominant movement.

Co-Authored Books with Albert E. Kahn

Michael Sayers co-authored three investigative books with Albert E. Kahn during the 1940s, focusing on wartime threats and postwar political dangers from fascist and reactionary forces. Their first collaboration, Sabotage! The Secret War Against America (Harper & Brothers, 1942; reissued 1944), exposed Nazi and fifth-column sabotage operations within the United States during World War II. The second book, The Plot Against the Peace: A Warning to the Nation! (Dial Press, 1945), warned of continuing conspiracies—primarily linked to Nazi and reactionary elements—aimed at undermining a stable postwar peace settlement. Their third and final joint work, The Great Conspiracy: The Secret War Against Soviet Russia (Little, Brown, 1946; later reissued with a variant title emphasizing opposition to Russia), presented an alleged twenty-five-year campaign of espionage, intervention, and sabotage against the Soviet Union involving diverse international actors, while accepting the official justifications of the Moscow Trials and adopting a strongly pro-Soviet stance. This last book achieved international bestseller status and appeared in translations in multiple languages. The overtly political character of these works, especially the pro-Soviet perspective in The Great Conspiracy, contributed to Sayers becoming a target during the McCarthy era.

Blacklisting and Pseudonymous Work

Impact of McCarthyism

During the early 1950s, as Cold War anti-communism intensified in the United States, Michael Sayers became a victim of blacklisting due to his left-wing political associations and his co-authorship of three investigative books with Albert E. Kahn that exposed Nazi and fascist activities in America and alleged conspiracies against the Soviet Union. These works, published between 1942 and 1946, along with his perceived Communist sympathies, drew the attention of the House Un-American Activities Committee and effectively halted his career in American television, where he had previously contributed successful plays for NBC. The blacklisting extended to passport difficulties, with his American passport not being renewed during this period. To circumvent these restrictions, Sayers reclaimed his Irish citizenship with the assistance of Irish writer and diplomat Conor Cruise O'Brien, who helped him obtain an Irish passport. This allowed him to depart the United States and reside temporarily near Cork in Ireland and later in France, before eventually settling in London. His career never fully recovered from the setback of blacklisting in the United States. Earlier, Sayers had briefly returned to London in 1946 after the war, where he met George Orwell shortly after the publication of Animal Farm and found him profoundly depressed amid personal loss and concerns over the atomic bomb. The pressures of blacklisting ultimately led him to shift to pseudonymous television writing in the UK.

Television Scripts Under the Pseudonym Michael Connor

During his blacklisting in the United States following investigations by the House Un-American Activities Committee, Michael Sayers relocated to Europe and wrote television scripts for British production companies under the pseudonym Michael Connor. This allowed him to continue his career in television drama during the late 1950s, primarily contributing to adventure and historical series produced by Sapphire Films. Sayers provided screenplays for multiple episodes of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955–1959), eight episodes of Sword of Freedom (1957), three episodes of William Tell (1958–1959), and two episodes of The Invisible Man (1958–1959), all credited under his pseudonym Michael Connor. He also contributed scripts to other series including Armchair Theatre, Knight Errant Limited, Interpol Calling, and Four Just Men. While living in London during this period, Sayers introduced the British actor Dirk Bogarde to the blacklisted American director Joseph Losey, an encounter that initiated a significant and enduring professional collaboration between the two.

Screenwriting Career

Contributions to British and American Television

Sayers contributed to the early development of American television through his scripts for NBC's pioneering live drama productions in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Following World War II, he wrote television plays for NBC that starred prominent actors including Rex Harrison and Boris Karloff. One notable example is his script for "The Walking Stick" on the NBC anthology series The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre in 1950, which featured Rex Harrison in his first dramatic role on television. After being blacklisted in the United States, Sayers relocated to Europe and continued his television writing under his own name during the 1950s. He provided scripts for the Canadian anthology series On Camera in 1955 and Encounter in 1956. In 1959, he wrote the television movie Spatserkäppen. These non-pseudonymous credits reflect his ongoing engagement with television drama across different markets prior to his transition to feature film screenplays in the 1960s.

Feature Film Screenplays

In the 1960s, Michael Sayers resumed screenwriting for feature films after years of blacklisting, largely through his engagement with producer Charles K. Feldman. Feldman's invitation to Hollywood to work on Casino Royale (1967) prompted the renewal of Sayers' American passport, facilitating a partial return to U.S.-based professional activity. Sayers received official screenplay credit for Casino Royale, the extravagant James Bond parody, alongside Wolf Mankowitz and John Law. Contemporary coverage described him as one of the credited writers amid a large group of contributors to the film's chaotic script development. Although the production involved numerous uncredited inputs from figures such as Woody Allen and Terry Southern, Sayers' credit remained intact in the final film. Sayers also contributed to screenplays for Zorba the Greek (1964) and an early development of Hair under Feldman's auspices, though these efforts did not result in on-screen credit in the released versions. His involvement reflected Feldman's attempts to adapt various literary properties during that period.

Later Life and Legacy

Personal Life and Family

Michael Sayers was married twice and had three children across his marriages. His first marriage was to Mentana Galleani in 1938. Galleani was the daughter of the Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani. The couple had two sons, Sean and Peter, before the marriage ended in divorce in 1955. In 1957, Sayers married Sylvia Thumin, a Paris-based American artist and painter whom he met while living in France. He adopted Thumin's son Brand from her previous relationship, bringing his total number of children to three. Thumin died in 2006. Following their marriage, the family acquired a home in the village of Alba in the Ardèche department of southern France. They also lived in Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland, during 1958–1959 as Sayers sought to reconnect with his Irish roots. In his later years, Sayers resided primarily in New York from around 1980 onward.

Return to New York, Teaching, and Final Works

In the 1980s, Michael Sayers returned permanently to New York City, where he made his home for the rest of his life. There he taught screenwriting and mentored younger writers, encouraging emerging artists and filmmakers in their work. He also continued to serve as a creative consultant on Bond-related projects, building on his earlier contributions to the franchise. In his later years Sayers remained active as a playwright, producing several new works that were staged in the 1990s. These included Joan Saint Joan, which premiered in London in 1991, followed by Electra: the Legend in New York in 1997 and The Neutrals in New York in 1998. These productions marked a continued engagement with theater despite the long-term challenges posed by his earlier blacklisting. Sayers also returned to poetry during this period, composing new verses in his final years, though none of this late poetry appeared in print before his death.

Death and Recognition

Michael Sayers died on 2 May 2010 in New York City at the age of 98. Obituaries in several publications characterized him as a gifted writer whose career was severely curtailed by blacklisting during the McCarthy era. In The Independent, he was described as "a gentle, humorous man, who, like many gifted writers of his generation, paid the price for having the wrong opinions at the wrong time in the wrong place, and whose career never quite recovered from the set-back," and as "perhaps the last surviving link to the pre-war London literary scene." The Irish Times remembered him as "a charming and engaging person" who was "an inspiring teacher whose guidance benefited many aspiring writers and poets," while noting his pioneering role in live television drama and that his late poetry remains unpublished. The Guardian obituary, written by his son Sean Sayers, recounted his journey from the inter-war London literary world—where he engaged with figures such as T.S. Eliot and George Orwell—to his later struggles under McCarthyism, which led to blacklisting for his leftwing sympathies and forced him to work pseudonymously in television. Sayers is thus regarded as a survivor of both the vibrant inter-war literary milieu and the repressive anti-communist climate of mid-20th-century America, with aspects of his literary output, including later poetry, remaining uncollected.
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