Overview
Billy Hayes' letter to his family and friends while imprisoned in Turkey. Also includes some material from his book about the experience and the subsequent movie, both titled Midnight Express.
Dates
- Creation: 1971-1978
Language of Materials
Collection materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material. Collection is open for research.
Extent
.25 linear feet (1 box)The collection consists chiefly of letters from Billy Hayes to his family and friends. There is also some correspondence between Hayes and American officials concerning his predicament and one letter between the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations and a United States Senator (Marshall Wright to Norris Cotton) asking for aid in gaining proper justice for Hayes. In addition to correspondence, the collection contains a carbon typescript of part of a chapter from the book Midnight Express. and some clippings and photographs concerning Hayes, his book, and the movie Midnight Express.
Biographical / Historical
William "Billy" Hayes (born 1947) is an American writer, actor, director, and convicted drug smuggler. On October 7, 1970, he was caught trying to smuggle hashish out of Turkey. He was arrested and sentenced to more than four years in prison. Close to his release date, the Turkish authorities changed his sentence to life in prison. He escaped from prison on October 2, 1975, crossing first into Greece then being deported from Greece to Germany, where he finally ended up in American custody. He wrote a book about his experience. Published in 1977, Midnight Express was adapted for screen and made into a movie of the same name directed by Alan Parker and released in 1978.
Arrangement
Arranged in two series:
- I. Correspondence
- II. Other materials
Physical Location
b
Immediate Source of Acquisition
2012M-44. Deposit, Julio Santo Domingo III; received: 2012 April.
Forms part of the Julio Mario Santo Domingo Collection.
Processing Information
Processed by: Susan Wyssen
- Title
- Hayes, Billy. Billy Hayes letters from a Turkish prison, 1970-1978: Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou02564
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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