Biography
William Hasley is a multifaceted writer who is a hard man to pigeon-hole and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where some say that boys enter the world with a football in their hands, and that’s not far from the truth, Will considers himself a football player, turned writer. “If you can’t play pro ball, at least you can imagine it and write about it.” Soon, Will turned his imagination into a profession; venturing to Hollywood after graduating from Marshall University where he played football and ran cross-country.
Will first worked for Hanna-Barbera and Filmation Studios writing for “The Smurfs” and “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.” It was the “Cosby” script about the Special Olympics that got Will involved in the Special Olympics, not just as a writer, but as a volunteer as well. Always passionate about sports, Will’s excitement center was also touched in a big way when he worked with NBC-TV on their project “Star Salute to the U.S. Olympic Team.” During this time Will met Olympic gold medal winner Bruce Jenner. They became fast friends and Jenner commissioned Will to write a motivational book about his championship philosophy entitled, “Finding the Champion Within” for Simon & Schuster. At Simon & Schuster, Will was commissioned to ghostwrite other motivational books entitled, “Passion, Profit, & Power “for Marshall Sylver,and “The Slight Edge” for Jeff Olson. Will next assignment was to write his first biography for David Paul Gregg, the inventor of the video disc (DVD) which has revolutionized the music and the entertainment industry.
Will’s latest book Chasing the Wind, The Autobiography of Steve Fossett for Virgin Publishing has recently been released. Will is now writing a second book about Steve Fossett and his mysterious death. Will has been involved as a producer on two television specials; “The Mysterious death of Steve Fossett” for A&E and “Steve Fossett: What Went Wrong,” for the Discovery Channel.
Will has several television scripts to his credit before he launched a career as a television pilot writer. At Warner Brothers Will worked with Les Moonves and Nina Tassler in developing “Borderline Heroes” an hour pilot which was sold to ABC. He was given a blind pilot deal at Castle Rock Entertainment where he wrote a half hour comedy pilot, entitled “Steeltown.” At Universal, Will developed the pilot, “Brooklyn District.”
At Universal, Will had the privilege to launch his movie career when he worked with Gerald Green and Oliver Stone as a writer on “Defiance.” Will sold his own screenplays to Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Logo Entertainment, Total Media Corp., Minds-Eye Pictures. Will has a film in pre-production with InSight Films.
When Will isn’t meeting a deadline, you’ll most likely find him fighting City Hall over an environmental issue, writing an article, teaching a writing class at UCLA, volunteering in a soup-kitchen, or speaking to a youth organization. Will’s a great sports enthusiast. He’s often playing in a Celebrity Golf Tournament, Showbiz Softball League, or riding horses with the infamous Hole in the Wall Gang.
William Hasley is a multifaceted writer who is a hard man to pigeon-hole and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where some say that boys enter the world with a football in their hands, and that’s not far from the truth, Will considers himself a football player, turned writer. “If you can’t play pro ball, at least you can imagine it and write about it.” Soon, Will turned his imagination into a profession; venturing to Hollywood after graduating from Marshall University where he played football and ran cross-country.
Will first worked for Hanna-Barbera and Filmation Studios writing for “The Smurfs” and “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.” It was the “Cosby” script about the Special Olympics that got Will involved in the Special Olympics, not just as a writer, but as a volunteer as well. Always passionate about sports, Will’s excitement center was also touched in a big way when he worked with NBC-TV on their project “Star Salute to the U.S. Olympic Team.” During this time Will met Olympic gold medal winner Bruce Jenner. They became fast friends and Jenner commissioned Will to write a motivational book about his championship philosophy entitled, “Finding the Champion Within” for Simon & Schuster. At Simon & Schuster, Will was commissioned to ghostwrite other motivational books entitled, “Passion, Profit, & Power “for Marshall Sylver,and “The Slight Edge” for Jeff Olson. Will next assignment was to write his first biography for David Paul Gregg, the inventor of the video disc (DVD) which has revolutionized the music and the entertainment industry.
Will’s latest book Chasing the Wind, The Autobiography of Steve Fossett for Virgin Publishing has recently been released. Will is now writing a second book about Steve Fossett and his mysterious death. Will has been involved as a producer on two television specials; “The Mysterious death of Steve Fossett” for A&E and “Steve Fossett: What Went Wrong,” for the Discovery Channel.
Will has several television scripts to his credit before he launched a career as a television pilot writer. At Warner Brothers Will worked with Les Moonves and Nina Tassler in developing “Borderline Heroes” an hour pilot which was sold to ABC. He was given a blind pilot deal at Castle Rock Entertainment where he wrote a half hour comedy pilot, entitled “Steeltown.” At Universal, Will developed the pilot, “Brooklyn District.”
At Universal, Will had the privilege to launch his movie career when he worked with Gerald Green and Oliver Stone as a writer on “Defiance.” Will sold his own screenplays to Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Logo Entertainment, Total Media Corp., Minds-Eye Pictures. Will has a film in pre-production with InSight Films.
When Will isn’t meeting a deadline, you’ll most likely find him fighting City Hall over an environmental issue, writing an article, teaching a writing class at UCLA, volunteering in a soup-kitchen, or speaking to a youth organization. Will’s a great sports enthusiast. He’s often playing in a Celebrity Golf Tournament, Showbiz Softball League, or riding horses with the infamous Hole in the Wall Gang.