---
name: "John D. Hess"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/john-d-hess"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "17 April 1918"
died: "15 April 2004"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T16:26:58.606913+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# John D. Hess

Writer. Born 17 April 1918 in Chicago. Died 15 April 2004.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 17 April 1918, Chicago
- **Died:** 15 April 2004

## Biography

John D. Hess was a writer for radio, television and the stage. He was born in Chicago on 17 April 1918 and educated at the University of Chicago Laboratory School, Dartmouth College and Yale Drama School. After working as a staff writer for WGN radio in Chicago, he served as a tank officer in the Second World War.

In 1951 Hess originated the CBS daytime soap opera *Love of Life*, which ran until 1980; he also wrote for other soaps including *The Secret Storm* and *General Hospital*. His later credits included episodes of the comedies *M*A*S*H* (three episodes, 1974–1977), *Alice* and *One Day at a Time*, and the dramas *The Streets of San Francisco*, *The Rockford Files* and *Ben Casey*. He wrote the 1961 feature film *A Matter of Morals*, which he also produced, and several stage plays.

*Sources: nytimes.com, imdb.com, bucksco.michenerartmuseum.org.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *M*A*S*H* (1972), Fi1m 85, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/m-a-s-h-1972.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/john-d-hess