Spoiler : Born in Chicago, Illinois 4/17/1918; died 4/15/2004 of lung cancer at his home in New Hope, Pennsylvaina. Married to Jane Vosper (?-1996 her death); Mary Ann Van (?-2004 his death). Graduated from the University of Chicago Laboratory School, and Dartmouth where he twice won the prize for best original play. He spent a year at Yale before becoming a writer for WGN- Chicago radio. Hess served during WWII as a tank officer, later assisting victims of concentration camps and refugees relocate. Following discharge from the Army, he returned to writing at WGN. In 1954, he was named playwright in residence at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Spoiler : Creator of the CBS-TV soap, Love of Life (1951-1980). During the early years of the program, Hess wrote 2 or 3 episodes of the serial a week.

Spoiler : Writer for television series including episodes of Startime (1959) The Nurses Espionage (1963) The Streets of San Francisco M*A*S*H The Rockford Files Alice One Day at a Time