Joseph Losey was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin on 14th January, 1909. After being educated at Dartmouth College (Medicine) and Harvard University (English Literature) he travelled to Germany to study with Bertolt Brecht. When he returned to the United States he directed plays in New York. This included the world premiere of Brecht's Galileo.

After the war Losey to Hollywood where he directed The Boy With the Green Hair (1948), The Lawless (1950), The Big Night (1951) and The Prowler (1951).

Losey was named as a member of the Communist Party during investigations by the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Like former comrades, such as Herbert Biberman, Lester Cole, Albert Maltz, Adrian Scott, Samuel Ornitz,, Dalton Trumbo, Edward Dmytryk, Ring Lardner Jr., John Howard Lawson, Alvah Bessie, Lillian Hellman, Dashiell Hammett, Michael Wilson, Paul Jarrico, Anne Revere, Jeff Corey, Arthur Miller, John Garfield, Howard Da Silva, and Abraham Polonsky, Losey refused to answer any questions.

Blacklisted in Hollywood, Losey moved to England where he made a series of impressive films including Criminal (1960),The Servant (1963), King and Country (1964), The Go-Between (1971), The Assassination of Trotsky (1972), A Doll's House (1973) and Galileo (1974).Joseph Losey died in London on 22nd June, 1984.