Clay was born in Chicago, as the song goes. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and worked as a journalist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Rolling Stone magazine before moving to Los Angeles and embarking on a career as a writer for film and television. Feature film credits include DEFIANCE, UNDERFIRE, THE COURT-MARTIAL OF JACKIE ROBINSON and THE DELINQUENTS. Television credits include SHANNON’S DEAL and HEARTS ARE WILD. Clay has been a WGA member since 1974. He currently serves on the Arbitration Committee and Policy Review Board. For the past seven years Clay has participated in a Writers Guild Foundation program to mentor military veterans interested in writing for film and television.