Although born in England, Michael grew up in Beverly Hills and began his career in Hollywood in the editing department, working for such industry icons as John Ford, Fred Zinneman and George Cukor. Later, after Jack L. Warner promoted him, he produced the teen comedy, Palm Springs Weekend, starring Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Robert Conrad and Stefanie Powers. He wrote and directed The Legend of Mandinga and the cult science fiction film, The Navy vs The Night Monsters, as well as two Elvis Presley films, Stay Away, Joe and Live a Little, Love a Little. He was a contributing writer on four more Elvis films, as well as serving as associate producer on two of them. Michael A. Hoey was the son of British actor Dennis Hoey, Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard in the Sherlock Holmes films.
He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award and received the Writers Guild's Morgan Cox Award, a Media Award for his writing on Fame, and an A.C.E. Eddie Award for editing. He served two four-year terms as Governor on the Board of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and two terms on the Academy's Executive Committee.
He wrote episodes for The Rat Patrol, Get Christie Love, McCloud, and The Lazarus Syndrome, which he also produced. He directed numerous episodes of Falcon Crest, Dallas, Blacke's Magic and Murder, She Wrote, and for five seasons was a writer/director on the popular series Fame.
He lived with his wife in San Clemente, California.
He died in 2014 of cancer at his home in San Clemente.
