The son of character actor Dennis Hoey (Insp. Lestrade in the Universal "Sherlock Holmes" series), Michael A. Hoey was born in London and relocated to the U.S. as a child. Growing up in the shadows of the Hollywood studios, he decided he wanted to get into the business and began his career in the editing room. Branching out into production, he formed a company (Bardin Productions) in partnership with actor Britt Lomond and made the documentary The Legend of Mandinga (1961). After working at Warner Brothers in the early 1960s, Hoey collaborated with director Norman Taurog on several Elvis Presley movies and (on his own) wrote and directed the sci-fi shocker Dehşet Adası (1966). In more recent years, he has worked as a writer-producer-director on TV's Fame (1982), as well as having written, directed or edited numerous TV series episodes and TV movies. From 1997 to 2006, he and John Moffitt executive-produced the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.