Michael A. Hoey, who wrote the screenplays for a pair of
Elvis Presley films and was the architect behind the 1966 cult science-fiction
movie The Navy vs. the Night Monsters, has died. He was 79.
Hoey, the son of English actor Dennis Hoey — who played
the bumbling Inspector Lestrade in the 1940s Universal Pictures series of
Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce — died Sunday of
cancer at his home in San Clemente, Calif., his son Dennis told The Hollywood
Reporter.
Michael Hoey also produced, wrote, directed and edited
several episodes of the 1980s music drama series Fame, based on the Alan Parker
box-office hit. He earned two Emmy Award nominations for his work on the show
and wrote a behind-the-scenes book about the series that was published in 2010.
Hoey penned the scripts for the Presley films Stay Away,
Joe and Live a Little, Love a Little, both released in 1968. For the latter, he
worked with director Norman Taurog, who also helmed the teen comedy Palm
Springs Weekend (1963), a film that Hoey produced.
In The Navy vs. the Night Monsters, a staff manning a
weather station on an isolated island fights for survival against a carnivorous
plant-like species that spews acid, moves around at night and reproduces
quickly.
The cast included Anthony Eisely, Mamie Van Doren, Bobby
Van and Billy Gray, best known as the son on Father Knows Best. Jack Broder
produced (with an uncredited assist from Roger Corman) and gave the movie what
Hoey once called its “abominable” title.
“I remember the day when I was rehearsing and Jack Broder
walked in and announced what the new title was going to be,” Hoey told author
Tom Weaver. “The entire cast was ready to walk out. They were furious.”
In the interview with Weaver, Hoey said the film had a
10-day shooting schedule and cost $178,000 to make.
Born in London and raised in Beverly Hills, Hoey began
his Hollywood career as an editor, working for such top-notch directors as John
Ford, George Cukor and Fred Zinnemann. Studio head Jack Warner made him a
producer for Palm Springs Weekend, which starred Troy Donahue, Robert Conrad,
Stefanie Powers and Connie Stevens.
Hoey later would direct episodes of Dallas, Falcon Crest,
Murder, She Wrote and Crossroads Café; wrote for the shows The Rat Patrol, Get
Christie Love! and McCloud; and served for years as executive producer of the
Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
He also wrote the books Elvis, Sherlock and Me: How I
Survived Growing Up In Hollywood; Sherlock Holmes and the Fabulous Faces: The
Universal Pictures Repertory Company; and Elvis’ Favorite Director: The Amazing
52-Year Career of Norman Taurog.
He served two four-year terms as a governor on the board
of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and the WGA honored him with
its prestigious Morgan Cox Award in 1997.
Hoey asked that his film books be donated to the USC
School of Cinematic Arts, where he taught editing as an adjunct professor.
In addition to his son Dennis, a former Hollywood makeup
artist and producer of TV commercials,
survivors include his daughters Lauren
and Karin.
The family plans a small memorial service, with his ashes
scattered at sea.
HOOEY, Michael A.
Born: 9/8/1934, London, England, U.K.
Died: 8/17/2014, San Clemente, California, U.S.A.
Michael A. Hooey’s westerns – writer, assistant film
editor, dialogue coach:
Sergeant Rutledge – 1960 [assistant film editor]
Tickle Me – 1965 [dialogue coach]
Stay Away Joe – 1968 [writer]
The North Star – 1996 [film editor]
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