Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg (born 5 May 1940) is a British and American television, film, music video, and theatre director. Beginning his career in British television, Lindsay-Hogg became a pioneer in music film production, directing promotional films for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Following his work with these bands, he branched out into film and theatre, while still maintaining careers in television and music video production.
Also recorded as Sir Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 5th Baronet · Sir Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 5th Bt.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg

Photograph by Marie Hansen [1] (1918–1969) ([2]), staff photographer, Life magazine (Time Inc.) · Life magazine, January 10, 1944 (page 99) · Public domain
- Name
- Michael Lindsay-Hogg
- Born
- 5 May 1940
- Birthplace
- New York City, U.S.
- Education
- Trinity School Choate School
- Occupation
- Director
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- film direction · television direction · directing
- Honours
- British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series
- Languages
- English
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Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg (born 5 May 1940) is a British and American television, film, music video, and theatre director. Beginning his career in British television, Lindsay-Hogg became a pioneer in music film production, directing promotional films for the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Following his work with these bands, he branched out into film and theatre, while still maintaining careers in television and music video production.
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Note VALÉORINE
Michael Lindsay-Hogg (born 1940) is an American film director, music video director and screenwriter, among other activities. The film director was born in New York City.
Michael Lindsay-Hogg studied at Trinity School. The film director is active in directing, film direction and television direction.
Languages used include English. Michael Lindsay-Hogg received British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q3308337 · wikipedia · Michael Lindsay-Hogg
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Michael Lindsay-Hogg • Born — 5 May 1940 • Birthplace — New York City, U.S. • Education — Trinity School Choate School • Occupation — Director • Years Active — 1965–present • Notable Works — * Let It Be • Brideshead Revisited • Whose Life Is It Anyway? • Mother — Geraldine Fitzgerald • Citizenship — United States, United Kingdom • Website — michaellindsay-hogg.com
Early life and parentage
Early life and parentage
• Illustration — Michael as a toddler with his mother Geraldine in 1944 Michael Lindsay-Hogg was born in New York City in 1940 to actress Geraldine Fitzgerald, who was then married to Sir Edward William Lindsay-Hogg. He was educated at Trinity School in New York and at Choate School in Connecticut. For most of his early life, he understood that his father was Fitzgerald's husband, Sir Edward Lindsay-Hogg, to whom she was married until 1946. When Michael Lindsay-Hogg was 16, his mother reluctantly divulged that there had been pervasive rumours that his father was Orson Welles, and she denied them—but in such detail that he was left confused and skeptical. Fitzgerald evaded the subject for the rest of her life. Lindsay-Hogg knew Welles, worked with him in the theatre, and met him at intervals throughout Welles's life. After he learned that Welles's oldest daughter, Chris, his childhood playmate, had long suspected that he was her brother, Lindsay-Hogg initiated a DNA test, which proved inconclusive. In his 2011 autobiography, Lindsay-Hogg reported that his questions were resolved by his mother's close friend Gloria Vanderbilt, who wrote that Fitzgerald had told her that Welles was his father. A 2015 Welles biography by Patrick McGilligan, however, argues that Welles could not be the father: Fitzgerald left the U.S. for Ireland in May 1939, and was pregnant at the time she returned in late October, while Welles did not travel overseas during that period. Lindsay-Hogg grew up with a stepfather, American businessman Stuart Scheftel, who married Fitzgerald in 1946.
Career
Career
Lindsay-Hogg worked as producer's assistant for the film Dear Heart (1964). In 1965, he directed episodes of the British pop programme Ready Steady Go! featuring artists such as the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, and The Who. In addition to these he directed episodes of Blackmail, The Informer, A Man of Our Times, Half Hour Story, and The Company of Five, a series of television plays. He served as the series director of The Ronnie Barker Playhouse in 1968. In 1969, the episode "Matakitas is Coming" that he directed of the mystery/supernatural anthology series Journey to the Unknown was released as part of a TV movie. Through his work on Ready Steady Go!, Lindsay-Hogg became acquainted with some of the top rock artists of the day, and was subsequently hired to direct promotional films for their songs. Some of his early promo film work includes films for the Beatles' "Paperback Writer", "Rain", "Hey Jude", and "Revolution" and the Rolling Stones' "2000 Light Years from Home", "Jumpin' Jack Flash", and "Child of the Moon". His work on these and other films led Camerimage to award him a retrospective "Music Video Pioneer" award in 2012. The Rolling Stones liked his work, and he was approached in 1968 to direct a full-length television special. Lindsay-Hogg conceived The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, featuring the Stones and other musicians playing in a circus atmosphere. The band was not completely satisfied with the result, and the film did not see release until 1996. Lindsay-Hogg was hired by the Beatles to direct a film. Originally conceived as a television special, Get Back was to feature footage of the Beatles recording a new album and rehearsing for a concert appearance. However, the film and album were shelved for a time following the Beatles' rooftop concert in January 1969. The Beatles returned to the project, and released the newly retitled Let It Be (1970) along with an album of the same name. Material originally captured for Lindsay-Hogg's 1970 documentary was used by Peter Jackson for the 2021 documentary series The Beatles: Get Back, which portrays more harmony than acrimony during those sessions. Following Let It Be, Lindsay-Hogg continued his work in UK television, directing both episodes and TV movies, including work on the TV serial Brideshead Revisited (1981). His work on the BBC series Play for Today and Play of the Week, and the serial Brideshead Revisited were each nominated for BAFTA awards, in 1974, 1978, and 1983, respectively, with Brideshead Revisited winning for Best Drama Series/Serial. His second feature film as director, Nasty Habits (1977), is a comedy satire of the Watergate scandal. His third theatrical film, The Sound of Murder, was released in 1982. Lindsay-Hogg continued directing music videos throughout the 1970s, including many for the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney and Wings. In 1985, he directed the video for Whitney Houston's single "You Give Good Love". During the 1980s he returned to directing concert films, including Simon and Garfunkel's The Concert in Central Park, Neil Young's Neil Young in Berlin and Paul Simon, Graceland: The African Concert. Lindsay-Hogg's work in the 1980s also included directing TV movies of various plays and novels, including adaptations of Doctor Fischer of Geneva (1984), Master Harold...and the Boys (1985), As Is (1986), and The Little Match Girl (1987). Lindsay-Hogg's The Object of Beauty for the BBC's Screen Two series of television films received positive reviews in 1991, and his comedy/drama for HBO, Running Mates, was broadcast in 1992. Frankie Starlight (1995), which followed, was met with mixed reception. In 1994, he directed the Roger Daltrey concert film A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who. The VH1 television movie entitled Two of Us (2000) is a fictionalized account of the last meeting between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. He directed a film adaptation of Samuel Beckett's absurdist play Waiting for Godot (2001). In addition to his television and film work, Lindsay-Hogg is known for his work in theatre. He directed both the original 1978 stage production (for which he was nominated for a Tony Award) and 1980 revival of Whose Life Is It Anyway?. He also directed Broadway productions of Agnes of God (1982), and The Boys of Winter (1985). Off-Broadway, he helmed Larry Kramer's AIDS drama The Normal Heart in 1985. Lindsay-Hogg autobiography entitled Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York, and Points Beyond was published in 2011. It chronicles his career and his relationship with Orson Welles. After a long break from television and film work, Lindsay-Hogg began directing the web series Tinsel's Town in 2015.
Personal life
Personal life
Lindsay-Hogg married Lucy Mary Davies in 1967; they divorced in 1971. Lucy Lindsay-Hogg subsequently became the second wife of photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, in 1978. For 10 years, in the 1970s, Lindsay-Hogg was romantically involved with English actress Jean Marsh. He has also been involved with Gloria Vanderbilt, who had assured Lindsay-Hogg that Orson Welles was his father. He was also reportedly romantically linked with Mary Tyler Moore, whom he directed on Broadway in Whose Life Is It Anyway? Lindsay-Hogg's father Sir Edward Lindsay-Hogg died in 1999 and Lindsay-Hogg was next in line to succeed to the baronetcy of Rotherfield Hall in East Sussex, but took no steps to prove his succession; the baronetcy is listed as dormant on the official roll.
Filmography
Filmography
• Journey to the Unknown (1968) – episode "Matakitas is Coming" • Let It Be (1970) • A.D.A.M. (1973) – TV movie • A Touch of Eastern Promise (1973) – TV movie • Occupations (1974) – TV movie • Nasty Habits (1977) • Professional Foul (1977) – TV play • Brideshead Revisited (1981) – TV serial • The Concert in Central Park (1982) – TV movie • The Sound of Murder (1982) • Neil Young in Berlin (1983) • Dr. Fischer of Geneva (1985) – TV movie • Master Harold...and the Boys (1985) – TV movie • As Is (1986) – TV movie • Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story (1986) – TV movie • The Little Match Girl (1987) – TV movie • Paul Simon, Graceland: The African Concert (1987) – TV movie • Murder by Moonlight (1989) – TV movie • Nightmare Classics (1989) – TV movie ("The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde") • The Object of Beauty (1991) • The Habitation of Dragons (1992) – TV movie • Running Mates (1992) – TV movie • A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who (1994) • Frankie Starlight (1995) • Ivana Trump's For Love Alone (1996) – TV movie • The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (1996) • Guy (1997) • Alone (1997) – TV movie • Two of Us (2000) – TV movie • Waiting for Godot (2001) Music videos • The Beatles – "Paperback Writer" (1966) • The Beatles – "Rain" (1966) • The Rolling Stones – "2000 Light Years from Home" (1967) • The Rolling Stones – "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1968) Two versions aesthetic of same song. • The Rolling Stones – "Child of the Moon" (1968) • The Beatles – "Hey Jude" (1968) • The Beatles – "Revolution" (1968) • Silver Metre – "Country Comforts" (1970) • The Rolling Stones – "Angie" (1973) • The Rolling Stones – "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" (1973) • The Rolling Stones – "Silver Train" (1973) • The Rolling Stones – "Dancing with Mr. D" (1973) • Wings – "Helen Wheels" (1973) • The Rolling Stones – "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" (1974) • The Rolling Stones – "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (1974) • The Rolling Stones – "Till the Next Goodbye" (1974) • The Rolling Stones – "Fool to Cry" (1976) • The Rolling Stones – "Crazy Mama" (1976) • The Rolling Stones – "Hey Negrita" (1976) • The Rolling Stones – "Hot Stuff" (1976) • Wings – "Mull of Kintyre" (1977) • Wings – "With a Little Luck" (1978) • Elton John – "Ego" (1978) • The Rolling Stones – "Miss You" (1978) • The Rolling Stones – "Far Away Eyes" (1978) • Wings – "London Town" (1978) • The Rolling Stones – "Respectable" (1978) • The Rolling Stones – "Start Me Up" (1981) • The Rolling Stones – "Worried About You" (1981) • The Rolling Stones – "Neighbours" (1981) • The Rolling Stones – "Waiting on a Friend" (1981) • The Rolling Stones – "Hang Fire" (1982) • Whitney Houston – "You Give Good Love" (1985)
Life and work
Life and work
Michael Lindsay-Hogg was born on 5 May 1940 in New York City. Lindsay-Hogg held the nationality of United States. Lindsay-Hogg was educated at Trinity School. Married to: Lucy Davies. Recorded father: Orson Welles and Sir Edward William Lindsay-Hogg, 4th Bt. Recorded mother: Geraldine Fitzgerald. Lindsay-Hogg worked as film director, screenwriter, theatre director and television director, and the authority record catalogues a further 1 occupations under the same name, among them music video director. Lindsay-Hogg was active from 1965. Lindsay-Hogg worked in English.
Work for the screen
Work for the screen
Lindsay-Hogg worked for the screen, as film director and screenwriter. 18 films survive in the institutional catalogues, spanning 1968 to 2001. Among them are Revolution (1968), Let It Be (1970), Journey to the Unknown (1970), Nasty Habits (1977), Master Harold..and the Boys (1985) and As Is (1986). The whole run is set out in the catalogue below.
Catalogued output
Films and moving-image works
These entries are catalogued as moving-image works. The 1990s are the densest part of the run, with 7 titles, and that concentration is a fact about what the registers have catalogued rather than a judgement on the work itself.
18 films carry dates between 1968 and 2001
The run opens with Revolution and closes with Waiting for Godot
Revolution
1968
Let It Be
1970
Journey to the Unknown
1970
Nasty Habits
1977
Master Harold..and the Boys
1985
The Beate Klarsfeld Story
1986
The Little Match Girl
1987
Murder in Space
1989
The Object of Beauty
1991
Running Mates
1992
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Michael Lindsay-Hogg”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3308337: Michael Lindsay-Hogg
General reference · Wikidata
Authority records
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Lindsay-Hogg, Michael. Library of Congress.
- 2.Lindsay-Hogg, Michael. Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York and Points Beyond. Alfred A. Knopf. 2011. 978-0-307-59468-6.
- 3.Hodgson, Moira. A Director Casts About for Clues. The Wall Street Journal. September 30, 2011.
- 4.Witchel, Alex. Are You My Father, Orson Welles?. The New York Times. September 30, 2011.
- 5.Thorpe, Vanessa. The 'only son' of Orson Welles to take DNA test. 30 January 2010.
- 6.McGilligan, Patrick. Young Orson. Harper. 602. 2015. 978-0-06-211248-4.
- 7.Adams, Bernard. Geraldine Fitzgerald. The Independent. 19 July 2005.
- 8.Dear Heart. AFI. History.
- 9.MICHAEL LINDSAY-HOGG WITH MUSIC VIDEO PIONEER AWARD. CAMERIMAGE.
- 10.February 2020, Johnny Black11. The chaotic story of The Rolling Stones' star-studded Rock And Roll Circus. loudersound. February 11, 2020.
- 11.Michael Lindsay-Hogg. AFI.
- 12.Maslin, Janet. Original New York Times review. Movies.nytimes.com. 22 November 1995.
- 13.Katz, Richard. Quinn, Harris play Paul, John for VH1. Variety. 1999-09-14.
- 14.Clark, Brian. Whose Life is it Anyway?. Heinemann. ix. 1993. 978-0-435-23287-0.
- 15.Comedy Web Series. Tinsel's Town.
- 16.Teachers Bios. Society Performers Academy.
- 17.Snowdon, Earl of (UK, 1961).
- 18.Upstairs Downstairs' Jean Marsh interview: A touch of class below stairs. The Daily Telegraph. 16 December 2010.
- 19.Michael Lindsay-hogg. Turner Classic Movies.
- 20.Williams, Alex. Directing the Beatles Was Just One Part of His Long and Winding Career. The New York Times. 2022-07-06. 0362-4331.
- 21.Standing Council of the Baronetage. Official Roll of the Baronetage.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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