Arthur Hiller was a prolific director best known for helming the 1970 movie Love Story, starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal. The classic romantic film followed the story of a wealthy young man and working-class young woman who fall in love despite their differences. Based on the novel by Erich Segal, the film famously touted the tagline, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
Hiller earned an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win for his work. The film earned seven Oscar nominations in all. It was also one of the most profitable films ever made, costing only $2 million to make, and earning more than $106 million.
Hiller also served as director on the classic movies The In-Laws, with Pater Falk and Alan Arkin and The Our of Towners, starring Jack Lemmon. He also made two films with comedic powerhouses Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor — Silver Streak and See No Evil, Hear No Evil.
Additionally, Hiller helmed The Wheeler Dealers, with Lee Remick and James Garner; Paddy Chayefsky’s The Americanization of Emily, with Garner and Julie Andrews, and the screenwriter’s The Hospital, starring George C. Scott; Promise Her Anything, with Warren Beatty and Leslie Caron; Penelope, starring Natalie Wood; Popi, starring Arkin; Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite, with Walter Matthau and Maureen Stapleton; Man of La Mancha, with Peter O’Toole and Sophia Loren; Arthur! Arthur!, starring Al Pacino; Romantic Comedy, with Dudley Moore; The Lonley Guy, starring Steve Martin; Outrageous Fortune, with Shelley Long and Bette Midler; Taking Care of Business, starring Jim Belushi; The Babe, with John Goodman; and National Lampoon’s Pucked, starring Jon Bon Jovi.
Hiller also worked extensively in television, earning his first credits as a producer for the series On Camera. He went on to helm episodes of Wagon Train, Perry Mason, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bus Stop, The Detectives, Route 66, Ben Casey, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color and the pilot of The Addams Family.
In 1962, he earned an Emmy nomination for his work on the drama series Naked City, which chronicled cases of the NYPD’s 65th Precinct.
Hiller’s interest in entertainment began at the age of 11, when he began performing in his parents’ Yiddish theater. After graduating from high school, he spent three years in the Royal Canadian Air Force before he began his career in his native Canada, where he started out in radio before transitioning to Canadian television at the CBC. In 1955, he moved to Los Angeles to direct “live” televised theater, including Matinee Theatre, The Ford Television Theatre, Playhouse 90 and Goodyear Theatre.
Hiller’s long career in Hollywood also included a 1989 to 1993 run as president of the Directors Guild of America, followed by four terms, from 1993 to 1997, as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 2002, he was the recipient of AMPAS’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his lifetime of charitable efforts.
Hiller died August 17, 2016, in Los Angeles. He was 92.
