“FILE – In this February 11, 1997 file photo, Arthur Hiller, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, announces best actress Oscar nominees at the Academy headquarters in Beverly Hills, Calif. Hiller, who received an Oscar nomination for directing the romantic tragedy “Love Story” during a career that spanned dozens of popular movies and TV shows”, died Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016, of natural causes.
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In 2002 the Academy presented him with its Jean Hersholt award for humanitarian service. The film reduced thousands of moviegoers to tears and created a national catch phrase: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry”.
Be Civil – It’s OK to have a difference in opinion but there’s no need to be a jerk. “I could have said, ‘Oh, it’s snowing, ‘ and listened to the producer who said, ‘We’ll call it a day and wait until tomorrow, ‘ but everyone got into it, you know, the hand-held camera just watching them play…”
In addition to the comedy The In-Laws (1979), which featured Alan Arkin as a mild-mannered dentist thrust into a wild Central Intelligence Agency caper with the father (Peter Falk) of his soon-to-be son-in-law, Hiller’s impressive body of work includes the musical Man of La Mancha (1972), with Peter O’Toole and Sophia Loren; The Man in the Glass Booth (1975), starring Maximilian Schell; and Silver Streak (1976), the first pairing of Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder.
In addition to serving as Academy president, Hiller was also the president of the Directors Guild of America for four years.
The well-liked Hiller went on to direct more than 30 features in all manner of genres, from intense dramas to light comedies to musicals.
Paramount at the time was “in rocky financial shape”, Hiller recalled in a 1991 interview with The Times.
He also helmed the lackluster movie version of the musical “Man of La Mancha” (1972) with Peter O’Toole and Sophia Loren, and “W.C. Fields and Me” (1976), with Rod Steiger as the comedic actor and Valerie Perrine as his mistress. Less successful was the comedy “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” (1989), about a deaf man (Wilder) and blind man (Pryor) who together can piece together a murder. “Author!” (1982) with Al Pacino, “The Lonely Guy” (1984) with Steve Martin, “Outrageous Fortune” (1987) with Bette Midler and “The Babe” (1992) with John Goodman as Babe Ruth. His credits include “The Americanization of Emily“, “Love Story” (for which he received an Oscar nomination), “The Hospital“, “The In-Laws“, “Silver Streak” and “The Man in the Glass Booth”. “Even in my smaller, lesser films, at least there’s an affirmation of the human spirit”.
Hiller’s exposure to film started early in Edmonton, where his parents operated a Yiddish school and theatre.
During World War Two, he flew bombing raids for the Royal Canadian Air Force over Germany.
He had thought about an acting or announcing job, but when the receptionist asked what kind of job, he found himself saying he wanted to be a director.
He joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.in 1949, advancing rapidly from directing public affairs programs to dramas. He studied psychology in college, then began his career in radio in Canada before moving to Los Angeles to direct a live TV drama series.
Hiller had his shares of hits and misses at the box-office, including the critically lambasted box-office failure “An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn”, a documentary-style 1997 satire written by Joe Eszterhas and featuring numerous celebrity cameos. They were married for 68 years until her death in June.
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The couple had a son, Henryk, and daughter, Erica.
