Arthur Hiller facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Arthur Hiller
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Hiller directing Love Story in 1970
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| Born | November 22, 1923 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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| Died | August 17, 2016 (aged 92) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Resting place | Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles |
| Occupation | Director |
| Years active | 1955–2006 |
| Spouse(s) |
Gwen Pechet
(m. 1948; died 2016) |
| Children | 2 |
Arthur Hiller, OC (born November 22, 1923 – died August 17, 2016) was a talented Canadian-American director. He made many movies and TV shows over 50 years. He started his career directing television in Canada and the U.S. Later, in the late 1950s, he began directing films, often comedies. He also directed dramas and romantic movies, like the very popular Love Story (1970). This film was nominated for seven Oscars!
Hiller worked with famous writers like Paddy Chayefsky and Neil Simon. Some of his other well-known films include The Americanization of Emily (1964), The Hospital (1971), Silver Streak (1976), and The In-Laws (1979).
Arthur Hiller was also a leader in the film world. He was president of the Directors Guild of America from 1989 to 1993. He also led the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the group that gives out the Oscars) from 1993 to 1997. In 2002, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his good deeds and charity work.
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Early Life and Military Service
Arthur Hiller was born in November 1923 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. His parents, Rose and Harry Hiller, were Jewish and had moved from Poland in 1912. His father owned a store that sold used musical instruments. Hiller remembered that his father treated all his customers with respect and kindness.
Even though his parents were not professional actors, they loved putting on Jewish plays once or twice a year for their community. Arthur helped build and decorate the sets when he was young. When he was eleven, he even acted in a play, playing an old man. He said that his parents' love for theater, music, and books helped him choose his career as a director.
After high school, Hiller joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 during World War II. He was a navigator on large bombers that flew missions over Europe. After the war, he went to University College, Toronto and earned a degree in 1947. He later got a master's degree in psychology in 1950. One of his first jobs was directing public affairs programs for Canadian radio.
Directing Career
Hiller started his career directing television shows for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Later, NBC, a big TV network in the United States, saw his work and offered him jobs directing TV dramas. He directed episodes for popular shows like Thriller, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, and Perry Mason.
Directing in the 1950s and 1960s
Arthur Hiller directed his first movie, The Careless Years, in 1957. It was a story about a young couple who ran away to get married. He then directed Miracle of the White Stallions (1963), a Disney film. These early films showed that Hiller could direct different kinds of stories well.
In 1964, he directed a funny anti-war movie called The Americanization of Emily. It starred James Garner and Julie Andrews. This film helped Hiller become a well-known director in Hollywood. Critics said he was great at directing smart comedies. The New York Times praised his "brisk direction" and the clever writing.
Hiller also directed the very first episode of The Addams Family TV series in 1964. He continued with comedies like Promise Her Anything (1965) and Penelope (1966). He also directed a serious war drama, Tobruk (1967), showing he could handle action films too. In 1969, he directed Popi, a movie about a Puerto Rican father trying to raise his two sons in New York City.
Directing in the 1970s
In 1970, Hiller directed Love Story, which became his most famous and successful movie. It starred Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw in a romantic and sad story. The film was nominated for 7 Oscars, including Best Director for Hiller. The American Film Institute even put it on their list of the greatest love stories.
The next year, Hiller worked again with writer Paddy Chayevsky on The Hospital (1971). This movie was a dark comedy about the problems and confusion in a hospital. Chayevsky won an Oscar for the screenplay. Hiller used a moving camera to make the audience feel like they were right there in the middle of the hospital's chaos.
Hiller also directed two funny movies with playwright Neil Simon. These were The Out-of-Towners (1970) and Plaza Suite (1971). Both films were praised for their sharp comedy dialogue and Hiller's clear direction.
He returned to serious drama with The Man in the Glass Booth (1975). This film starred Maximilian Schell as a man dealing with his past as a survivor of the Holocaust. Schell was nominated for an Oscar for his powerful performance.
Hiller then directed the hit comedy Silver Streak (1976), starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. This movie is considered one of the best comedy films by the American Film Institute. He also directed another successful comedy, The In-Laws (1979), with Peter Falk and Alan Arkin.
Directing in the 1980s and 1990s
In the 1980s, Hiller directed Author! Author! (1982) starring Al Pacino. He also made Romantic Comedy (1983) and The Lonely Guy (1984), a comedy with Steve Martin. Another film from this time was Teachers (1984), a comedy-drama.
Outrageous Fortune (1987) was a box office success starring Shelley Long and Bette Midler. Hiller then directed See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), another comedy with Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. In this movie, Pryor plays a blind man and Wilder a deaf man who team up to stop criminals.
In the 1990s, Hiller directed films like Taking Care of Business (1990) and The Babe (1992), a movie about baseball legend Babe Ruth. He also directed Carpool (1996). His last film was National Lampoon's Pucked (2006), starring rock star Jon Bon Jovi.
Influences
Arthur Hiller once said that the film Rome, Open City (1945) greatly influenced his career. He saw it after serving in the military. The movie is about people fighting against the Nazis in Italy during World War II. Hiller said it made him feel very strongly about what people went through.
Hiller always wanted his movie scripts to have "good moral values." He believed this came from how he was raised. He also looked for high-quality screenplays, which is why he worked with writers like Paddy Chayefsky and Neil Simon on many films.
Awards and Honors
Arthur Hiller was a respected leader in the film industry. He was President of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) from 1989 to 1993. The DGA gave him special awards in 1993 and 1999. He was also nominated for a DGA Award for Love Story in 1970.
He was also President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the group behind the Oscars) from 1993 to 1997. In 2002, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Oscar ceremony. This award recognized his many good deeds and charity work.
In 2002, Hiller received a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. In 2006, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, which is a high honor in his home country. Many people described Hiller as a kind and humble person, even with all his success.
He also received honorary degrees from the University of Victoria and the University of Toronto in 1995.
Personal Life and Death
In 1948, Arthur Hiller married Gwen Pechet. They were married for 68 years and had two children and two grandchildren. Gwen passed away on June 24, 2016. Arthur Hiller died almost two months later, on August 17, 2016, in Los Angeles. He was 92 years old and died of natural causes.
Selected Filmography
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See Also
In Spanish: Arthur Hiller para niños
