Arthur Hiller | |
|---|---|
 Hiller directingLove Story in 1970 | |
| Born | November 22, 1923[1] |
| Died | August 17, 2016(2016-08-17) (aged 92) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education | Victoria School of the Arts |
| Alma mater | University College, Toronto (B.A., 1947) |
| Occupation | Director |
| Years active | 1955–2006 |
| Notable work | Love Story |
| Style | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Canada |
| Branch |  Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Service years | 1941–1945 |
| Unit | 427 Lion Squadron |
| Conflicts | |
| President of theDirectors Guild of America | |
| In office 1989–1993 | |
| Preceded by | Franklin J. Schaffner |
| Succeeded by | Gene Reynolds |
| President of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences | |
| In office 1993–1997 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Rehme |
| Succeeded by | Robert Rehme |
Arthur Hiller,OC (November 22, 1923[a] – August 17, 2016) was a Canadian film and television director. He directed over 33 feature films during a 50-year career. He began his career directing television in Canada and later in the U.S. By the late 1950s, he was directing films, most often comedies, but also dramas and romantic subjects, such as inLove Story (1970), which was nominated for sevenAcademy Awards, including forBest Director.
Hiller collaborated on films with screenwritersPaddy Chayefsky andNeil Simon. Among his other notable films wereThe Americanization of Emily (1964),Tobruk (1967),The Hospital (1971),The Out-of-Towners (1970),Plaza Suite (1971),The Man in the Glass Booth (1975),Silver Streak (1976),The In-Laws (1979),Making Love (1982), andOutrageous Fortune (1987).
Hiller served as the 19th President of theDirectors Guild of America from 1989 to 1993 and President of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1993 to 1997. He was the recipient of theJean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2002. An annual film festival in Hiller's honor was held from 2006 until 2009 at his alma mater,Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts.
Hiller was born in November 1923 inEdmonton, Alberta, the son of Rose (née Garfin) and Harry Hiller. His family wasJewish, and had emigrated fromCongress Poland (then part of theRussian Empire) in 1912. He had two sisters, one 13 years older and one 11 years older. His father operated a second-hand musical instruments store in Edmonton. Hiller recalled that when he occasionally traveled home while he was in college, the black people he met with "treated me like a king. Why? Because they loved my father. They told me that unlike other shopkeepers, he treated them like normal folks when they went to his store. He didn't look down on them".[7]
Although his parents were not professionals in theater or had much money, notes Hiller, they enjoyed putting on a Jewish play once or twice a year for the Jewish community of 450 people, mainly to keep in touch with their heritage. Hiller recalls they started up theYiddish theatre when he was seven or eight years old; he helped set carpenters build and decorate the sets. When he was eleven, he got a role acting as an old man, wearing a long beard and thepayot. He says that "the love of theater and music and literature my parents instilled in me" contributed to his later choosing to direct TV and films.[8]
After he graduated from high school, he briefly attended theUniversity of Alberta, before joining theRoyal Canadian Air Force in 1941 duringWorld War II. He served with427 Lion Squadron as a navigator on four-engineHandley Page Halifax heavy bombers flying fromYorkshire on operations over Nazi-controlled territory in Europe.[9]
After he returned from serving in the military, Hiller enrolled in and later graduated fromUniversity College, Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts in 1947. After Israel was declared a state in 1948, he and his wife unsuccessfully tried to join the Israeli army because the country came under attack.[b]
Hiller returned to college and earned a Master of Arts in psychology in 1950. One of his early jobs, after graduating, was with Canadian radio directing various public affairs programs.[11]
Arthur Hiller was calm, quiet and he knew exactly what he wanted. He never told you what to do. He took what you had and very gently focused it. It was such a joy to work with him.
Hiller began his career as a television director with theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation.NBC, one of the main networks in the United States, seeing his work in Canada, offered him positions directing television dramas. Over the next few years, his work for the small screen included episodes ofThriller,Alfred Hitchcock Presents,The Rifleman, Gunsmoke,Naked City,Perry Mason, andPlayhouse 90.[13]
Hiller directed his first film,The Careless Years (1957), the story of a young couple eloping developed byBryna Productions. This was followed byThis Rugged Land (1962), originally made for television but then released as a film, and thenMiracle of the White Stallions (1963), aWalt Disney Productions film. With these first films, Hiller already showed competence in directing unrelated subjects successfully.[13]
He next directed a satirical anti-war comedy by screenwriterPaddy Chayefsky,The Americanization of Emily (1964), starringJames Garner andJulie Andrews. It was the first of two film collaborations with Chayefsky. The film, nominated for two Academy Awards, would establish Hiller as a notable Hollywood director and, according to critics, "earned him a reputation for flair with sophisticated comedy."[13]The New York Times criticBosley Crowther wrote that Hiller's "brisk direction" of Chayefsky's script included some "remarkably good writing with some slashing irreverence."[14]
In 1964 Hiller also directed the first episode of the television seriesThe Addams Family. This was followed by the comedyPromise Her Anything (1965), withWarren Beatty andLeslie Caron andPenelope (1966), starringNatalie Wood. In a move away from comedy, he directed the desert warfare drama,Tobruk (1967), starringRock Hudson andGeorge Peppard, about aNorth African Campaign duringWorld War II. The film was nominated for one Academy Award and showed Hiller capable of handling action films as well as comedy.[13] Around the same time, he returned to comedy withThe Tiger Makes Out (also 1967), starringEli Wallach andAnne Jackson, and featuredDustin Hoffman's film debut.Popi (1969), recounts the tale of a Puerto Rican widower, starringAlan Arkin, struggling to raise his two young sons in the New York City neighborhood known asSpanish Harlem. Arkin was nominated for aGolden Globe Award for Best Actor.[15]
All I knew at first was that I liked him and respected him, and then I grew to adore him. Whatever Arthur asked of me, I did to the best of my ability. And I was blessed to be in such safe hands. Every piece of that experience was protected. He wasn't casual about his work in any way—you knew exactly what he wanted you to do. He was meticulous.
Hiller directedLove Story (1970), his best known work and most successful at the box-office.[13] The film starsRyan O'Neal andAli MacGraw in a romantic tragedy, and it was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Director. TheAmerican Film Institute ranks it No. 9 in their list of thegreatest love stories. CriticRoger Ebert disagreed with some critics who felt the story was too contrived:[17] "Why shouldn't we get a little misty during a story about young lovers separated by death? Hiller earns our emotional response because of the way he's directed the movie...The movie is mostly about life, however, not death. And because Hiller makes the lovers into individuals, of course we're moved by the film's conclusion. Why not?"[17]
The following year Hiller again collaborated with screenwriterPaddy Chayevsky in directingThe Hospital (1971), a satire starringGeorge C. Scott which has been described as being his best film.[13] It is a black comedy about disillusionment and chaos within a hospital setting.[13] Chayevsky received theAcademy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In directing the film, Hiller tried to create a sense of action and movement by keeping the camera mobile and using handheld cameras as much as possible.[13] His goal was to have the camera reflect the chaos and confusion taking place in the hospital. "I've always liked that sort of realistic feel," he states. "I wanted the feeling that the audience was peeking around the corner."[18]
Hiller directed two comedy films in collaboration with playwrightNeil Simon.[19] The first film wasThe Out-of-Towners (1970), starringJack Lemmon andSandy Dennis, who were both nominated for Golden Globe awards for their roles. Their next collaboration wasPlaza Suite (1971), starringWalter Matthau, which was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture. Both films were driven by intense comedy dialogue and were considered "crisply directed" by reviewers.[13]
Hiller returned to directing serious drama withThe Man in the Glass Booth (1975), starringMaximilian Schell, in a screen adaptation of a stage play written byRobert Shaw. Schell played the role of a man trying to deal with questions of self-identity and guilt as a survivor of theHolocaust during World War II. For his highly emotional role, Schell was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award.[20]
Returning to comedy, Hiller directedSilver Streak (1976), starringGene Wilder,Jill Clayburgh andRichard Pryor. The film was well received by critics and is rated No. 95 on theAFI's best comedy films. He directed another comedy,The In-Laws (1979), withPeter Falk andAlan Arkin, which was also a critical and commercial success.[21]
He was good director who wanted to know all about the subject. I took Arthur on a tour of the bars one night. Arthur is a real straight Jewish guy, married to the same woman for a hundred years, kids, and everything so far removed from the scene that it was like he was doing a movie about aliens.
Hiller directed the filmMaking Love, which was released in February 1982, a story of a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality.Author! Author! (also 1982), starredAl Pacino. The following year Hiller directedRomantic Comedy (1983), starringDudley Moore andMary Steenburgen. His next comedy,The Lonely Guy (1984), starredSteve Martin as a greeting card writer and was followed byTeachers (1984), a comedy-drama film starringNick Nolte.[23]
Outrageous Fortune (1987) starsShelley Long andBette Midler. The film was successful at the box office, with Midler being nominated or winning various awards. The film was followed bySee No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), another comedy again starringGene Wilder andRichard Pryor. Pryor plays a blind man and Wilder a deaf man who work together to thwart a trio of murderous thieves.[23]
The 1990s saw Hiller directing a number of films, most of which received negative or mixed reviews:Taking Care of Business (1990);The Babe (1992), a biographical film aboutBabe Ruth, portrayed byJohn Goodman;Married to It (1993) andCarpool (1996). In 1997, Hiller helmed the infamous flopAn Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn, which mirrored its title when Hiller requested his name be removed from the picture – thus truly making it anAlan Smithee film. Nine years later, when he was in his 80s, Hiller directedNational Lampoon's Pucked (2006), his last film, which stars rock starJon Bon Jovi.[11]
In an interview with journalistRobert K. Elder forThe Film That Changed My Life,[18] Hiller states that the filmRome, Open City (1945) had had a strong influence on his career because he saw it right after leaving the military where he was a bomber navigator in the Canadian Air Force.[18] The film is set during the Nazi occupation of Italy and shows the priesthood and the Communists teaming up against the enemy forces. Hiller commented, "You just get the strongest emotional feelings about what happened to people in Italy."[18]
Hiller preferred his scripts to contain "good moral values," a preference which he says came from his upbringing.[c] He wanted high quality screenplays whenever possible, which partly explains why he collaborated on multiple films with bothPaddy Chayefsky andNeil Simon. Hiller explains his rationale:
Storytelling is innate to the human condition. Its underpinnings are cerebral, emotional, communal, psychological. One of the storyteller's main responsibilities is to resonate in the audience's psyche a certain something at the end of it all, to emotionally move the audience, to compel the audience to "get it" on a visceral level.[25]
Hiller served as president of theDirectors Guild of America (DGA) from 1989 to 1993[26] DGA presented Hiller with the Robert B. Aldrich Award in 1999 and the DGA Honorary Life Member Award in 1993. In 1970 he received a DGA Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film forLove Story.[26] He was also a member of theNational Film Preservation Board of theLibrary of Congress from 1989 to 2005[26] and President of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1993 to 1997.[27] He also served on the board of theNational Student Film Institute.[28][29]
He received theJean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2002 Academy Awards ceremony in recognition of his humanitarian, charitable and philanthropic efforts.[30] In 2002, he was honoured with a star onCanada's Walk of Fame in Toronto.[31] In 2006, he was made an Officer of theOrder of Canada.[32] Writer and producerWilliam Froug said that "Hiller is that rare and hugely successful gentleman who has remained humble all his life."[30]
He received an honorary degree ofDoctor of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria in June 1995.[33] He received an honorary degree ofDoctor of Laws (LL.D) from the University of Toronto in November 1995.[34]
In 1948, he married Gwen Pechet, who was also Jewish; they had two children and two grandchildren.[35][36] His wife died on June 24, 2016.[37] They were married for 68 years.[2]
Hiller died almost two months later in Los Angeles on August 17, 2016, at the age of 92 from natural causes.[38][39]
Hiller was portrayed by actor Jake Regal in the 2022 miniseriesThe Offer.
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| Institution | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | 1971 | Best Director | Love Story | Nominated[40] |
| 2002 | Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award | N/a | Won[41] | |
| Avoriaz International Fantastic Film Festival | 1980 | Grand Prize | Nightwing | Nominated |
| Berlin International Film Festival | 1972 | Golden Bear | The Hospital | Nominated |
| Silver Bear Jury Prize | Won | |||
| OCIC Award | Won | |||
| Directors Guild of America Awards | 1971 | Outstanding Directing – Feature Film | Love Story | Nominated |
| 1993 | Honorary Life Member Award | N/a | Won | |
| 1999 | Robert B. Aldrich Award | N/a | Won | |
| Directors Guild of Canada Awards | 2004 | Lifetime Achievement Award | N/a | Won |
| Golden Globe Awards | 1971 | Best Director | Love Story | Won |
| Golden Raspberry Awards | 1999 | Worst Director | An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn | Nominated[42] |
| Palm Springs International Film Festival | 2002 | Director's Achievement Award | N/a | Won |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 1962 | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Naked City | Nominated[43] |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Non-profit organization positions | ||
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| Preceded by | President of Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences 1993–1997 | Succeeded by |
