Canadian-born director Arthur Hiller began in radio and, after a brief stint helming TV on his home shores, moved to the USA where he quickly established himself directing both live and film series like "Playhouse 90", "Gunsmoke" and "Naked City", for which he received a 1962 Emmy nomination. He made an auspicious feature debut at the helm of the teen flick, "The Careless Years" (1957), starring Dean Stockwell, but did not return to the big screen until 1963 ("Miracle of the White Stallions" and "The Wheeler Dealers"). Although he has worked in a variety of genres, from the dramatic ("The Man in the Glass Booth" 1974) to the romantic ("Love Story" 1970), Hiller has shown his greatest facility with light comedy, working equally well with writers like Neil Simon ("The Out-of-Towners" 1970, "Plaza Suite" 1971), Andrew Bergman ("The In-Laws" 1979), Israel Horowitz ("Author! Author!" 1982) and Leslie Dixon ("Outrageous Fortune" 1987). However, two of his best movies, the unjustly neglected "The Americanization of Emily" (1964) and the bleak satire "The Hospital" (1971), both scripted by Paddy Chayefsky, were notably dark films. No Hiller film did better at the box office than "Love Story", which is a perfect example of being in the right place at the right time. Capably directed, "Love Story" had little to distinguish it beyond its surface gloss. In fact this may be said of much of Hiller's work, though tagging it as "non-descript" may do the director disservice. Hiller gets his movies done on time, on budget, and at their best, they are fast-paced engaging affairs, but since the misfires have multiplied in later years (e.g., "Making Love" 1982, "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" 1989, "Married to It" 1991), one has to admit he has not lived up to his early promise, failing to grow beyond a yeomanly TV-like efficiency. Not only was life imitating art when he took his name off "An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn" (1997), but the fight over artistic control with writer Joe Eszterhas also recalled "The Man in the Glass Booth" when writer Robert Shaw removed his name from that film protesting the finished Hiller product. He served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1993 to 1997.
Profession(s):
director, producer, Actor
Sometimes Credited As:
Alan Smithee
Education
University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
University of British Columbia Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada law
University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada BA 1947
University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario, Canada MA psychology 1950
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award 2002
Directors Guild of America Robert B Aldrich Award 1998
Directors Guild of America Honorary Life Membership 1993
Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear "The Hospital" 1972
Golden Globe Award Best Director "Love Story" 1970
1997 Life imitated art when Hiller took his name off "An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn"; director's credit going to Alan Smithee
1992 Tackled baseball legend, directing "The Babe", a biopic of George Herman 'Babe' Ruth
1987 Helmed "Outrageous Fortune", starring Bette Midler and Shelley Long
1984 Produced and directed "The Lonely Guy", starring Steve Martin and Charles Grodin
1979 Directed and co-produced "The In-Laws"
1974 Picked up co-producing credit on "The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder" (also directed)
1971 Reunited with Chayefsky, directing "The Hospital"
1970 Scored big hit with straightforward film adaptation of Erich Segal's novel "Love Story"; earned Best Director Academy Award nomination
1964 First collaboration with Paddy Chayefsky, directing his script, "The Americanization of Emily"
1957 First feature film, "The Careless Years"
1954 Started directing for CBC-Television
1942 - 1945 Served in Royal Canadian Air Force
Began career in Canadian radio
Moved to USA and began directing live and film TV series like "Playhouse 90", "Gunsmoke" and "Naked City"
Switched to feature films for good in the early 1960s
Served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
