Arthur Hiller, versatile director of 'Love Story' . By Lindsey Bahr
Associated Press . LOS ANGELES - Arthur Hiller, who received an Oscar
nomination for directing the hugely popular romantic tragedy "Love
Story" during a career that spanned dozens of popular movies and TV
shows, died Wednesday of natural causes. He was 92. Although since
dismissed by some as overly syrupy, "Love Story," with Ali MacGraw and
Ryan O'Neal as star-crossed Ivy League lovers, was one of the most
popular movies of 1970. The film, based on the popular novel of the
same name by Erich Segal, reduced thousands of moviegoers to tears.
MacGraw said in a statement that Mr. Hiller was "an integral part of
one of the most important experiences of my life. "He was a remarkable,
gifted, generous human being and I will miss him terribly," MacGraw
said. The film almost didn't get made. "Paramount was in rocky
financial shape," Mr. Hiller recalled, and executives wanted to cancel
the project. But production boss Robert Evans loved the script and
allowed Mr. Hiller to proceed - if he would spend only $2 million. The
director brought the film in $25,000 under budget, then insisted on
spending $15,000 for memorable scenes in the Boston snow. "Love Story"
kicked off a busy two decades of work for Mr. Hiller, who had gotten
his start directing such television shows as "Gunsmoke," "Perry Mason,"
and "The Rifleman" in the 1950s. He directed nearly two dozen feature
films between 1970 and 1990 and was equally at ease with comedy or
drama. He even helmed a musical, 1972's "Man of La Mancha" with Peter
O'Toole and Sophia Loren, and a biography, 1976's "W.C. Fields and Me,"
with Rod Steiger and Valerie Perrine. His more memorable comedies
included "The In-Laws" with Peter Falk and Alan Arkin, "Plaza Suite"
starring Walter Matthau, and "Author, Author" with Al Pacino and Dyan
Cannon. He teamed comics Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor twice, in the
1976 hit "Silver Streak" and with less success in 1989's "See No Evil,
Hear No Evil. Notable dramas were "The Americanization of Emily" with
James Garner and Julie Andrews, "The Man in the Glass Booth" with
Maximilian Schell, and "The Hospital" with George C. Scott and Diana
Rigg. Mr. Hiller's versatility, plus his willingness to take on
projects unworthy of his talent, may have forestalled recognition of
his achievements. Although he earned good reviews for his better films,
his lesser ones were savaged by critics. His only Oscar nomination came
for "Love Story," for which he won a Golden Globe. Mr. Hiller once
explained his choice of scripts, saying, "I prefer them with good moral
values, which comes from my parents and my upbringing. . . . Even in my
smaller, lesser films, at least there's an affirmation of the human
spirit. A soft-spoken man with a black mane, the Canadian-born Mr.
Hiller served two terms apiece as president of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences and president of the Directors Guild of
America. In 2002 the Academy presented him with its Jean Hersholt award
for humanitarian service. He married Gwen Pechet in 1948 and the couple
had a son, Henryk, and daughter, Erica. They were married for 68 years
until her death in June. Mr. Hiller was born in Edmonton, Alberta,
where his parents operated a Yiddish school and theater. After leaving
the University of Alberta to join the Royal Air Force during World War
II, he studied psychology at the University of Toronto and law at the
University of British Columbia. He eventually decided to go into
communications, applying for a job at Canada's CBC network in Toronto.
When asked what kind of work he was seeking, Mr. Hiller replied: "I
want to be a director. "To this day I don't know where that came from,"
he said in 2004. But three weeks after making the statement he was
directing public affairs programs.
