Arthur Hiller began his career in the 1950's as a director of public affairs programming for radio at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He moved on to direct live television, first in Canada, then in the United States. Hiller directed many anthology dramas, including Matinee Theater, Climax!, and Playhouse 90, as well as popular series such as Gunsmoke, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Ben Casey and Route 66. In 1962, Hiller received Emmy nominations for his directorial work on Playhouse 90 and Naked City.
He then moved to the big screen, directing a string of highly successful and critically acclaimed films like The Americanization of Emily (1964), The Out-of-Towners (1970), Love Story (1970), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, a DGA Nomination, and an Academy Award Nomination, The Hospital (1970), The Man in the Glass Booth (1975), Silver Streak (1976), The In-Laws (1979), Author! Author! (1982), Outrageous Fortune (1987), and The Babe (1992).
Arthur Hiller was a Guild member for almost six decades, originally joining both the Radio and Television Directors Guild and the Screen Directors Guild, which merged in 1960 to form the modern Directors Guild of America. He served on the DGA National Board in various capacities beginning in 1971 and was the Guild's Fifth Vice President from 1985-1987, Third Vice President from 1987-1989 and DGA President for two terms from 1989-1993. Hiller served on the Western Directors Council for over 35 years, on the Creative Rights Committee for 20 years and was a member of several Negotiating Committees. He also served as a member of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress from 1989-2005. A strong advocate of film preservation, Hiller was the founding chairman of the Artists Rights Foundation, which was formed during his presidency in 1991 and later consolidated with the Film Foundation in 2002 under the DGA umbrella, as well as chairman of the DGA President’s Committee on Film Preservation.
In recognition of his extraordinary service to the Guild and its membership, the 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 for Love Story. In 2002, he received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Hiller passed away in August 2016.