'Love Story' director Arthur Hiller dies at 92

Arthur Hiller's film career began in the 1960s, and included such well-known hits as the 1964 comedy "The Americanization of Emily," starring Julie Andrews, "Love Story" with Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal - for which he was nominated for a best director Oscar -, and 1975's "The Man in the Glass Booth."

The Canadian-born filmmaker was also a former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the 1990s.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved friend Arthur Hiller," said current President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. "I was a member of the board during his presidency and fortunate enough to witness firsthand his dedication to the Academy and his lifelong passion for visual storytelling."

Prominent Hollywood player

An influential figure in Hollywood, Hiller was committed to protecting the creative freedom of artists, both as Academy president and as head of the Directors Guild of America (DGA).

"His spirited leadership as founding chairman of the Artists Rights Foundation in the early 1990s was instrumental in safeguarding against the physical alteration of our members' creative work, both in film and television," said DGA national executive director Jay D. Roth.

"As Arthur once said with his famously matter-of-fact panache, 'Just because you bought the Mona Lisa, doesn't mean you have the right to paint a mustache on her.'"

Career spanned 50 years

After flying bombing raids for the Royal Canadian Air Force over Germany during World War II, Hiller began his career in radio and television in the 1950s before moving on to film.

Over his nearly 50-year Hollywood career, he directed more than 30 films in a range of genres, including comedies, dramas, war stories, satires and musicals, among them successful collaborations with playwrights Neil Simon and Paddy Chayefsky.

His films were nominated for 15 Academy Awards, winning two.

cmk/kbm (AFP, Reuters)