Arthur Hill (Canadian actor)

Arthur Hill
Hill in 1971 as Owen Marshall.
Born	Arthur Edward Spence Hill (1922-08-01)1 August 1922 Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died	22 October 2006(2006-10-22) (aged 84) Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	University of British Columbia
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1949–1990
Spouse(s)	Peggy Hassard (1942–1998; her death; 2 children) Anne-Sophie Taraba (2001–2006; his death)

Back, L-R: Reni Santoni, Arthur Hill, Lee Majors. Front: Joan Darling and Christine Matchett

Arthur Edward Spence Hill (1 August 1922 – 22 October 2006) was a Canadian actor. He was known in British and American theatre, film and television. He attended the University of British Columbia law school. He studied acting in Seattle, Washington.

Early life

Arthur Hill was born Arthur Edward Spence Hill in Melfort, Saskatchewan, on 1 August 1922, the son of Edith Georgina (Spence) and Olin Drake Hill, a lawyer. As part of the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, Hill served in the mechanic corps. He attended the University of British Columbia, studying law. He joined the RCAF while in UBC pre-law. After the war, finishing the university degree, he was lured to the stage.

Career

Hill's Broadway theatre debut was in the 1957 revival of Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker, playing Cornelius Hackl. In 1963, the Tonys awarded Hill Best Dramatic Actor for his portrayal of George in the original Broadway production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Other Broadway credits include: Ben Gant in the original production of Look Homeward, Angel (1957); All the Way Home (1960); Something More! (1964); and More Stately Mansions (1967).

In the film The Andromeda Strain (1971), Hill played Dr. Jeremy Stone. Other film work: The Ugly American (1963); Harper (1966); Petulia (1968); The Chairman (1969); The Killer Elite (1975); Futureworld (1976); A Bridge Too Far (1977) (uncredited); and narration of Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983).

Hill's television role portraying lawyer Owen Marshall in the 1971–74 TV series Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law had high status at the time. He appeared on many other television shows, including The Reporter, a 1964 drama starring Harry Guardino. Grandpa Lansford Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie (1976) was another of Hill's portrayals.

Other television shows were: Mission Impossible, episode "The Carriers" (S1:E10) 1966; Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, episode "The Monster from the Inferno" 1966; The F.B.I., (S1:E23) "Flight to Harbin" 1966; The Invaders, episode "The Leeches" 1967; Murder, She Wrote, the pilot episode, 1984, reprising the role in 1990; and Columbo, episode "Agenda for Murder", portraying a governor, was his final role in 1990.

Personal life

Hill married Peggy Hassard in September 1942. Their children were Douglas and Jennifer. The family moved to Great Britain in 1948. In London, he was at the BBC, both radio and television. They moved to New York City in 1958, then to Los Angeles in 1968.

He retired in 1990. After the death of his wife in 1998, he re-married, to Anne-Sophie Taraba, in 2001.

Death

Hill died on 22 October 2006, in Pacific Palisades, California. He lived in a nursing home, and was 84 years old. His passing was attributed to Alzheimer's disease.

Selected filmography

• I Was a Male War Bride (1949) as Dependents Clearing Officer (uncredited)
• Miss Pilgrim's Progress (1949) as American Vice-Consul (uncredited)
• The Body Said No! (1950) as Robin King
• Mister Drake's Duck (1951) as American Vice Consul
• Scarlet Thread (1951) as Shaw
• Salute the Toff (1952) as Ted Harrison
• You're Only Young Twice (1952) as Mystery Man (uncredited)
• Penny Princess (1952) as Representative of Johnson K. Johnson (uncredited)
• Paul Temple Returns (1952) as Cranmer Guest
• A Day to Remember (1953) as Al
• Life with the Lyons (1954) as Slim Cassidy
• The Crowded Day (1954) as Alice's Escort
• Raising a Riot (1955) as American Sergeant (uncredited)
• The Deep Blue Sea (1955) as Jackie Jackson
• The Silver Curtain (1955) as Jerry Winton
• The Young Doctors (1961) as Tomaselli
• The Ugly American (1963) as Grainger
• In the Cool of the Day (1963) as Sam Bonner
• Moment to Moment (1965) as Neil Stanton
• Harper (1966) as Albert Graves
• Petulia (1968) as Barney
• The Chairman (1969) as Shelby
• Don't Let the Angels Fall (1969) as Robert
• Rabbit, Run (1970) as Rev. Jack Eccles
• The Pursuit of Happiness (1971) as John Popper
• The Andromeda Strain (1971) as Dr. Jeremy Stone
• The Killer Elite (1975) as Cap Collis
• Futureworld (1976) as Duffy
• A Bridge Too Far (1977) as U.S. Medical Colonel (uncredited)
• The Champ (1979) as Mike
• A Little Romance (1979) as Richard King
• Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979) as Governor (uncredited)
• The Ordeal of Dr. Mudd (1980) as Thomas Ewing Jr.
• Revenge of the Stepford Wives (1980) as Dale 'Diz' Corbett
• Dirty Tricks (1981) as Professor Prosser
• The Amateur (1981) as Brewer
• Making Love (1982) as Henry
• Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) as Narrator (voice)
• Murder in Space (1985) as Vice President
• One Magic Christmas (1985) as Caleb Grainger
• A Fine Mess (1986) (uncredited)

External links

• Arthur Hill at IMDb
• Arthur Hill at the Internet Broadway Database
• Arthur Hill at Find a Grave