Open City (1945) had had a strong influence on his career because he saw it right after leaving the military where he was a bomber navigator in the Canadian Air Force. The film is set during the Nazi occupation of Italy and shows the priesthood and the Communists teaming up against the enemy forces. Hiller commented, "You just get the strongest emotional feelings about what happened to people in Italy." Hiller preferred his scripts to contain "good moral values," a preference which he says came from his upbringing. He wanted high quality screenplays whenever possible, which partly explains why he collaborated on multiple films with both Paddy Chayefsky and Neil Simon. Hiller explains his rationale: Awards and honors Hiller served as President of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) from 1989 to 1993 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. He was also a member of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress from 1989 to 2005 and President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1993 to 1997. He also served on the board of the National Student Film Institute. He received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 2002 Academy Awards ceremony in recognition of his humanitarian, charitable and philanthropic efforts. In 2002, he was honoured with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. In 2006, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Writer and producer William Froug said that "Hiller is that rare and hugely successful gentleman who has remained humble all his life." He received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA) from the University of Victoria in June 1995. He received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D) from the University of Toronto in November 1995. Personal life and death In 1948, he married Gwen Pechet, who was also Jewish; they had two children and two grandchildren. His wife died on June 24, 2016. They were married for 68 years. Hiller died almost two months later in Los Angeles on August 17, 2016, at the age of 92 from natural causes. Filmography The Careless Years (1957) Miracle of the White Stallions (1963) The Wheeler Dealers (1963) The Americanization of Emily