Among his other films were The Americanization of Emily (1964), Tobruk (1967), The Hospital (1971), The Out-of-Towners (1970), Plaza Suite (1971), The Man in the Glass Booth (1975), Silver Streak (1976), The In-Laws (1979), Making Love (1982), and Outrageous Fortune (1987).
An annual film festival in Hiller's honor was held from 2006 until 2009 at his alma mater, Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts.
He served with 427 Lion Squadron as a navigator on four-engine Handley Page Halifax heavy bombers flying from Leeming, Yorkshire on Operations over Nazi-controlled territory in Europe.
Over the next few years, his work for the small screen included episodes of Thriller, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, Naked City, Perry Mason, and Playhouse 90.
[13] Hiller directed his first film, The Careless Years (1957), the story of a young couple eloping developed by Bryna Productions.
[13] He next directed a satirical anti-war comedy by screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, The Americanization of Emily (1964), starring James Garner and Julie Andrews.
The film, nominated for two Academy Awards, would establish Hiller as a notable Hollywood director and, according to critics, "earned him a reputation for flair with sophisticated comedy.
"[13] The New York Times critic Bosley Crowther wrote that Hiller's "brisk direction" of Chayefsky's script included some "remarkably good writing with some slashing irreverence.
In a move away from comedy, he directed the desert warfare drama, Tobruk (1967), starring Rock Hudson and George Peppard, about a North African Campaign during World War II.
[13] Around the same time, he returned to comedy with The Tiger Makes Out (also 1967), starring Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson, and featured Dustin Hoffman's film debut.
Popi (1969), recounts the tale of a Puerto Rican widower, starring Alan Arkin, struggling to raise his two young sons in the New York City neighborhood known as Spanish Harlem.
[13] The film stars Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw in a romantic tragedy, and it was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Director.
"[17] The following year Hiller again collaborated with screenwriter Paddy Chayevsky in directing The Hospital (1971), a satire starring George C. Scott which has been described as being his best film.
[19] The first film was The Out-of-Towners (1970), starring Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis, who were both nominated for Golden Globe awards for their roles.
Their next collaboration was Plaza Suite (1971), starring Walter Matthau, which was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture.
[13] Hiller returned to directing serious drama with The Man in the Glass Booth (1975), starring Maximilian Schell, in a screen adaptation of a stage play written by Robert Shaw.
Schell played the role of a man trying to deal with questions of self-identity and guilt as a survivor of the Holocaust during World War II.
[20] Returning to comedy, Hiller directed Silver Streak (1976), starring Gene Wilder, Jill Clayburgh and Richard Pryor.
Arthur is a real straight Jewish guy, married to the same woman for a hundred years, kids, and everything so far removed from the scene that it was like he was doing a movie about aliens.
Hiller directed the film Making Love, which was released in February 1982, a story of a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality.
[c] He wanted high quality screenplays whenever possible, which partly explains why he collaborated on multiple films with both Paddy Chayefsky and Neil Simon.
[26] He was also a member of the National Film Preservation Board of the Library of Congress from 1989 to 2005[26] and President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1993 to 1997.
[32] Writer and producer William Froug said that "Hiller is that rare and hugely successful gentleman who has remained humble all his life.