Occupation Actor Children Douglas Hill Role Actor | Name Arthur Hill Years active 1949–1990 | |
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Full Name Arthur Edward Spence Hill Born August 1, 1922 ( 1922-08-01 ) Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada Alma mater University of British Columbia Died October 22, 2006, Pacific Palisades, California, United States Education University of British Columbia Spouse Anne-Sophie Taraba (m. 2001–2006), Peggy Hassard (m. 1942–1998) Movies and TV shows The Andromeda Strain, Futureworld, A Little Romance, Harper, Owen Marshall: Counselo Similar People Richard T Heffron, Phillip Borsos, Jack Smight, Robert Wise, Uta Hagen | ||
Arthur Edward Spence Hill (August 1, 1922 – October 22, 2006) was a Canadian actor best known for appearances in British and American theatre, films and television. He attended the University of British Columbia and continued his acting studies in Seattle, Washington.
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Early life and education
Born in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Hill served as a mechanic in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War and attended the University of British Columbia, where he studied law but was lured to the stage.
Career
Hill made his Broadway debut as Cornelius Hackl in the 1957 revival of Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker. In 1963 he won the Tony Award for Best Dramatic Actor for his portrayal of George in the original Broadway production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (opposite Uta Hagen). His other Broadway credits include Ben Gant in the original production of Ketti Frings's Look Homeward, Angel (1957), All the Way Home (1960), Something More! (1964) and More Stately Mansions (1967).
He played Dr. Jeremy Stone in the film adaptation of Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain (1971). Other film work included roles in The Ugly American (1963) with Marlon Brando, Harper (1966), Richard Lester's Petulia (1968) alongside George C. Scott, The Chairman (1969), Sam Peckinpah's The Killer Elite (1975), Michael Crichton's Futureworld (1976), A Bridge Too Far (1977) (uncredited) and he narrated the film version of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983).
Arguably, Hill's most famous acting role was that of lawyer Owen Marshall, the lead role in the 1971-1974 TV series Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law. He appeared on many other series, including CBS's The Reporter, a 1964 drama starring Harry Guardino. He also played "Grandpa Lansford Ingalls" on Little House on the Prairie (1976).
In 1966, he appeared as a special guest star in the Mission Impossible TV show episode "The Carriers" (S1:E10), in the Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea episode "The Monster From the Inferno" and was a guest star in the pilot episode of Murder, She Wrote in 1984, returning to that same role in an episode in 1990. The same year he played the Governor of California in a Columbo episode, Agenda for Murder; this was his last onscreen role.
Death
Hill died in a Pacific Palisades, California nursing home, aged 84, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. His ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.