--- name: "George Roy Hill" canonical: "https://film.one/person/george-roy-hill" fi1m_id: "george-roy-hill" imdb_id: "nm0001351" tmdb_id: 9577 wikidata_id: "Q51570" roles: ["Director"] born: "20 December 1921" died: "27 December 2002" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_fi1m_score: 84 average_as: "director" average_over: 2 updated: "2026-09-20T05:12:37.041688+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # George Roy Hill ## Identity George Roy Hill - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/george-roy-hill - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** george-roy-hill - **IMDb ID:** nm0001351 - **TMDB ID:** 9577 - **Wikidata ID:** Q51570 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Roy_Hill, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q51570, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001351/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9577 Director. Born 20 December 1921 in New York City, New York, USA. Died 27 December 2002. ## Details - **Work:** Director - **Born:** 20 December 1921, New York City, New York, USA - **Died:** 27 December 2002 - **Active:** 1969–1973 - **Frequently works with:** [Paul Newman](https://film.one/person/paul-newman.md), [Robert Redford](https://film.one/person/robert-redford.md) - **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar (1 won · 1 nominated) - **Average Fi1m score:** 84, as director, over 2 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 84 (1), 1970s 85 (1) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Roy_Hill, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q51570, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001351/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/9577 ## Fi1m on George Roy Hill > George Roy Hill gives actors time to be funny and complicated plots room to unfold. *The Sting* makes a persuasive case for his patient direction, even when he spends a little too long watching everybody get ready. Paul Newman takes his time at the poker table in *The Sting* (1973), making the deception look like a private pleasure. We laughed because he seems to enjoy it so much. George Roy Hill gives him the space to be funny without insisting on help from the dialogue. It is thoroughly enjoyable directing, with a weakness for letting the preparations run longer than they need to. Hill began his feature career with *Period of Adjustment* (1962), before breaking through with *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* (1969), which paired Newman and Robert Redford. The Vonnegut adaptation *Slaughterhouse-Five* (1972) came between that film and their reunion in *The Sting*. He went on to the sports satire *Slap Shot* (1977), and eventually finished with *Funny Farm* (1988). He worked across genres without settling on a repeated visual style. In *The Sting*, David S. Ward supplies the elaborate swindle, and Hill makes the men arranging it worth spending time with. Newman's unhurried Henry Gondorff and Redford's restless Johnny Hooker keep the partnership lively even when there is business to explain. Hill allows their different speeds to do much of the work. The film asks little of us emotionally, but their company is ample reason to recommend it. Robert Surtees's angled compositions give the period settings interest without allowing the scenery to dominate. Edith Head's costumes work just as well, establishing the period without distracting from the actors wearing them. Hill does occasionally linger over the surroundings, and Ward's preparations sometimes become more dutiful than amusing. Reynolds's editing cannot entirely disguise the excess length; a little less arranging would improve the evening. Some critics have found Hill impersonal because his films lack a readily identifiable style. We find that objection unpersuasive when Newman and Redford are together: Hill pays close attention to how they work as a pair. That does not make every delay necessary, or versatility a virtue in itself. For an evening when clever plotting and good company are enough, start with *The Sting*. ## Biography George Roy Hill (20 December 1921 – 27 December 2002) was an American film director. He directed fourteen feature films between 1962 and 1988, working across genres including westerns, caper comedies, and adaptations of novels and plays. Hill achieved major success with *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* (1969) and *The Sting* (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. *The Sting* won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Hill. His other notable films include *Slaughterhouse-Five* (1972), *The Great Waldo Pepper* (1975), *Slap Shot* (1977), *A Little Romance* (1979), *The World According to Garp* (1982) and *Funny Farm* (1988). He had earlier worked in theatre and television, and after retiring from filmmaking he taught drama at Yale University. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) - *The Sting* (1973), Fi1m 85, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/the-sting.md) - *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* (1969), Fi1m 84, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid.md) ## Complete filmography (25) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Funny Farm* (1988), Director - *The Little Drummer Girl* (1984), Director - *The World According to Garp* (1982), as Pilot (uncredited) · Director, Producer - *A Little Romance* (1979), Director, Additional Writing - *Slap Shot* (1977), Director - *The Great Waldo Pepper* (1975), Director, Story, Producer - *The Sting* (1973), Director — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/the-sting.md) - *Slaughterhouse-Five* (1972), Producer, Director - *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* (1969), Director — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid.md) - *Thoroughly Modern Millie* (1967), Director - *Hawaii* (1966), Director - *The World of Henry Orient* (1964), Director - *Toys in the Attic* (1963), Director - *Period of Adjustment* (1962), Director - *Judgment at Nuremberg* (1959), Director - *The Helen Morgan Story* (1957), Director - *Playhouse 90* (1956), series, Director - *The Kaiser Aluminum Hour* (1956), series, Director - *The Happy Man* (1955), Director - *Not All Your Tears* (1955), Director - *The Creaking Gate* (1955), Director - *Time of the Drought* (1954), Director - *Keep Our Honor Bright* (1953), Writer - *Walk East on Beacon* (1952), as Nicholas Wilben - *Lux Video Theatre* (1950), series, as Dan, Mark, George · Director ## Gallery - ![George Roy Hill](https://film.one/media/person/103554/gallery-02a07b9525da.jpg) George Roy Hill — Steelehill12, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/George_Roy_Hill_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Walter Matthau, Shirley MacLaine and George Roy Hill in the 46th Academy Awards. The dress in the photo, created by Edith Head in 1963 and modified around 1966,](https://film.one/media/person/103554/gallery-89a231ca00d9.jpg) Walter Matthau, Shirley MacLaine and George Roy Hill in the 46th Academy Awards. The dress in the photo, created by Edith Head in 1963 and modified around 1966, — Sheedy and Long, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Matthau%2C_MacLaine_and_Roy_Hill.jpg/1280px-Matthau%2C_MacLaine_and_Roy_Hill.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![George Roy Hill](https://film.one/media/person/103554/gallery-39bb0760dcc9.jpg) George Roy Hill — Image via TMDB - ![George Roy Hill](https://film.one/media/person/103554/gallery-c408ca60ff84.jpg) George Roy Hill — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 1 won, 1 nominated - 1974: Best Director (won), for *The Sting* - 1970: Best Director (nominated), for *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* ### BAFTA Film Awards — 2 won - 1971: Best Direction (won), for *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* - 1971: Best Film (won), for *Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid* ### Other awards — 4 won, 1 nominated - Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film 1973: Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film (won), for *The Sting* - Hugo Awards 1973: Best Dramatic Presentation (won), for *Slaughterhouse-Five* - National Board of Review Award for Best Film 1973: National Board of Review Award for Best Film (won), for *The Sting* - Jury Prize 1972: Jury Prize (won), for *Slaughterhouse-Five* - Tony Award for Best Director 1958: Tony Award for Best Director (nominated) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/george-roy-hill