Award winning Writer-Director GEORGE ROY HILL has passed away...

Father Geek here with some sad news indeed... famed Director GEORGE ROY HILL has died at his home in California of complications from Parkinson's disease at the age of 81. .

The Minneapolis, Minnesota native, and former World War 2 and Korean War Marine Corp fighter pilot started Directing in Television in the early 1950's, and he was highly regarded for those efforts. He Wrote and directed the story of the Titantic, "A NIGHT TO REMEMBER" for The Kraft Mystery Theater, and was nominated for director's Emmys twice for his exceptional work on two Playhouse 90 shows; A CHILD OF OUR TIMES, and the earlier HELEN MORGAN STORY.

He went to Broadway and directed several heralded stage productions, annnnnnd then took some of them to Hollywood were he adapted them successfully to the big screen. He brought us Tennessee Williams' brooding drama A PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT, and then gave us Lillian Hellman's wonderfully bizarre TOYS IN THE ATTIC. Plays were not all that he adapted to the motion picture screen. He brought two highly acclaimed novels to our local theaters, both widely thought to be totally unfilmable. The first was Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s seminal adult fantasy SLAUGHTERHOUSE 5 for which Hill would receive a nomination for the Golden Palm at Cannes, and then bring home the coveted Jury Prize. He would also receive a nomination for the top prize from the Director's Guild of America for this work. Later he made a hit out of the unfilmable John Irving epic THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP.

He would win the Best Director prize from his peers for THE STING, and that same year he would take home the Oscar for best director for the same flick. Hill was also nominated for a Best Director's Oscar for the delightful BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, the Academy chose not to give him that one, but he did receive the BAFTA for Best Director for that wonderful film at the British Academy Awards that year.

GEORGE ROY HILL was an immense talent, and we're all the poorer for his passing... but we've got all those fantastic films forever. Fun films like THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER, THE WORLD OF HENRY ORIENT, SLAP SHOT, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, and all those others. We'll miss you alot George, but through your magnificent movies you'll be with us always...