Mr. Arthur Hiller

Writing about the movie after the novel was published, the critic Roger Ebert was as admiring of one as he was withering about the other. “The film of ‘Love Story’ is infinitely better than the book,” he wrote. “I think it has something to do with the quiet taste of Arthur Hiller, its director, who has put in all the things that Segal thought he was being clever to leave out. Things like color, character, personality, detail and background.”

Mr. Hiller’s emphatic, uncomplicated direction brought home the themes of class and generational reconciliation embedded in Mr. Segal’s story, while Francis Lai’s score took care of the sentiment.

Mr. Hiller is survived by his daughter, Erica Hiller Carpenter; his son, Henryk; and five grandchildren.

His wife, Gwen Hiller, a social worker and librarian, died in June, also at 92. She was born in Edmonton 10 days before her husband. Their family has noted that when they were schoolmates, he proposed to her when they were 8 years old. Their marriage lasted 68 years.

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