Oscar-winningdirector George Roy Hill has died at the age of 81.

Theformer Marine pilot best known for 1973 best picture winner The Sting,starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Robert Shaw, as well as earlierNewman-Redford hit Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, died on FridayDec 27.

TheStinggained Hill a best director Academy Award, just one of seven it received fromten nominations. Other film projects included The World According To Garp(1982), based on the novel by John Irving and starring Robin Williams and GlennClose, and The Little Drummer Girl (1984) based on John Le Carre'scomplex novel.

Hillhad not worked as a director since 1988's Chevy Chase comedy Funny Farm.He had suffered from Parkinson's disease.