MIKE HILL
If you’ve ever watched a Ron Howard film, you’re most likely watching the work of 1972 UNO grad Mike Hill. A film editor, Hill worked almost exclusively with Howard during a long Hollywood career, from their first film together, “Night Shift” in 1982, until their final collaboration, “In the Heart of the Sea” in 2015. In 1996 Hill received an Academy Award for editing on Howard’s blockbuster “Apollo 13.” It was a somewhat unexpected career for Hill, who while at UNO had a part-time job splicing TV commercials onto reels at WOWT. But his degree was in criminal justice, and his first job was as a guard at Chino State Prison in California. But Hill left that position and one year later took an entry level job with the film editors guild, his break into the motion picture industry. He worked on a number of different television programs and a few films before starting his association with Howard. The duo would work on 21 films together before Hill’s recent retirement.