Gerry Hilly, attorney, died on September 29, 2009, in New England. He was 84.
Mr. Hilly was known for his enthusiasm and lust for life. On one wintry
and snowing Thanksgiving Day, he took his family skiing opting out of
the conventional holiday ritual. This became the new Thanksgiving
ritual, if there was fresh snow. His sense of tradition, however, was
strong, and for 20 years he and his wife Marilyn, along with their
three children, would march through the Vermont woods on Christmas Eve
to cut down their ceremonial tree, which would be trimmed by the
morning with presents abound for the children to wake up to.
His career revolved around his varied passions. A trailblazer in
entertainment law, at one time in the early 1960s he was simultaneously
the attorney for both the Today Show and the Tonight Show at NBC in New York. Hilly was proud of his tenure at the William Morris
Agency as well as his position on the Robert F. Kennedy Presidential
campaign team. In 1972, he conceived of the idea to bring William F.
Buckley Jr. and John Kenneth Galbraith together on the Today Show to discuss the political issues of the time; a precursor to today's Cable news format.
Hilly had a passion for Broadway, stemming from his college days where
he was head of his drama club. Throughout much of his career, he
eschewed the 9 to 5 office routine preferring a table at Sardi's
overlooking Shubert Alley, where he regularly took his meetings.
Mr. Hilly was born in Bloomington, New York, on November 4, 1924, to
Aloysious and Natlie Helen Saunders and grew up in Ellenville, N.Y. He
was a veteran of WWII, Chief Petty Officer, honored with the following:
the Asiatic Pacific Theater Medal (two stars), the Philippine
Liberation Medal (one star), the American Theater Medal and a Victory
Medal. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Hilly returned to study at
Champlain College and later New York Law School where he was president
of his class and of the student body. He became a member of the New
York State Bar in 1952 and 35 years later, in 1987, was admitted to the
Supreme Court of the United States.
He was an enthusiastic horseman, the chairman of Intercollegiate Polo
from 1980 to 1988 and was a proponent for both men and women in the
sport where he helped to create the first Women's Intercollegiate Polo
Championships. Hilly supported his wife, Marilyn Belding Hilly
(formally of Northfield, VT), an Olympic level skier, and used his
legal expertise to set up the bylaws for and was one of the founding
fathers of the United States Ski Association.
In 1952, he married Marilyn June Belding, who survives him, as do their
children, Rebecca Hilly-Eaton and her husband Mark of Park City, UT,
Meg Hilly of Nashville, TN, and Jed Hilly and his wife Susan O'Hara of
Nashville, TN; four grandchildren, Wyatt Schmidt and Bailey, Anabel and
Charlie Hilly; his brother Donald Hilly of Apple Valley, CA; and Ron
Anderson of Waitsfield, VT. He was one hell of a man and we miss him
dearly.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, October 18, 2009, at the
United Church of Christ in Waitsfield Village, Waitsfield, VT.
