New York ? George Roy Hill, the Oscar-winning director who helped turn Paul Newman and Robert Redford into one of Hollywood’s most celebrated buddy combinations with “The Sting” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” died Friday at 81.

Hill died at his home in New York City of complications from Parkinson’s disease, said his son, George Roy Hill III.

“Butch Cassidy” (1969) and “The Sting” (1973) made Hill the only director at the time with two movies among the top 10 all-time moneymakers. Other Hill films include “The World According to Garp” (1982) and “Slap Shot” (1977), an initial flop that has become one of the most beloved sports movies.

“He was the best friend that anyone could have: friend, mentor, enemy,” Newman said Friday. “He gave everyone a hell of a ride. Himself included.”

“Butch Cassidy” received Academy Award nominations for best picture and best director, and won four awards, including best song, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.”

Hill was a leading figure in live television, earning Emmys for writing and directing a Titanic story, “A Night to Remember.” In 1957, Hill shifted to Broadway, directing the Pulitzer Prize winner “Look Homeward, Angel,” as well as Tennessee Williams’ “A Period of Adjustment.”

His movies included Lillian Hellman’s play “Toys in the Attic” (1963), James Michener’s sprawling “Hawaii” (1966), and three complex novels — Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” (1972), John Irving’s “The World According to Garp” and “The Little Drummer Girl” (1984).