Hill became a film fan at an early age, and the first film he remembers seeing was "Song of the South" (1946). He later described his taste as "juvenile", stating: "I liked adventure, westerns, but I liked everything. Musicals. But the general, I remember not liking kid movies... still don't, I think that's hung on." His asthma receded when he was 15 and he began to think about becoming a writer. He worked in the oil fields as a roustabout on Signal Hill, California during high school and several more years while in college. During one summer, he ran an asbestos pipe-cutting machine and worked as a spray painter.