Hilly  lived a wild life, and founded a wild club.  CBGB was his baby, named after the music he loved...country, bluegrass and blues.  When he opened it  in 1973 it was the first  of its kind.  It was a petri dish for punk music with acts like the Ramones, Patti Smith, Blondie, Talking Heads and Sonic Youth playing some of their earliest and most important concerts there.

He died of complications from lung cancer.