Billy Wilder

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June 22, 1906

March 27, 2002

Samuel Wilder

Audrey Young (m. 1949–2002)

Judith Coppicus (m. 1936–1946) (2 children)

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Writer

Sabrina (1995) (earlier screenplay)

"Hallmark Hall of Fame" (1 episode, Witness for the Prosecution 1982)

Buddy Buddy (1981) (writer, director)

Fedora (1978) (writer, director, producer)

The Front Page (1974) (screenplay, director)

Double Indemnity (1973) (TV) (1944 screenplay)

Avanti! (1972) (writer, director, producer)

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) (writer, director, producer)

Casino Royale (1967) (uncredited)

The Fortune Cookie (1966) (writer, director, producer)

Ates gibi kadin (1965) (story "Ball of Fire") (uncredited)

Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) (writer, director, producer)

Irma la Douce (1963) (writer, director, producer)

One, Two, Three (1961) (screenplay, director, producer)

Ocean's Eleven (1960) (uncredited)

The Apartment (1960) (writer, director, producer)

Ninotchka (1960) (TV) (1939 screenplay)

Some Like It Hot (1959) (screenplay, director, producer)

Witness for the Prosecution (1957) (screenplay, director)

Love in the Afternoon (1957) (screenplay, director, producer)

The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) (screenplay, director)

"Robert Montgomery Presents" (1 episode, 1956)

The Seven Year Itch (1955) (screenplay, director, producer)

"Lux Video Theatre" (3 episodes, 1954-1955)

Emil und die Detektive (1954) (earlier screenplay) (as Billie Wilder)

Sabrina (1954) (screenplay, director, producer)

Stalag 17 (1953) (writer, director, producer)

Ace in the Hole (1951) (writer, director, producer)

Sunset Blvd. (1950) (writer, director)

A Song Is Born (1948) (story "From A to Z")

A Foreign Affair (1948) (screenplay, director)

The Emperor Waltz (1948) (writer, director)

The Bishop's Wife (1947) (uncredited)

The Lost Weekend (1945) (screenplay, director)

Double Indemnity (1944) (screenplay, director)

Five Graves to Cairo (1943) (screenplay, director)

The Major and the Minor (1942) (writer, director)

Ball of Fire (1941) (original story) (screenplay)

Hold Back the Dawn (1941) (writer)

Arise, My Love (1940) (writer)

Rhythm on the River (1940) (story)

Ninotchka (1939) (screenplay)

What a Life (1939) (screenplay)

Midnight (1939) (screenplay)

That Certain Age (1938) (writer)

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) (screenplay)

Champagne Waltz (1937) (story)

The Lottery Lover (1935) (screenplay)

Emil and the Detectives (1935) (uncredited)

Under Pressure (1935) (writer)

Music in the Air (1934) (adaptation & screenplay)

One Exciting Adventure (1934) (story)

Mauvaise graine (1934) (screenplay, director) (as Billie Wilder)

Adorable (1933) (story "Ihre Hoheit Befiehlt")

Madame ne veut pas d'enfants (1933) (screenplay) (as Billie Wilder)

Was Frauen träumen (1933) (writer)

Madame wünscht keine Kinder (1933) (adaptation)

Das Blaue vom Himmel (1932/I) (writer)

Scampolo, ein Kind der Straße (1932) (writer)

Ein blonder Traum (1932) (writer)

Es war einmal ein Walzer (1932) (writer)

Der Sieger (1932) (writer)

Where Is This Lady? (1932) (story "Es War Einmal Ein Walzer")

Un rêve blond (1932) (screenplay) (as Billie Wilder)

Happy Ever After (1932) (writer)

Emil und die Detektive (1931) (screenplay) (as Billie Wilder)

Princesse, à vos ordres! (1931) (writer)

Der falsche Ehemann (1931) (writer)

Seitensprünge (1931) (idea)

Ihre Hoheit befiehlt (1931) (writer)

Der Mann, der seinen Mörder sucht (1931) (writer)

Ein Burschenlied aus Heidelberg (1930) (writer)

Menschen am Sonntag (1930) (writer)

Der Teufelsreporter (1929) (writer, actor) (as Billie Wilder)

Director

Death Mills (1945)

Appearances

Billy Wilder Speaks (2006) (TV)

The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003) (TV)

"Backstory" (1 episode, 2000)

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000) (TV)

The Shoe Store (1999)

"American Masters" (1 episode, 1998)

Fred MacMurray: The Guy Next Door (1997) (TV)

Marlene Dietrich: Shadow and Light (1996) (TV)

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) (TV)

Audrey Hepburn Remembered (1993) (TV)

"Billy Wilder, wie haben Sie's gemacht?" (1992) TV series

The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1990) (TV)

The Exiles (1989)

The 60th Annual Academy Awards (1988) (TV)

The American Film Institute Salute to Jack Lemmon (1988) (TV)

Directed by William Wyler (1986)

The 58th Annual Academy Awards (1986) (TV)

The American Film Institute Salute to Billy Wilder (1986) (TV)

The 55th Annual Academy Awards (1983) (TV)

"Live from Lincoln Center" (1 episode, 1982)

Portrait d'un homme 'à 60% parfait': Billy Wilder (1980)

"The Hollywood Greats" (1 episode, 1978)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (2 episodes, 1973-1974)

Today (1 episode, 1974)

The 42nd Annual Academy Awards (1970) (TV)

Billy Wilder (1970) (TV)

"The Jack Benny Program" (1 episode, 1962)

The 33rd Annual Academy Awards (1961) (TV)

"The Ed Sullivan Show" (2 episodes, 1949-1960)

"Cinépanorama" (1 episode, 1956)

Nobody's Perfect: Billy Wilder, A Personal Biography (Charlotte Chandler & Billy Wilder) (2002)

Billy Wilder: Interviews (Billy Wilder & Robert Horton) (2001)

Conversations with Wilder (Billy Wilder, Robert Horton & Karen Lerner) (2001)

Double Indemnity: The Complete Screenplay (Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler & Jeffrey Meyers) (2000)

The Lost Weekend: The Complete Screenplay (Billy Wilder & Jeffrey Meyers) (2000)

Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder & Jeffrey Meyers) (1999)

Stalag 17 (Billy Wilder & Jeffrey Meyers) (1999)

The Apartment: An Original Screenplay, Directed by Billy Wilder (Billy Wilder , I. A. Diamond & George P. Garrett) (1998)

Ninotchka (Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch & Menyhert Lengyel) (1972)

The Apartment and The Fortune Cookie: Two Screenplays (Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond) (1971)

Some Like It Hot: A Screenplay (Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond) (1959)

Sunset Boulevard Movie Script Screenplay (Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr. & Charles Brackett) (1949)

Double Indemnity (1944)

Submit Books

The Academy Awards

1988 Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

1967 Nominated Oscar Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen
for: The Fortune Cookie (1966). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1961 Won Oscar Best Director for: The Apartment (1960)

1961 Won Oscar Best Picture for: The Apartment (1960)

1961 Won Oscar Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen for: The Apartment (1960). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1960 Nominated Oscar Best Director for: Some Like It Hot (1959)

1960 Nominated Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium for: Some Like It Hot (1959). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1958 Nominated Oscar Best Director for: Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

1955 Nominated Oscar Best Director for: Sabrina (1954)

1955 Nominated Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay for: Sabrina (1954). Shared with: Samuel A. Taylor & Ernest Lehman

1954 Nominated Oscar Best Director for: Stalag 17 (1953)

1952 Nominated Oscar Best Writing, Story and Screenplay for: Ace in the Hole (1951). Shared with: Lesser Samuels & Walter Newman

1951 Won Oscar Best Writing, Story and Screenplay for: Sunset Blvd. (1950). Shared with: Charles Brackett & D.M. Marshman Jr.

1951 Nominated Oscar Best Director for: Sunset Blvd. (1950)

1949 Nominated Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay for: A Foreign Affair (1948). Shared with: Charles Brackett & Richard L. Breen

1946 Won Oscar Best Director for: The Lost Weekend (1945)

1946 Won Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay for: The Lost Weekend (1945). Shared with: Charles Brackett

1945 Nominated Oscar Best Director for: Double Indemnity (1944)

1945 Nominated Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay for: Double Indemnity (1944). Shared with: Raymond Chandler

1942 Nominated Oscar Best Writing, Original Story for: Ball of Fire (1941). Shared with: Thomas Monroe

1942 Nominated Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay for: Hold Back the Dawn (1941). Shared with: Charles Brackett

1940 Nominated Oscar Best Writing, Screenplay for: Ninotchka (1939). Shared with: Charles Brackett & Walter Reisch

American Film Institute

1986 Life Achievement Award

BAFTA Awards

1995 Academy Fellowship

1961 Won BAFTA Film Award Best Film from any Source for: The Apartment (1960)

1960 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Film from any Source for: Some Like It Hot (1959)

Berlin International Film Festival

1993 Honorary Golden Berlin Bear

Blue Ribbon Awards

1952 Won Blue Ribbon Award Best Foreign Language Film for: Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Bodil Awards

1951 Won Bodil Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film) for: Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Cannes Film Festival

1946 Won Grand Prize of the Festival for: The Lost Weekend (1945)

David di Donatello Awards

1975 Won David Best Director - Foreign Film (Migliore Regista Straniero)
for: The Front Page (1974)

Directors Guild of America

1991 Preston Sturges Award

1985 Lifetime Achievement Award

1961 Won DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: The Apartment (1960). Shared with: Hal W. Polaire (assistant director) (plaque)

1960 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: Some Like It Hot (1959)

1958 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: Love in the Afternoon (1957)

1958 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

1956 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: The Seven Year Itch (1955)

1955 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: Sabrina (1954)

1954 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: Stalag 17 (1953)

1951 Nominated DGA Award Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for: Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Edgar Allan Poe Awards

1958 Nominated Edgar Best Motion Picture for: Witness for the Prosecution (1957). Shared with: Harry Kurnitz

European Film Awards

1992 Life Achievement Award

Film Society of Lincoln Center

1982 Gala Tribute

Flaiano International Prizes

2000 Career Award Cinema

Fotogramas de Plata

1982 Won Fotogramas de Plata Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera) for: Fedora (1978). Tied with Atlantic City (1980)

German Film Awards

1997 Lifetime Achievement Award

1973 Honorary Award For his continued outstanding individual contributions to the German film over the years

Golden Globes

1973 Nominated Golden Globe Best Director - Motion Picture for: Avanti! (1972)

1973 Nominated Golden Globe Best Screenplay for: Avanti! (1972). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1961 Nominated Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Director for: The Apartment (1960)

1958 Nominated Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Director for: Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

1955 Won Golden Globe Best Screenplay for: Sabrina (1954). Shared with: Samuel A. Taylor & Ernest Lehman

1951 Won Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Director for: Sunset Blvd. (1950)

1951 Nominated Golden Globe Best Screenplay for: Sunset Blvd. (1950). Shared with: Charles Brackett & D.M. Marshman Jr.

1946 Won Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Director for: The Lost Weekend (1945)

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists

1951 Won Silver Ribbon Best Director - Foreign Film (Regista del Miglior Film Straniero)
for: Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Laurel Awards

1971 Nominated Golden Laurel Best Producer-Director 4th place

1970 Nominated Golden Laurel Producer-Director 7th place

1965 Nominated Golden Laurel Producer-Director 9th place

1964 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Producer/Director 4th place

1963 Won Golden Laurel Top Producer/Director

1962 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Producer/Director 5th place

1961 2nd place Golden Laurel Top Producer/Director

1960 3rd place Golden Laurel Top Producer/Director

1959 2nd place Golden Laurel Top Producer/Director

1958 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Producer/Director 7th place

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards

1994 Career Achievement Award

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

1960 Won NYFCC Award Best Director for: The Apartment (1960). Tied with Jack Cardiff for Sons and Lovers (1960)

1960 Won NYFCC Award Best Screenplay for: The Apartment (1960). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1946 Won NYFCC Award Best Director for: The Lost Weekend (1945)

PGA Awards

2000 Won PGA Hall of Fame - Motion Pictures for: Some Like It Hot (1959)

1997 Lifetime Achievement Award in Motion Pictures

Venice Film Festival

1972 Won Career Golden Lion

1960 Nominated Golden Lion for: The Apartment (1960)

1951 Won International Award for: Ace in the Hole (1951)

1951 Nominated Golden Lion for: Ace in the Hole (1951)

Walk of Fame (Hollywood)

Star on the Walk of Fame Motion Picture At 1751 Vine Street.


Writers Guild of America

1980 Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement

1975 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium for: The Front Page (1974). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1973 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium for: Avanti! (1972). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1971 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen for: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1967 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Written American Comedy for: The Fortune Cookie (1966). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1964 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Written American Comedy for: Irma la Douce (1963). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1962 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Written American Comedy for: One, Two, Three (1961). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1961 Won WGA Award (Screen) Best Written American Comedy for: The Apartment (1960). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1960 Won WGA Award (Screen) Best Written American Comedy for: Some Like It Hot (1959). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1958 Won WGA Award (Screen) Best Written American Comedy for: Love in the Afternoon (1957). Shared with: I.A.L. Diamond

1957 Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement

1956 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Written American Comedy for: The Seven Year Itch (1955). Shared with: George Axelrod

1955 Won WGA Award (Screen) Best Written American Comedy for: Sabrina (1954). Shared with: Samuel A. Taylor & Ernest Lehman

1954 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Written American Comedy for: Stalag 17 (1953). Shared with: Edwin Blum

1951 Won WGA Award (Screen) Best Written American Drama for: Sunset Blvd. (1950). Shared with: Charles Brackett & D.M. Marshman Jr.

1949 Nominated WGA Award (Screen) Best Written American Comedy for: A Foreign Affair (1948). Shared with: Charles Brackett & Richard L. Breen

1949 Nominated WGA Award Best Written American Musical for: The Emperor Waltz (1948). Shared with: Charles Brackett

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I have ten commandments. The first nine are, thou shalt not bore. The tenth is, thou shalt have right of final cut.

An audience is never wrong. An individual member of it may be an imbecile, but a thousand imbeciles together in the dark - that is critical genius.

You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.

Some pictures play wonderfully to a room of eight people. I don't go for that. I go for the masses. I go for the end effect.

If you're going to tell people the truth, be funny or they'll kill you.

Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles isn't a realist.

Today we spend 80% of the time making deals and 20% making pictures.

A director must be a policeman, a midwife, a psychoanalyst, a sycophant and a bastard.

Submit Quotes

Billy Wilder's parents were Max Wilder and Gitla Siedlisker. His mother nicknamed him Billie. He changed the spelling to Billy when he arrived in America.

His parents had a successful and well-known cake shop in Sucha Beskidzka's train station and unsuccessfully tried to persuade their son to join the family business.

He originally intended to study law, but he got sidetracked into a career in journalism. He became a reporter first in Austria, then Germany and he supplemented his income by becoming a hotel taxi dancer. During this period he broke into screenwriting and earned his first credit collaborating on Robet Siodmak’s semi-documentary People on Sunday in 1929.

His career was halted when the Nazis rose to power, forcing the Jewish Wilder to flee to Paris and then Hollywood via Mexico. The rest of his family was not so lucky. His mother and other family members were left behind in concentration camps.

His mother, grandmother, and stepfather did not perish in the Auschwitz concentration camp as assumed: Mother Gitla Siedlisker was murdered in 1943 in the Plaszow concentration camp (known from Schindler's List), stepfather Bernard (Berl) Siedlisker died in 1942 in the Belzec concentration camp, grandmother Balbina Baldinger in 1943 in the ghetto of Nowy Targ.

Wilder had tried to enter the U.S. via Mexico, where U.S. officials repeatedly denied him entry for several months. At the point of losing hope, he went to a new immigration officer who asked him his profession. After stating he was a filmmaker, the officer stamped his papers, and upon entering the U.S. the officer said,"Make good ones, then."

He changed his name to Billy and arrived in Hollywood with little money and a scant command of English. He moved in with actor Peter Lorre and eked out a meager existence working on irregular script collaborations.

He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1934.

In 1938 Wilder began a long and fruitful association with screenwriter Charles Brackett, turning out some of the most literate, witty American screenplays of the 1930s and 1940s. The collaboration lasted 12 years until 1950.

Lubitsch became Wilder’s idol and he had a sign in his office that said: ”What Would Lubitsch Do?”

Wilder loved to revel in life’s dark edges and squalid emotions, but he diluted the acidity levels with gleefully malevolent humor and reluctant romance. By flouting taboos and exploring adult themes he did much to help mainstream American movies come of age.

He became a director to protect his scripts.

He was famous for the modern-art collection he put together over his lifetime (he sold a portion of it in 1989 for $32.6 million).

His favorite film was Battleship Potemkin (1925).

Wilder passed away from pneumonia at the age of 95 after battling health problems, including cancer, in Los Angeles, California and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles, California.

Must-see Movies

Double Indemnity (1944)

The Lost Weekend (1945)

Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Ace in the Hole (1951)

Some Like It Hot (1959)

The Apartment (1960)

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