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Director
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder’s screen credits include director work on Witness for the Prosecution and director work on Double Indemnity.
Born June 22, 1906† March 27, 2002 Sucha, Galicia, Austria-Hungary2 movies on MoviHero
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THE PERSON BEHIND THE ROLES
About Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder, born Samuel Wilder; (22 June 1906 - 27 March 2002) was an Austrian-born director, screenwriter and producer who is regarded as one of the most successful filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age. Today he is best known for his comedies, although he also directed dramas and film noirs. Wilder is one of only five people who have won Academy Awards as producer, director, and writer for the same film (The Apartment). Wilder's career began in Germany, where he worked as a writer for comedy films from 1930. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, he emigrated to the United States, where he continued to write screenplays, including Ernst Lubitsch's Ninotchka (1939) and Howard Hawks' Ball of Fire (1941). From the early 1940s, Wilder was allowed to film his own screenplays and thus made a name for himself as a director. …
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Initially, his greatest successes included predominantly dramatic film noirs such as Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Ace in the Hole (1951). It was only then that he increasingly turned to comedy, including Stalag 17 (1953), Sabrina (1954) and The Seven Year Itch (1955), although he made a small detour to courtroom drama with Witness for the Prosecution (1957). With Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Apartment (1960) he made his most famous and probably most successful comedy films, the latter even receiving five Oscars. In One, Two, Three (1961), Wilder dealt with the conditions of the time in his former adopted country, Germany, and made the successful romantic comedy Irma la Douce (1963). In the two decades that followed, Wilder made seven more films, which were less well received by critics and audiences, although the German-French drama Fedora (1978) is viewed somewhat more favorably today by predominantly pretentious film experts. Some time later, Wilder was under discussion as director for Schindler's List, which he had wanted as the end of his long career, but ultimately had to turn it down due to his advanced age.
GALLERY
Photos
Portraits of Billy Wilder.
MOVIHERO CREDITS
Movies and roles
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- 2020AudreySelf - Filmmaker (voice) (archive footage)
- 2019Hollywood's Second World WarSelf (archive footage)
- 2018La GarçonnièreWriter
- 2017Never Be Boring: Billy WilderSelf (archive footage)
- 2016Billy Wilder: Nobody's PerfectSelf (archive footage)
- 2006The Legacy of 'Some Like It Hot'Self (archive footage)
- 2006The Making of 'Some Like It Hot'Self (archive footage)
- 2006Billy Wilder SpeaksSelf - Filmmaker
- 2002Heart of the FestivalSelf (archive footage)
- 2001Nobody's Perfect: The Making of Some Like It HotSelf (archive footage)
- 2000Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actorSelf (archive footage)
- 1998Billy Wilder: The Human ComedySelf
- 1997Walter Matthau: Diamond in the RoughSelf
- 1996Fred MacMurray: The Guy Next DoorSelf
- 1996Jack Lemmon: America's EverymanSelf
- 1995SabrinaWriter
- 1993Audrey Hepburn: RememberedSelf
- 1992Billy, How Did You Do It?Self
- 1989The ExilesSelf
- 1986Directed by William WylerSelf
- 1982Witness for the ProsecutionWriter
- 1982Portrait of a '60% Perfect Man': Billy WilderSelf
- 1982SugarWriter
- 1981Buddy BuddyDirector · Writer
- 1978FedoraDirector · Writer · Producer
- 1978Regie: Billy WilderSelf
- 1974The Front PageDirector · Writer
- 1973Double IndemnityWriter
- 1972Avanti!Director · Writer · Producer
- 1970The Private Life of Sherlock HolmesDirector · Producer · Writer
- Sunset BoulevardWriter
- 1966The Legend of Marilyn MonroeActor
- 1966The Fortune CookieDirector · Producer · Writer
- 1964Kiss Me, StupidDirector · Writer · Producer
- 1963Irma la DouceWriter · Producer · Director
- 1961One, Two, ThreeDirector · Producer · Writer
- 1960The ApartmentProducer · Director · Writer
- 1959Some Like It HotDirector · Producer · Writer
- 1957Love in the AfternoonDirector · Writer · Producer
- 1957The Spirit of St. LouisDirector · Writer · Producer
- 1955The Seven Year ItchWriter · Producer · Director
- 1954Emil and the DetectivesWriter
- 1954SabrinaDirector · Producer · Writer
- 1953Stalag 17Producer · Writer · Director
- 1951Ace in the HoleProducer · Director · Writer
- 1950Sunset BoulevardDirector · Writer
- 1948A Song Is BornWriter
- 1948A Foreign AffairDirector · Writer
- 1948The Emperor WaltzDirector · Writer
- 1945Masquerade in MexicoWriter
- 1945The Lost WeekendWriter · Director
- 1945Death MillsDirector
- 1943Five Graves to CairoWriter · Director
- 1942The Major and the MinorWriter · Director
- 1941Ball of FireWriter
- 1941Hold Back the DawnWriter
- 1940Arise, My LoveWriter
- 1940Rhythm on the RiverWriter
- 1939NinotchkaWriter
- 1939What a LifeWriter
- 1939MidnightWriter
- 1938That Certain AgeWriter
- 1938Bluebeard's Eighth WifeWriter
- 1937Champagne WaltzWriter
- 1936First OffenceWriter
- 1935Emil and the DetectivesWriter
- 1935The Lottery LoverWriter
- 1934Music in the AirWriter
- 1934One Exciting AdventureWriter
- 1934Bad SeedDirector · Writer
- 1933AdorableWriter
- 1933What Women DreamWriter
- 1933Madame Wants No ChildrenWriter
- 1932The Blue from the SkyWriter
- 1932Where Is This Lady?Writer
- 1932Scampolo, ein Kind der StraßeWriter
- 1932A Blonde DreamWriter
- 1932Happy Ever AfterWriter
- 1932Once There Was a WaltzWriter
- 1932The WinnerWriter
- 1931Emil and the DetectivesWriter
- 1931Princess, At Your Orders!Writer
- 1931The Wrong HusbandWriter
- 1931InfidelitiesWriter
- 1931Her Grace CommandsWriter
- 1931The Man in Search of His MurdererWriter
- 1930The fight with the dragon or: The tragedy of the lodgerWriter
- 1930People on SundayWriter
- 1929Der TeufelsreporterWriter
CONNECTED THROUGH MOVIES
Shared credits
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Actor
Barbara Stanwyck
1 shared film on MoviHeroActor
Byron Barr
1 shared film on MoviHeroActor
Charles Laughton
1 shared film on MoviHeroActor