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Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder (June 22, 1906 - March 27, 2002) had a career as a screenwriter, film director and producer that spanned more than 50 years and more than 60 films.

Born Samuel Wilder in Sucha, Austria-Hungary (now Poland).

He started work in late 1920s as screenwriter in Germany, then left for France, then United States after the rise of Adolf Hitler. His mother, grandmother, and stepfather died at Auschwitz.

Sharing an apartment with Peter Lorre, he broke into writing in Hollywood with classics like Ninochka. He was a noted collector of modern art.

Billy Wilder died in 2002 in Los Angeles, California, and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, California.

Billy Wilder wrote or directed (or both) classics in more than one genre: Film noir: Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard; Comedy: Some Like it Hot, The Apartment, The Fortune Cookie; Other: Stalag 17, The Spirit of Saint Louis, Witness for the Prosecution


Note: This profile was written in or before 2003.

Billy Wilder Facts

Birth NameSamuel Wilder
OccupationActor
BirthdayJune 22, 1906
SignCancer
BirthplaceSucha, Poland
Date of deathMarch 27, 2002 (age 95)
Height5' 11" (1m80)  How tall is Billy Wilder compared to you?
Awards1961 Academy Awards: Best Director (for The Apartment)
1951 Golden Globe Awards: Best Director - Motion Picture (for Sunset Boulevard)
1946 Academy Awards: Best Director (for The Lost Weekend)
1946 Golden Globe Awards: Best Director - Motion Picture (for The Lost Weekend)

Selected Filmography

Mark 8:36
The Hollywood Collection: Audrey Hepburn
Pilot
Easy Money/Throw Momma from the Train/Blame it on Rio/The Woman in Red
Man on the Moon
The Longest Week
The Woman in Red
Death Wish III
Pufnstuf
Public Enemies
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