Mini biography

Billy Wilder (June 22nd, 1906 - March 27th, 2002)

Originally planning to become a lawyer, 'Billy Wilder' abandoned this in favour of working as a reporter for a Viennese newspaper, using this experience to move to Berlin, where he worked for the city's largest tabloid.

He broke into films as a screenwriter in 1929, and wrote scripts for many German films until Hitler came to power in 1933.

Wilder immediately realised his Jewish ancestry would cause problems, so he emigrated to Paris, then the States.

Despite knowing no English when he arrived in Hollywood, Wilder was a fast learner, and thanks to contacts such as Peter Lorre (with whom he shared an apartment) he was able to break into American films.

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



His partnership with Charles Brackett started in 1938 and was responsible for the scripts of some classic Hollywood comedies, including 'Ninotchka' and 'Ball of Fire'.

The partnership expanded into a producer-director one in 1942 with Brackett producing, which turned such classics as 'Double Indemnity', 'Five Graves to Cairo', 'The Lost Weekend' (Oscars for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay) and 'Sunset Boulevard' (Oscars for Best Screenplay), after which the partnership dissolved.

Wilder's subsequent self- produced films would become more caustic and cynical, notably 'Ace in the Hole', though he also produced such sublime comedies as 'Some Like It Hot, and 'The Apartment' (which won him Best Picture and Director Oscars). He retired in 1981.

Filmography

1934 Amore che redime
1942 The major and the minor (Frutto proibito)
1943 Five graves to Cairo (I cinque segreti del deserto)
1944 Double indemnity (La fiamma del peccato)
1945 The lost weekend (Giorni perduti)
1948 The emperor waltz (Il Valzer dell'imperatore)
1948 A foreign affair M (Scandalo internazionale)
1950 Sunset Boulevard (Viale del tramonto)
1951 Ace in the hole / The big carnival (L'asso nella manica)
1953 Stalag (L'inferno dei vivi)
1954 Sabrina
1955 Quando la moglie è in vacanza
1955 The seven year itch (L'aquila solitaria)
1957 Love in the afternoon (Arianna)
1957 Testimone d'accusa
1959 Some like it hot (A qualcuno piace caldo)
1960 The apartment (L'appartamento)
1961 One, two, three (Uno, due, tre!)
1963 Irma la douce (Irma la dolce)
1964 Kiss me, stupid (Baciami, stupido)
1966 The fortune cookie (Non per soldi... ma per denaro)
1970 The private life of Sherlock Holmes (Vita privata di Sherlock Holmes)
1972 Avanti! (Che cosa è successo tra mio padre e tua madre?)
1974 The front page
1978 Fedora
1981 Buddy, Buddy

Director - Selected filmography

1. Fedora (1978)
   
2. The Fortune Cookie (1966)
   
3. The Apartment (1960)
   
4. Some Like It Hot (1959)
   
5. Love in the Afternoon (1957)
   
6. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
   
7. Sabrina | Sabrina Fair (1954)
   
8. Stalag 17 (1953)
   
9. Ace in the Hole (1951)
   
10. SUNSET BLVD. (1950)
    
11. The Lost Weekend (1945)
    
12. Double Indemnity (1944)