Billy Wilder (/ˈwaɪldÉ™r/; German: [ˈvɪldÉ ]; born Samuel Wilder,
June 22, 1906 â€" March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and
screenwriter, born in Austria whose career in Hollywood spanned over
five decades. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and
versatile filmmakers of the Hollywood Golden Age of cinema.Wilder's
film The Apartment, (1960) gave him the distinction of being the first
person to win Academy Awards as producer, director, and
screenwriter.Wilder became a screenwriter in the late 1920s while
living in Berlin. After the rise of the Nazi Party, he left for Paris,
where he made his directorial debut. He moved to Hollywood in 1933,
and in 1939 he had a hit when he co-wrote the screenplay for the
romantic comedy Ninotchka, starring Greta Garbo. Wilder established
his directorial reputation with an adaption of James M. Cain's Double
Indemnity (1944), a film noir. Wilder co-wrote the screenplay with
crime novelist Raymond Chandler. Wilder earned the Best Director and
Best Screenplay Academy Awards for the adaptation of a Charles R.
Jackson story, The Lost Weekend (1945), about alcoholism. In 1950,
Wilder co-wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Sunset
Boulevard, as well as Stalag 17 in 1953.
June 22, 1906 â€" March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and
screenwriter, born in Austria whose career in Hollywood spanned over
five decades. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and
versatile filmmakers of the Hollywood Golden Age of cinema.Wilder's
film The Apartment, (1960) gave him the distinction of being the first
person to win Academy Awards as producer, director, and
screenwriter.Wilder became a screenwriter in the late 1920s while
living in Berlin. After the rise of the Nazi Party, he left for Paris,
where he made his directorial debut. He moved to Hollywood in 1933,
and in 1939 he had a hit when he co-wrote the screenplay for the
romantic comedy Ninotchka, starring Greta Garbo. Wilder established
his directorial reputation with an adaption of James M. Cain's Double
Indemnity (1944), a film noir. Wilder co-wrote the screenplay with
crime novelist Raymond Chandler. Wilder earned the Best Director and
Best Screenplay Academy Awards for the adaptation of a Charles R.
Jackson story, The Lost Weekend (1945), about alcoholism. In 1950,
Wilder co-wrote and directed the critically acclaimed Sunset
Boulevard, as well as Stalag 17 in 1953.
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