Billy Wilder Net Worth
Billy Wilder Net Worth is
$15 Million
Billy Wilder Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Billy Wilder (/ˈwaɪldər/; German: [ˈvɪldɐ]; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age. Wilder is one of only five people to have won Academy Awards as producer, director and screenwriter for the same film (The Apartment), and was the first person to accomplish this.Wilder became a screenwriter in the late 1920s while living in Berlin. After the rise of the Nazi Party, Wilder, who was Jewish, 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 screwball comedy Ninotchka. Wilder established his directorial reputation with Double Indemnity (1944), a film noir he co-wrote 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 Blvd.From the mid-1950s on, Wilder made mostly comedies. Among the classics Wilder created in this period are the farces The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959), satires such as The Apartment (1960), and the drama comedy Sabrina (1954). He directed fourteen different actors in Oscar-nominated performances. Wilder was recognized with the American Film Institute (AFI) Life Achievement Award in 1986. In 1988, Wilder was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. In 1993, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. | Full Name | Ace Wilder |
| Date Of Birth | June 22, 1906, Sucha Beskidzka, Poland |
| Died | March 27, 2002, Beverly Hills, California, United States |
| Place Of Birth | Sucha, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Sucha Beskidzka, Malopolskie, Poland] |
| Height | 5' 11" (1.8 m) |
| Profession | Writer, Director, Producer |
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Parents | Gudrun Gernandt, Fredrik Gernandt, Wild Child, Busy Doin' Nothin', Don't Worry, Nynäshamn, Sweden, Hässleholm, Sweden |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Picture |
| Nominations | Grammis Award for Song of the Year |
| Star Sign | Cancer |
| # | Trademark |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cynical yet humorous films |
| 2 | Characters often look themselves on a little mirror |
| 3 | Featured dangerous, manipulative women in his films |
| 4 | Films often featured low key lighting |
| 5 | Frequently cast Marilyn Monroe, William Holden, Jack Lemmon and Fred MacMurray. Wilder directed Jack Lemmon in seven movies: The Apartment (1960), Avanti! (1972), Buddy Buddy (1981), The Fortune Cookie (1966), The Front Page (1974), Irma la Douce (1963) and Some Like It Hot (1959). |
| 6 | A few of his films feature scenes where characters play cards (Sunset Blvd. (1950), Stalag 17 (1953), The Apartment (1960)). Wilder himself was an avid bridge and poker player. |
| 7 | Films feature a sharp wit and characters who frequently try to change their identity. |
| 8 | His movies frequently started with narration |
| # | Quote |
|---|---|
| 1 | I had no problem with Monroe. Monroe had a problem with Monroe. |
| 2 | [his thumbnail example of how he pictured existentialism] This boy falls in love with his mother and marries her. They live together quite happily until one day he learns that she isn't his mother. So he commits suicide. existialism is |
| 3 | [on William Holden's death] If someone had said to me, 'Holden's dead,' I would have assumed that he had been gored by a water buffalo in Kenya, that he had died in a plane crash approaching Hong Kong, that a crazed, jealous woman had shot him, and he drowned in a swimming pool. But to be killed by a bottle of vodka and a night table - what a lousy fade-out of a great guy! |
| 4 | [on film critic Judith Crist ] Inviting her to review one of your pictures is like inviting the Boston Strangler to massage your neck. |
| 5 | There was an actress named Marilyn Monroe. She was always late. She never remembered her lines. She was a pain in the ass. My Aunt Millie is a nice lady. If she were in pictures she would always be on time. She would know her lines. She would be nice. Why does everyone in Hollywood want to work with Marilyn Monroe and no one wants to work with my Aunt Millie? Because no one will go to the movies to watch my Aunt Millie. |
| 6 | [on why his films rarely feature children]: I could direct a dog. Kids, I don't know. |
| 7 | I don't think that making movies is my entire life. But there's one thing, you know, that I hate more than not being taken seriously, is to be taken too seriously. |
| 8 | When you say that I am searching for truth, and uh so and so, you French really know how to flatter somebody. I'm just trying to make a living. Get two hours of film, and I don't really give a shit if whether how true it is, great it is. Just get it over with. Where's that? |
| 9 | Everybody in the audience is an idiot, but taken together they're a genius. |
| 10 | [on Jack Lemmon] I'm terribly fond of Jack. We understand each other very well and it's a pleasure to work with him. He is a thinking actor, but not an argumentative one. By that way I mean if we start shooting at nine o'clock, he would be there at 8:15 and would come to my office and say, "Hey, I've got a great idea! Look, why don't we do this? Blah, blah, blah, blah." And I just look at him, and he says, "I don't like it either." And he walks out. |
| 11 | [When asked what the purpose of making films is] Well, number one, it's too late for me now to change and to become a gardener. Number two is to get away from the house and the vacuum cleaner. I want to be in my office and think. And number three, it's very exciting. I like to tell stories. Ultimately it's interesting. You meet nice people, it's glamorous, and, if you get lucky, very profitable. You suffer a great deal, but to paraphrase President Truman, if you can't take all that crap, get out of the studio. Believe me, this is not a profession for a dignified human being. I can see the interest in pictures when I talk to you students [at the American Film Institute], especially now that almost every university has something connected with movies. But if I had a son I would beat him with a very large whip trying to make a gardener, a dentist or something else out of him. Don't do it. It's just too tough. It hurts, and the moments of glory are very far between. Well, it's too late for me to turn back, too late for me to become a gardener. I can't bend over the azaleas. Not anymore. |
| 12 | The close-up is such a valuable thing -- like a trump at a bridge. |
| 13 | The best director is the one you don't see. |
| 14 | An actor enters through a door, you've got nothing. But if he enters through a window, you've got a situation. |
| 15 | What critics call dirty in our movies, they call lusty in foreign films. |
| 16 | You watch, the new wave will discover the slow dissolve in ten years or so. |
| 17 | In certain pictures I do hope they will leave the cinema a little enriched, but I don't make them pay a buck and a half and then ram a lecture down their throats. |
| 18 | The subtlest comedy you can get right now is MASH (1970). They don't want to see a picture unless Peter Fonda is running over a dozen people or unless Clint Eastwood has got a machine gun bigger then 140 penises. It gets bigger all the time, you know; it started out as a pistol and now it's a machine gun. Something which is warm and funny and gentle and urbane and civilized hasn't got a chance today. There is a lack of patience which is sweeping the nation - or the world, for that matter. |
| 19 | 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 |
| 20 | If there's anything I hate more than not being taken seriously, it's being taken too seriously. |
| 21 | If you're going to tell people the truth, be funny or they'll kill you. |
| 22 | My Aunt Minnie would always be punctual and never hold up production, but who would pay to see my Aunt Minnie?- on Marilyn Monroe |
| 23 | The Austrians are brilliant people. They made the world believe that [Adolf Hitler] was a German and [Ludwig van Beethoven] an Austrian. |
| 24 | [on Marilyn Monroe] An endless puzzle without any solution. |
| 25 | [on Marlene Dietrich] Mother Teresa with better legs. |
| 26 | [on Ace in the Hole (1951)] I was attacked by every paper because of that movie. They loathed it. It was cynical, they said. Cynical, my ass. I tell you, you read about a plane crash somewhere nearby and you want to check out the scene, you can't get to it because ten thousand people are already there: they're picking up little scraps, ghoulish souvenir hunters. After I read those horrifying reviews about "Ace in the Hole", I remember I was going down Wilshire Boulevard and there was an automobile accident. Somebody was run over. I stopped my car. I wanted to help that guy who was run over. Then another guy jumps out of his car and photographs the thing. "You'd better call an ambulance," I said. "Call a doctor, my ass. I've got to get to the L.A. Times. I've got a picture. I've got to move. I just took a picture here. I've got to deliver it." But you say that in a movie, and the critics think you're exaggerating." |
| 27 | France is the only country where the money falls apart and you can't tear the toilet paper. |
| 28 | Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. |
| 29 | You're only as good as the best thing you've ever done. |
| 30 | You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning. |
| 31 | Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else's. |
| 32 | People copy, people steal. Most of the pictures they make nowadays are loaded down with special effects. I couldn't do that. I quit smoking because I couldn't reload my Zippo. |
| 33 | [asked if it was important for a director to know how to write] No, but it helps if he knows how to read. |
| 34 | [about the Hotel Marmont on Sunset Blvd., a piece of Hollywood history] I would rather sleep in a bathroom than in another hotel. |
| 35 | I have ten commandments. The first nine are, thou shalt not bore. The tenth is, thou shalt have right of final cut. |
| 36 | Hollywood didn't kill Marilyn Monroe; it's the Marilyn Monroes who are killing Hollywood. |
| 37 | [on Marilyn Monroe] Breasts like granite and a brain like Swiss cheese. |
| 38 | A director must be a policeman, a midwife, a psychoanalyst, a sycophant and a bastard. |
| 39 | [to a cameraman on one of his pictures] Shoot a few scenes out of focus. I want to win the foreign film award. |
| 40 | Today we spend 80% of the time making deals and 20% making pictures. |
| 41 | I was not a guy writing deep-dish revelations. If people see a picture of mine and then sit down and talk about it for 15 minutes, that is a very fine reward, I think. |
| 42 | Making movies is little like walking into a dark room. Some people stumble across furniture, others break their legs but some of us see better in the dark than others. The ultimate trick is to convince, persuade. |
| 43 | [in 1976] They say Wilder is out of touch with his times. Frankly, I regard it as a compliment. Who the hell wants to be in touch with these times? |
| 44 | [opon seeing Sigmund Freud's therapy couch] It was a very tiny little thing. All his theories were based on the analysis of very short people! |
| 45 | I just made pictures I would've liked to see. |
| 46 | The Wilder message is don't bore - don't bore people. |
| 47 | A bad play folds and is forgotten, but in pictures we don't bury our dead. When you think it's out of your system, your daughter sees it on television and says, "My father is an idiot." |
| 48 | My English is a mixture between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Archbishop Tutu. |
| 49 | Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles isn't a realist. |
| 50 | 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. |
| 51 | [after directing Marilyn Monroe for the second time in Some Like It Hot (1959)] I have discussed this with my doctor and my psychiatrist and they tell me I'm too old and too rich to go through this again. |
| # | Fact |
|---|---|
| 1 | Gaylord Larsen's 1988 novel "A Paramount Kill" features Wilder as a character. A whodunit set in 1940s Hollywood, it has Raymond Chandler as the hero and Wilder as his antagonist, causing trouble for Chandler because of their bad blood during the making of Double Indemnity (1944). |
| 2 | He directed two Best Picture Academy Award winners: The Lost Weekend (1945) and The Apartment (1960). |
| 3 | He was always uncomfortable around children and was an absentee father to his two children from his first marriage. He and his second wife, Audrey, agreed that they didn't want children. |
| 4 | Was a fan of the British film Brief Encounter (1945). It inspired him to make the movie The Apartment (1960). The premise for The Apartment is based on a male character who loans out his flat to a friend and doesn't care what happens while he's out. |
| 5 | Honored on a US Postage Stamp in May 2012 (along with Frank Capra, John Ford, and John Huston). |
| 6 | Ingmar Bergman claimed that Wilder was his favorite Hollywood director. |
| 7 | He worked closely with two co-writers in his career: earlier in his career with Charles Brackett, an older man who frequently provided a strong argumentative counterpoint in the writing room and later with I.A.L. Diamond, who possessed a cynical, humorous world view more in line with Wilder's. |
| 8 | Directed four of the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest Movies: Sunset Blvd. (1950) at #16, Some Like It Hot (1959) at #22, Double Indemnity (1944) at #29 and The Apartment (1960) at #80. |
| 9 | He wrote five of the American Film Institute's 100 Funniest Movies: Some Like It Hot (1959) at #1, The Apartment (1960) at #20, The Seven Year Itch (1955) at #51, Ninotchka (1939) at #52 and Ball of Fire (1941) at #92. |
| 10 | The song, "Isn't it Romantic?" is featured in many of Wilder's films, not particularly because he liked the song, but, as he said of himself, "I'm cheap." Wilder got a great deal when he originally licensed the song for use, which allowed him to use it over and over. |
| 11 | Profiled in "Conversations with Directors: An Anthology of Interviews from Literature/Film Quarterly", E.M. Walker, D.T. Johnson, eds. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2008. |
| 12 | His favorite film was Battleship Potemkin (1925). |
| 13 | His directorial debut was The Major and the Minor (1942). |
| 14 | On the first page of every screenplay of his own he used to write "Cum Deo" (With God), a habit he said he had taken from Pauline Kael. "It's not harmful, anyway," Wilder explained, "and could corrupt that guy dwelling up there". |
| 15 | He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1993 by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, DC. |
| 16 | In his last years he became patron of the "Billy-Wilder-Institute" located in Germany, a film school founded to educate only producers and screenwriters. The school was closed after just two years because of the death of its founder and dean Lothar Rhode. |
| 17 | He died on the same day as Dudley Moore and Milton Berle. He and Moore both died of pneumonia. Of the three, Wilder is the only one who never made a guest appearance in The Muppet Show (1976). |
| 18 | One of the most eclectic writer-directors ever. He excelled in film noir (Double Indemnity (1944)), drama (The Lost Weekend (1945)), comedy (Some Like It Hot (1959)) and war (Stalag 17 (1953)). |
| 19 | As a writer, he had odd habits. On the one hand, he hated writing alone, so he almost always used a partner, someone to be in the room with him while he worked. On the other hand, many of the partners complained that if he heard an idea he did not like, he could be cruel and insulting. Many writers quit on him because they could not take his abuse. |
| 20 | Is portrayed by Howard Caine in Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980), by Allan Corduner in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996) and by Peter Feder in The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000) |
| 21 | He is among an elite group of eight directors who have won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay (Original/Adapted) for the same film. In 1961 he won all three for The Apartment (1960). The others are Leo McCarey, Francis Ford Coppola, James L. Brooks, Peter Jackson, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, and Alejandro G. Iñárritu. |
| 22 | He directed 14 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Barbara Stanwyck, Ray Milland, William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Robert Strauss, Audrey Hepburn, Charles Laughton , Elsa Lanchester, Jack Lemmon, Jack Kruschen, Shirley MacLaine and Walter Matthau. Milland, Holden and Matthau won Oscars for their performances in a Wilder film. |
| 23 | 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." |
| 24 | Not having seen his parents since he went to Berlin to make films, he joined American patrols through war-torn Europe shortly after the war. Through intense research he found out that both his mother and grandmother were killed in concentration camps, a subject that he usually declined to discuss. However, when shooting a film with Wilder, an actor expressed sympathy for his own Nazi character, to which the usually cool-headed Wilder roared, "Those bastards killed my mother!!!" |
| 25 | It is thought that Wilder gained his acerbic view of people early on. His family, Austrian Jews, traveled constantly, and Wilder almost never made friends among his peers at school and instead found himself the subject of persecution as both a Jew and a foreigner. |
| 26 | Was the subject of the 1999 book "Conversations with Wilder," written by director/writer Cameron Crowe. |
| 27 | Liked the name "Sheldrake" so much that he used it in three different films, most prominently in The Apartment (1960), but also in Sunset Blvd. (1950) and Kiss Me, Stupid (1964). |
| 28 | Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 1206-1210. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987. |
| 29 | Because of his rounded face and non-stop elfin energy, people often pictured him as short and wiry, but he was in fact near 6 feet tall (taller than his favorite star, Jack Lemmon). |
| 30 | Was voted the 24th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. |
| 31 | Although born as Samuel Wilder, he was called "Billy" by his mother from infancy and it stuck. Some theorize it was due to her fascination with the western character Buffalo Bill Cody, but it may have been just because she thought it sounded American (she was obsessed with American culture). |
| 32 | His idol and mentor was German director Ernst Lubitsch. Wilder always kept a sign hanging in his office that asked, "How would Lubitsch do it?" |
| 33 | In the early 1950s, Wilder had planned on doing a film with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The film was to open with Stan and Ollie each sleeping in one of the "o"s of the Hollywood sign. The plot centered on a woman coming between them. The film was never made due to Hardy's failing health. |
| 34 | In 1949 he married Audrey Young, an actress and former singer with the Tommy Dorsey band, whom he met on the set of The Lost Weekend (1945). |
| 35 | His mother, Gitla Siedlisker, was murdered in 1943 in the Plaszow concentration camp. His stepfather, Bernard (Berl) Siedlisker, died in 1942 in the Belzec concentration camp, while his grandmother, Balbina Baldinger, died in 1943 in the ghetto of Nowy Targ. |
| 36 | He collaborated closely with Steven Spielberg on the script for Schindler's List (1993), and was one of several directors considered to direct it (Roman Polanski and Martin Scorsese; both turned down the project). Although Wilder strongly considered directing Schindler's List (1993), he felt he was a little too old (he had already retired) and the subject was almost too personal (his mother, step-father and grandmother were killed in the Holocaust). It was ultimately Wilder who told Spielberg he should direct it. |
| 37 | At one point he was slated to direct a movie about the Marx brothers running the United Nations. This was around 1960. The project fell apart after Chico Marx's death in 1961, which was followed by Harpo Marx's death in 1964. |
| 38 | Once told Billy Bob Thornton that he was too ugly to be an actor and he should write a screenplay for himself in which he could exploit his less than perfect features. Thornton later collected an Oscar for his Sling Blade (1996) screenplay. |
| 39 | At least three of his films have been made into Broadway musicals. The Apartment (1960) was the basis for "Promises, Promises" in 1968. Some Like It Hot (1959) was the basis for "Sugar" in 1973. And Sunset Blvd. (1950) was adapted into a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1993. |
| 40 | Had a long-standing partnership with screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond, with whom he won an Oscar for The Apartment (1960). |
| 41 | He wanted to direct Schindler's List (1993), but Steven Spielberg preferred doing it himself. Wilder has been quoted saying it would have become his most personal film. |
| 42 | Tom Cruise and Cameron Crowe begged Wilder to appear in Jerry Maguire (1996), but he turned them down flat. |
| 43 | An inveterate clotheshorse, at age 83 he still owned over 60 cashmere sweaters. |
| 44 | Awarded Austria's Golden Order, First Class for Meritorious Services. [1991] |
| 45 | Long famous for the modern-art collection he put together over his lifetime (he sold only a portion of it in 1989 for $32.6 million) |
| 46 | Estranged brother of producer/director W. Lee Wilder, uncle of Myles Wilder. |
| 47 | He used "Billie" as his first name until his emigration in 1933. |
| 48 | Met Audrey Young at Paramount Studios on set for The Lost Weekend (1945), as his divorce from Judith was in progress and he had a liaison with the actress Doris Dowling. |
| 49 | Father of the twins Victoria and Vincent (born 1939). Their mother was Judith. Vincent died shortly after birth. |
Writer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Spirit of St. Louis | 1957 | screenplay | |
| Robert Montgomery Presents | 1956 | TV Series story - 1 episode | |
| The Seven Year Itch | 1955 | screenplay | |
| Lux Video Theatre | TV Series previous screenplay - 3 episodes, 1954 - 1955 film story - 1 episode, 1955 | ||
| Emil und die Detektive | 1954 | earlier screenplay - as Billie Wilder | |
| Sabrina | 1954 | written for the screen by | |
| Stalag 17 | 1953 | written for the screen by | |
| Ace in the Hole | 1951 | written by | |
| Sunset Blvd. | 1950 | written by | |
| La voyageuse inattendue | 1950 | screenplay: "Mauvaise graine" | |
| A Song Is Born | 1948 | based on the story "From A to Z" by | |
| A Foreign Affair | 1948 | screenplay | |
| The Emperor Waltz | 1948 | written by | |
| The Bishop's Wife | 1947 | uncredited | |
| The Lost Weekend | 1945 | screen play | |
| Double Indemnity | 1944 | screenplay | |
| Five Graves to Cairo | 1943 | screenplay | |
| The Major and the Minor | 1942 | written by | |
| Tales of Manhattan | 1942 | uncredited | |
| Ball of Fire | 1941 | from an original story by / screen play | |
| Hold Back the Dawn | 1941 | written by | |
| Arise, My Love | 1940 | screen play | |
| Rhythm on the River | 1940 | story | |
| French Without Tears | 1940 | treatment - uncredited | |
| Ninotchka | 1939 | screen play | |
| What a Life | 1939 | screenplay | |
| Midnight | 1939 | screenplay | |
| That Certain Age | 1938 | uncredited | |
| Bluebeard's Eighth Wife | 1938 | screenplay | |
| Champagne Waltz | 1937 | story | |
| Emil and the Detectives | 1935 | uncredited | |
| The Lottery Lover | 1935 | screenplay | |
| Under Pressure | 1935 | additional dialogue - uncredited | |
| Mauvaise graine | 1934 | screenplay - as Billie Wilder | |
| Music in the Air | 1934 | adaptation and screenplay | |
| One Exciting Adventure | 1934 | story | |
| Adorable | 1933 | story "Ihre Hoheit Befiehlt" - as Billie Wilder | |
| Was Frauen träumen | 1933 | writer | |
| Madame ne veut pas d'enfants | 1933 | screenplay - as Billie Wilder | |
| Madame Wants No Children | 1933 | adaptation | |
| Un peu d'amour | 1932 | screenplay | |
| The Blue from the Sky | 1932 | ||
| Where Is This Lady? | 1932 | story "Es War Einmal Ein Walzer" | |
| Ein Mädel der Strasse | 1932 | ||
| Un rêve blond | 1932 | screenplay - as Billie Wilder | |
| A Blonde Dream | 1932 | ||
| A Blonde Dream | 1932 | ||
| Once There Was a Waltz | 1932 | ||
| Liebe ist Liebe | 1932 | ||
| Emil und die Detektive | 1931 | screenplay - as Billie Wilder | |
| Princesse, à vos ordres! | 1931 | ||
| The Wrong Husband | 1931 | ||
| Seitensprünge | 1931 | idea | |
| Her Grace Commands | 1931 | ||
| Der Mann, der seinen Mörder sucht | 1931 | ||
| Ein Burschenlied aus Heidelberg | 1930 | ||
| Der Kampf mit dem Drachen oder: Die Tragödie des Untermieters | 1930 | Short idea - uncredited | |
| Menschen am Sonntag | 1930 | screenplay - as Billie Wilder | |
| Hell of a Reporter | 1929 | as Billie Wilder | |
| Love, Marilyn | 2012 | Documentary excerpts from letters | |
| Sabrina | 1995 | earlier screenplay | |
| Witness for the Prosecution | 1982 | TV Movie 1957 screenplay | |
| Buddy Buddy | 1981 | ||
| Fedora | 1978 | screenplay | |
| The Front Page | 1974 | screenplay | |
| Double Indemnity | 1973 | TV Movie 1944 screenplay | |
| Avanti! | 1972 | screenplay | |
| The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes | 1970 | written by | |
| Casino Royale | 1967 | uncredited | |
| The Fortune Cookie | 1966 | written by | |
| Ates gibi kadin | 1965 | story "Ball of Fire" - uncredited | |
| Kiss Me, Stupid | 1964 | screenplay | |
| Irma la Douce | 1963 | writer | |
| Mutiny on the Bounty | 1962 | storyline consultant - uncredited | |
| One, Two, Three | 1961 | screenplay | |
| Ocean's 11 | 1960 | uncredited | |
| The Apartment | 1960 | written by | |
| Ninotchka | 1960 | TV Movie 1939 screenplay | |
| Some Like It Hot | 1959 | screenplay | |
| Witness for the Prosecution | 1957 | screen play | |
| Love in the Afternoon | 1957 | screenplay |
Director
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buddy Buddy | 1981 | ||
| Fedora | 1978 | ||
| The Front Page | 1974 | ||
| Avanti! | 1972 | ||
| The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes | 1970 | ||
| The Fortune Cookie | 1966 | ||
| Kiss Me, Stupid | 1964 | ||
| Irma la Douce | 1963 | ||
| One, Two, Three | 1961 | ||
| The Apartment | 1960 | ||
| Some Like It Hot | 1959 | ||
| Witness for the Prosecution | 1957 | ||
| Love in the Afternoon | 1957 | ||
| The Spirit of St. Louis | 1957 | ||
| The Seven Year Itch | 1955 | ||
| Sabrina | 1954 | ||
| Stalag 17 | 1953 | ||
| Ace in the Hole | 1951 | ||
| Sunset Blvd. | 1950 | ||
| A Foreign Affair | 1948 | ||
| The Emperor Waltz | 1948 | ||
| Death Mills | 1945 | Documentary short | |
| The Lost Weekend | 1945 | ||
| Double Indemnity | 1944 | ||
| Five Graves to Cairo | 1943 | ||
| The Major and the Minor | 1942 | ||
| Mauvaise graine | 1934 | as Billie Wilder |
Producer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fedora | 1978 | producer | |
| Avanti! | 1972 | producer | |
| The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes | 1970 | producer | |
| The Fortune Cookie | 1966 | producer | |
| Kiss Me, Stupid | 1964 | producer | |
| Irma la Douce | 1963 | producer | |
| One, Two, Three | 1961 | producer | |
| The Apartment | 1960 | producer | |
| Some Like It Hot | 1959 | producer | |
| Love in the Afternoon | 1957 | producer | |
| The Seven Year Itch | 1955 | producer | |
| Sabrina | 1954 | producer | |
| Stalag 17 | 1953 | producer | |
| Ace in the Hole | 1951 | producer |
Miscellaneous
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sabrina | 1995 | consultant | |
| Parade, or Here They Come Down Our Street | 1952 | Short toy winding-up |
Actor
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hell of a Reporter | 1929 | as Billie Wilder |
Editorial Department
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Die Todesmühlen | 1945 | Documentary editors supervisor |
Soundtrack
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Der Mann, der seinen Mörder sucht | 1931 | "Am Montag hab' ich leider keine Zeit!.." |
Thanks
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nosferatu vs. Father Pipecock & Sister Funk | 2014 | special thanks | |
| Dutta Vs. Dutta | 2012 | we thank | |
| A Little Bit Zombie | 2012 | acknowledgment to the works of | |
| 10 pelis | 2011 | special thanks | |
| Variations on a High School Romance | 2010 | inspirational thanks | |
| Bal-Can-Can | 2005 | dedicatee | |
| 'Sunset Blvd.': A Look Back | 2002 | Video documentary short dedicatee | |
| The Man You Loved to Hate | 1979 | Documentary special thanks | |
| That's Entertainment, Part II | 1976 | Documentary acknowledgment: the non-musical sequences represent outstanding contributions by |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billy Wilder Speaks | 2006 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The 75th Annual Academy Awards | 2003 | TV Special | Himself (Memorial Tribute) |
| Backstory | 2000 | TV Series documentary | Himself - Director |
| AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies | 2000 | TV Special documentary | Himself |
| The Shoe Store | 1999 | Documentary | Himself |
| American Masters | 1986-1998 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Gloria Swanson: The Greatest Star | 1997 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Fred MacMurray: The Guy Next Door | 1996 | TV Movie | Himself |
| Jack Lemmon: America's Everyman | 1996 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Marlene Dietrich: Shadow and Light | 1996 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The 20th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Awards | 1995 | TV Special | Himself |
| Audrey Hepburn Remembered | 1993 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Billy Wilder, wie haben Sie's gemacht? | 1992 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts | 1990 | TV Special | Himself - Honoree |
| The Exiles | 1989 | Documentary | Himself |
| AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon | 1988 | TV Special documentary | Himself |
| The 60th Annual Academy Awards | 1988 | TV Special | Himself - Winner: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award |
| AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Barbara Stanwyck | 1987 | TV Special documentary | Himself |
| AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Billy Wilder | 1986 | TV Special documentary | Himself - Guest of Honor |
| The 58th Annual Academy Awards | 1986 | TV Special | Himself - Co-Presenter: Best Picture |
| Hollywood '84 | 1984 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| The 55th Annual Academy Awards | 1983 | TV Special | Himself - Presenter |
| Live from Lincoln Center | 1982 | TV Series | Himself |
| Portrait of a '60% Perfect Man': Billy Wilder | 1982 | Documentary | Himself |
| The Dick Cavett Show | 1982 | TV Series | Himself |
| Hollywood Greats | 1978 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Regie: Billy Wilder | 1978 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Jack Lemmon: A Twist of Lemmon | 1976 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Film '72 | 1974 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | 1973-1974 | TV Series | Himself |
| Today | 1974 | TV Series | Himself |
| Billy Wilder | 1970 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The 42nd Annual Academy Awards | 1970 | TV Special | Himself |
| Neues aus der Welt des Films | 1969 | TV Series | Himself |
| Um uns die Fremde - Die Vertreibung des Geistes 1933-1945 | 1967 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| The Jack Benny Program | 1962 | TV Series | Himself |
| The 33rd Annual Academy Awards | 1961 | TV Special | Himself - Winner |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | 1949-1960 | TV Series | Cameo Appearance / Himself - Movie Director / Audience Bow |
| Cinépanorama | 1956 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
Archive Footage
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Die Öscars | 2016 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| Oh du mein Österreich | 2015 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Once in a Lew Moon | 2015 | Documentary | Himself |
| Von Caligari zu Hitler: Das deutsche Kino im Zeitalter der Massen | 2014 | Documentary | Himself |
| Night Will Fall | 2014 | Documentary | Himself |
| And the Oscar Goes To... | 2014 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Swan Song: The Story of Billy Wilder's Fedora | 2014 | Documentary | Himself |
| Arena | 2012 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Love, Marilyn | 2012 | Documentary | Himself |
| Stars of the Silver Screen | 2011 | TV Series | Himself |
| Moguls & Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood | 2010 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| Gilles Jacob: CIitizen Cannes | 2010 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Cinema's Exiles: From Hitler to Hollywood | 2009 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Il falso bugiardo | 2008 | Himself | |
| Il était une fois... | 2008 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Helmut by June | 2007 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Poison d'avril | 2007 | TV Movie | Himself (uncredited) |
| The Making of 'Some Like It Hot' | 2006 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Ciclo Agatha Christie | 2006 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| RIP 2002 | 2002 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Sendung ohne Namen | 2002 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Klaus Kinski - Ich bin kein Schauspieler | 2000 | Documentary | Himself |
| A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies | 1995 | TV Movie documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
| The Legend of Marilyn Monroe | 1966 | Documentary | Himself (uncredited) |
| The Cinematographer | 1951 | Documentary short | Himself (uncredited) |
Won Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | OFTA Film Hall of Fame | Online Film & Television Association | Creative | |
| 2000 | Career Award | Flaiano International Prizes | Cinema | |
| 2000 | PGA Hall of Fame - Motion Pictures | PGA Awards | Some Like It Hot (1959) | |
| 1999 | OFTA Film Hall of Fame | Online Film & Television Association | Creative | |
| 1997 | Lifetime Achievement Award | German Film Awards | Billy Wilder was not present at the award's ceremony. The presentation was made at his home in Los ... More | |
| 1997 | Lifetime Achievement Award in Motion Pictures | PGA Awards | ||
| 1995 | Academy Fellowship | BAFTA Awards | ||
| 1994 | Career Achievement Award | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | ||
| 1994 | Billy Wilder Award | National Board of Review, USA | For excellence in directing | |
| 1993 | Honorary Golden Berlin Bear | Berlin International Film Festival | ||
| 1992 | Lifetime Achievement Award | European Film Awards | ||
| 1991 | Preston Sturges Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | ||
| 1988 | Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award | Academy Awards, USA | ||
| 1986 | Life Achievement Award | American Film Institute, USA | ||
| 1985 | Lifetime Achievement Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | ||
| 1982 | Gala Tribute | Film Society of Lincoln Center | ||
| 1982 | Fotogramas de Plata | Fotogramas de Plata | Best Foreign Film (Mejor Película Extranjera) | Fedora (1978) |
| 1980 | Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement | Writers Guild of America, USA | ||
| 1975 | David | David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Director (Migliore Regista Straniero) | The Front Page (1974) |
| 1973 | Honorary Award | German Film Awards | For his continued outstanding individual contributions to the german film over the years. | |
| 1972 | Career Golden Lion | Venice Film Festival | ||
| 1963 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Top Producer/Director | |
| 1961 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Picture | The Apartment (1960) |
| 1961 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Director | The Apartment (1960) |
| 1961 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen | The Apartment (1960) |
| 1961 | BAFTA Film Award | BAFTA Awards | Best Film from any Source | The Apartment (1960) |
| 1961 | DGA Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | The Apartment (1960) |
| 1961 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Comedy | The Apartment (1960) |
| 1960 | NYFCC Award | New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | The Apartment (1960) |
| 1960 | NYFCC Award | New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Screenplay | The Apartment (1960) |
| 1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Walk of Fame | Motion Picture | On 8 February 1960. At 1751 Vine Street. |
| 1960 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Comedy | Some Like It Hot (1959) |
| 1958 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Comedy | Love in the Afternoon (1957) |
| 1957 | Boxoffice Blue Ribbon Award | Boxoffice Magazine Awards | Best Picture of the Month for the Whole Family (April) | The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) |
| 1957 | Laurel Award for Screen Writing Achievement | Writers Guild of America, USA | ||
| 1955 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Screenplay | Sabrina (1954) |
| 1955 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Comedy | Sabrina (1954) |
| 1952 | Blue Ribbon Award | Blue Ribbon Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1951 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Story and Screenplay | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1951 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Director | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1951 | Bodil | Bodil Awards | Best American Film (Bedste amerikanske film) | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1951 | Silver Ribbon | Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists | Best Foreign Director (Regista del Miglior Film Straniero) | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1951 | International Award | Venice Film Festival | Ace in the Hole (1951) | |
| 1951 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Drama | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1946 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Director | The Lost Weekend (1945) |
| 1946 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Screenplay | The Lost Weekend (1945) |
| 1946 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Director | The Lost Weekend (1945) |
| 1946 | Grand Prize of the Festival | Cannes Film Festival | Feature Film | The Lost Weekend (1945) |
| 1946 | NYFCC Award | New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | The Lost Weekend (1945) |
Nominated Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Gold Hugo | Chicago International Film Festival | Best Feature | Fedora (1978) |
| 1975 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium | The Front Page (1974) |
| 1973 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Director - Motion Picture | Avanti! (1972) |
| 1973 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | Avanti! (1972) |
| 1973 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium | Avanti! (1972) |
| 1971 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Best Producer-Director | 4th place. |
| 1971 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen | The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) |
| 1970 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Producer-Director | 7th place. |
| 1967 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen | The Fortune Cookie (1966) |
| 1967 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Comedy | The Fortune Cookie (1966) |
| 1965 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Producer-Director | 9th place. |
| 1964 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Top Producer/Director | 4th place. |
| 1964 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Comedy | Irma la Douce (1963) |
| 1962 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Top Producer/Director | 5th place. |
| 1962 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Comedy | One, Two, Three (1961) |
| 1961 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Director | The Apartment (1960) |
| 1960 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Director | Some Like It Hot (1959) |
| 1960 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium | Some Like It Hot (1959) |
| 1960 | BAFTA Film Award | BAFTA Awards | Best Film from any Source | Some Like It Hot (1959) |
| 1960 | DGA Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Some Like It Hot (1959) |
| 1960 | Golden Lion | Venice Film Festival | The Apartment (1960) | |
| 1959 | Golden Lion | Venice Film Festival | Some Like It Hot (1959) | |
| 1958 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Director | Witness for the Prosecution (1957) |
| 1958 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Director | Witness for the Prosecution (1957) |
| 1958 | DGA Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Witness for the Prosecution (1957) |
| 1958 | DGA Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Love in the Afternoon (1957) |
| 1958 | Edgar | Edgar Allan Poe Awards | Best Motion Picture | Witness for the Prosecution (1957) |
| 1958 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Top Producer/Director | 7th place. |
| 1956 | DGA Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | The Seven Year Itch (1955) |
| 1956 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Comedy | The Seven Year Itch (1955) |
| 1955 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Director | Sabrina (1954) |
| 1955 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Screenplay | Sabrina (1954) |
| 1955 | DGA Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Sabrina (1954) |
| 1954 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Director | Stalag 17 (1953) |
| 1954 | DGA Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Stalag 17 (1953) |
| 1954 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Comedy | Stalag 17 (1953) |
| 1952 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Story and Screenplay | Ace in the Hole (1951) |
| 1951 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Director | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1951 | Golden Globe | Golden Globes, USA | Best Screenplay | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1951 | DGA Award | Directors Guild of America, USA | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1951 | Golden Lion | Venice Film Festival | Ace in the Hole (1951) | |
| 1949 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Screenplay | A Foreign Affair (1948) |
| 1949 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Comedy | A Foreign Affair (1948) |
| 1949 | WGA Award (Screen) | Writers Guild of America, USA | Best Written American Musical | The Emperor Waltz (1948) |
| 1945 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Director | Double Indemnity (1944) |
| 1945 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Screenplay | Double Indemnity (1944) |
| 1942 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Original Story | Ball of Fire (1941) |
| 1942 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Screenplay | Hold Back the Dawn (1941) |
| 1940 | Oscar | Academy Awards, USA | Best Writing, Screenplay | Ninotchka (1939) |
2nd Place Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Top Producer/Director | |
| 1961 | NYFCC Award | New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Screenplay | One, Two, Three (1961) |
| 1959 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Top Producer/Director |
3rd Place Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Golden Laurel | Laurel Awards | Top Producer/Director | |
| 1950 | NYFCC Award | New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | Sunset Blvd. (1950) |
| 1944 | NYFCC Award | New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Director | Double Indemnity (1944) |
Known for movies
Some Like It Hot (1959)
as Writer
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
as Writer
The Apartment (1960)
as Writer
Double Indemnity (1944)
as Writer