William Wyler

William Wyler
File:William Wyler.jpg
Born	Wilhelm Weiller (1902-07-01)July 1, 1902 Mülhausen, Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire (present-day Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France)
Died	Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Heart attack
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Nationality	American, Swiss
Occupation	Film director, producer
Years active	1925–1970
Spouse(s)	Margaret Sullavan (1934–1936; divorced) Margaret Tallichet (1938–1981; his death; 5 children)

William Wyler, born as Wilhelm Weiller (July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a German-born American film director, producer and screenwriter. Notable works included Ben-Hur (1959), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Mrs. Miniver (1942), all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, as well as Best Picture in their respective years, making him the only director of three Best Picture winners. Wyler received his first Oscar nomination for directing Dodsworth in 1936, starring Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton and Mary Astor, "sparking a 20-year run of almost unbroken greatness."

Film historian Ian Freer calls Wyler a "bona fide perfectionist", whose penchant for retakes and an attempt to hone every last nuance, "became the stuff of legend." His ability to direct a string of classic literary adaptations into huge box-office and critical successes made him one of "Hollywood's most bankable moviemakers" during the 1930s and 1940s and into the 60's. Other popular Wyler films include Hell's Heroes (1930), Dodsworth (1936), Jezebel (1938), Wuthering Heights (1939), The Westerner (1940), The Letter (1940), The Heiress (1949), Roman Holiday (1953), Friendly Persuasion (1956), The Big Country (1958), The Children's Hour (1961), How to Steal a Million (1966), and Funny Girl (1968).

Early life

Wyler was born to a Jewish family in Mulhouse, Alsace (then part of the German Empire). His Swiss father, Leopold, started as a traveling salesman which he later turned into a thriving haberdashery business in Mulhouse. His mother, Melanie (née Auerbach; died February 13, 1955, Los Angeles, aged 77), was German, and a cousin of Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal Pictures. During Wyler's childhood, he attended a number of schools and developed a reputation as "something of a hellraiser", being expelled more than once for misbehavior. His mother often took him and his older brother Robert to concerts, opera, and the theatre, as well as the early cinema. Sometimes at home his family and their friends would stage amateur theatricals for personal enjoyment.

Wyler was supposed to take over the family business. After World War I he spent a dismal year working in Paris at 100.000 Chemises selling shirts and ties. He was so poor that he often spent his time wandering around the Pigalle district. After realizing that Willy was not interested in the haberdashery business, his mother contacted her distant cousin about opportunities for him. Laemmle was in the habit of coming to Europe each year, searching for promising young men who would work in America. In 1921, Wyler, while traveling as a Swiss citizen (his father's status automatically conferred Swiss citizenship to his sons), met Laemmle who hired him to work at Universal Studios in New York. As Wyler said: "America seemed as far away as the moon." Booked onto a ship to New York with Laemmle upon his return voyage, he met a young Czech man, Paul Kohner (later the famous independent agent), aboard the same ship. Their enjoyment of the first class trip was short-lived as they found they had to pay back the cost of the passage out of their $25 weekly income as messengers to Universal Pictures. After working in New York for several years, and even serving in the New York National Guard for a year, Wyler decided he wanted to go to Hollywood and be a director.

Film career

Around 1923, Wyler arrived in Los Angeles and began work on the Universal Studios lot in the swing gang, cleaning the stages and moving the sets. His break came when he was hired as a second assistant editor. His work ethic was uneven with Irving Thalberg nicknaming him "Worthless Willy." After some ups and downs (including getting fired), he focused on becoming a director. He started as a third assistant director and by 1925 he became the youngest director on the Universal lot directing the Westerns that Universal was famed for turning out. In 1928, he became a naturalized United States citizen.

He directed his first non-Western, the lost Anybody Here Seen Kelly?, in 1928. This was followed by his first part-talkie films, The Shakedown and The Love Trap. He proved himself an able craftsman, and in the early 1930s began directing such films as Hell's Heroes, Tom Brown of Culver, and The Good Fairy. He became well known for his insistence on multiple retakes, resulting in often award-winning and critically acclaimed performances from his actors. After leaving Universal he began a long collaboration with Samuel Goldwyn for whom he directed such classics as Dodsworth (1936), These Three (1936), Dead End (1937), Wuthering Heights (1939), The Westerner (1940), The Little Foxes (1941) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).

Laurence Olivier, whom Wyler directed in Wuthering Heights for his first-ever Oscar nomination, credited Wyler with teaching him how to act for the screen, despite clashing with Wyler on multiple occasions. Olivier would go on to hold the record for the most nominations in the Best Actor category at nine, tied with Spencer Tracy. In 1950, Wyler and Olivier made a second film together, Carrie, which was not a commercial success. Bette Davis received three Oscar nominations for her screen work under Wyler, and won her second Oscar for her performance in Wyler's 1938 film Jezebel. Charlton Heston won his only nomination and Best Actor Oscar for his work in Wyler's 1959 Ben-Hur. Barbra Streisand won 1968's Best Actress Oscar (as did Katharine Hepburn for The Lion in Winter, in the only tie in Oscar history for this category) as entertainer Fanny Brice in Streisand's debut film, Funny Girl. Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar in her debut performance in Roman Holiday. Fourteen actors won Oscars under Wyler's direction. In 1941, Wyler directed Mrs. Miniver, a story of a middle class English family adjusting to the war in Europe. Mrs. Miniver won Wyler his first Academy Award for Best Director, as well as another five Oscars.

A perfectionist, Wyler earned the nickname "90-take Wyler". On the set of Jezebel, Wyler forced Henry Fonda through 40 takes of one particular scene, his only guidance being "Again!" after each take. When Fonda asked for more direction, Wyler responded, "It stinks." Similarly, when Charlton Heston quizzed the director about the supposed shortcomings of his performance in Ben-Hur, Wyler simply told Heston to "Be better."

World War II

Between 1942 and 1945, Wyler, who became a United States citizen in 1928, served as a major in the United States Army Air Forces and directed a pair of documentaries: The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944), the story of a Boeing B-17 and its U.S. Army Air Force crew; and Thunderbolt! (1947), with Lester Koenig and John Sturges, highlighting a P-47 fighter-bomber squadron in the Mediterranean. Wyler filmed The Memphis Belle at great personal risk, flying over enemy territory on actual bombing missions in 1943; on one flight, Wyler passed out from lack of oxygen. Wyler's associate, cinematographer Harold J. Tannenbaum, was shot down and perished during the filming. Working on Thunderbolt! Wyler was exposed to such loud sound that he passed out. When he awoke, he found he was deaf. Later partial hearing came back in his left ear. Wyler returned from the War a disabled veteran.

Returning from the War and unsure whether he could work again, Wyler turned to a subject that he knew well and directed a film which captured the mood of the nation as it turned to peace after the war, The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). This story of the homecoming of three veterans from World War II dramatized the problems of returning veterans in their adjustment back to civilian life. Arguably his most personal film, Best Years drew on Wyler's own experience returning home to his family after three years on the front. The Best Years of Our Lives won the Academy Award for Best Director (Wyler's second) and Academy Award for Best Picture, as well as seven other Academy Awards.

Postwar career

During the immediate postwar period, Wyler directed a handful of critically acclaimed and influential films. In 1949, he directed The Heiress, which earned Olivia de Havilland her second Oscar and garnered additional Oscars for Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Music. Roman Holiday (1953) introduced Audrey Hepburn to American audiences and led to Oscars for Best Actress (Hepburn), Costume Design (Edith Head), and Best Writing (Dalton Trumbo). Friendly Persuasion (1956) was awarded the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1959, Wyler directed Ben-Hur, which won 11 Oscars (a feat equalled only by Titanic in 1997 and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003). Wyler won his third Academy Award for Best Director for Ben-Hur.

Wyler's films garnered more awards for participating artists and actors than any other director in the history of Hollywood. He received 12 Oscar nominations for Best Director in total, while dozens of his collaborators and actors won Oscars or were nominated. In 1965, Wyler won the Irving Thalberg Award for career achievement. Eleven years later, he received the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. In addition to his Best Picture and Best Director Oscar wins, 13 of Wyler's films earned Best Picture nominations. Other late Wyler films include The Children's Hour, The Collector, Funny Girl, and his final film, The Liberation of L.B. Jones.

On July 24, 1981, Wyler gave an interview with his daughter, Catherine, for Directed by William Wyler, a PBS documentary about his life and career. Three days later, he died from a heart attack. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California.

Marriages

Wyler was briefly married to Margaret Sullavan (November 25, 1934 – March 13, 1936) and married Margaret "Talli" Tallichet on October 23, 1938. The couple remained together until his death; they had five children: Catherine, Judith, William Jr., Melanie and David.

Awards

Wyler is the most nominated director in Academy Awards history with 12 nominations. In addition to that, Wyler has the distinction of having won the Academy Award for Best Direction on three occasions, for his direction of Ben Hur, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Mrs. Miniver. He is tied with Frank Capra and behind John Ford, who won four Oscars in this category.

Wyler also has the distinction of having directed more actors to Oscar-nominated performances than any other director in history: thirty-six. Out of these nominees, fourteen went on to win Oscars.[1]

William Wyler received the fourth AFI LIfe Achievement Award in 1976.

Year	Film	Category	Result
Academy Awards
1936	Dodsworth	Best Director	Nominated
1939	Wuthering Heights	Best Director	Nominated
1940	The Letter	Best Director	Nominated
1941	The Little Foxes	Best Director	Nominated
1942	Mrs. Miniver	Best Director	Won
1946	The Best Years of Our Lives	Best Director	Won
1949	The Heiress	Best Motion Picture	Nominated
		Best Director	Nominated
1952	Detective Story	Best Director	Nominated
1953	Roman Holiday	Best Motion Picture	Nominated
		Best Director	Nominated
1957	Friendly Persuasion	Best Motion Picture	Nominated
		Best Director	Nominated
1959	Ben-Hur	Best Director	Won
1965	The Collector	Best Director	Nominated
	Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award		Won
Directors Guild of America
1952	Detective Story	Outstanding Directorial Achievement	Nominated
1954	Roman Holiday	Outstanding Directorial Achievement	Nominated
1957	Friendly Persuasion	Outstanding Directorial Achievement	Nominated
1959	The Big Country	Outstanding Directorial Achievement	Nominated
1960	Ben-Hur	Outstanding Directorial Achievement	Won
1962	The Children's Hour	Outstanding Directorial Achievement	Nominated
1966		Lifetime Achievement Award
1969	Funny Girl	Outstanding Directorial Achievement	Nominated

Filmography

This is a list of films directed by William Wyler.

Silent films
Year	Title	Studio	Genre	Cast	Notes
1925	The Crook Buster	Universal	Western	Jack Mower, Janet Gaynor	UMS*
1926	The Gunless Bad Man	Universal	Western		UMS
1926	Ridin' for Love	Universal	Western		UMS
1926	The Fire Barrier	Universal	Western		UMS
1926	Don't Shoot	Universal	Western		UMS
1926	The Pinnacle Rider	Universal	Western		UMS
1926	Martin of the Mounted	Universal	Western		UMS
1926	Lazy Lightning	Universal	Western		UBSS**
1926	The Stolen Ranch	Universal	Western		UBSS
1927	The Two Fister	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	Kelcy Gets His Man	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	Tenderfoot Courage	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	The Silent Partner	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	Blazing Days	Universal	Western		UBSS
1927	Straight Shootin'	Universal	Western		UBSS
1927	Galloping Justice	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	The Haunted Homestead	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	Hard Fists	Universal	Western		UBSS
1927	The Lone Star	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	The Ore Raiders	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	The Home Trail	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	Gun Justice	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	The Phantom Outlaw	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	The Square Shooter	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	The Horse Trader	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	Daze of the West	Universal	Western		UMS
1927	The Border Cavalier	Universal	Western		UBSS
1927	Desert Dust	Universal	Western	Ted Wells
1928	Thunder Riders	Universal	Western	Ted Wells
1928	Anybody Here Seen Kelly?	Universal	Comedy	Bessie Love, Tom Moore
1929	The Shakedown	Universal	Drama	James Murray, Barbara Kent	Part-Talking film
1929	The Love Trap	Universal	Comedy	Laura La Plante, Neil Hamilton	Part-Talking film

* Universal's Mustang Series. Wyler made 21 two-reeler films for this series, all with a duration of 24 minutes.

** Universal's Blue Streak Series. Wyler made 6 five-reeler films for this series, all with a duration of an hour.

Sound films
Year	Title	Studio	Genre	Cast	Notes
1930	Hell's Heroes	Universal	Drama	Charles Bickford, Raymond Hatton, Fred Kohler
1930	The Storm	Universal	Drama	Lupe Vélez, Paul Cavanagh, William Boyd
1931	A House Divided	Universal	Drama	Walter Huston, Kent Douglas, Helen Chandler
1932	Tom Brown of Culver	Universal	Drama	Tom Brown, H.B. Warner, Slim Summerville
1933	Her First Mate	Universal	Comedy	Slim Summerville, Zasu Pitts, Una Merkel
1933	Counsellor at Law	Universal	Drama	John Barrymore, Bebe Daniels
1934	Glamour	Universal	Drama	Paul Lukas, Constance Cummings, Philip Reed
1935	The Good Fairy	Universal	Comedy	Margaret Sullavan
1935	The Gay Deception	Fox	Comedy	Frances Dee, Francis Lederer
1936	These Three	Samuel Goldwyn Co.	Drama	Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, Joel McCrea
1936	Dodsworth	Samuel Goldwyn Co.	Drama	Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Mary Astor
1936	Come and Get It	Samuel Goldwyn Co.	Drama	Joel McCrea, Edward Arnold, Frances Farmer, Walter Brennan	Replaced Howard Hawks after 42 days
1937	Dead End	Samuel Goldwyn Co.	Crime	Humphrey Bogart, Joel McCrea, Sylvia Sydney
1938	Jezebel	Warner Bros.	Romance	Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent
1939	Wuthering Heights	Samuel Goldwyn Co.	Romance	Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon
1940	The Westerner	Samuel Goldwyn Co.	Western	Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan
1940	The Letter	Warner Bros. First National	Drama	Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall
1941	The Little Foxes	Samuel Goldwyn Co.	Drama	Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright
1942	Mrs. Miniver	MGM	War Drama	Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright
1944	The Memphis Belle	First Motion Picture Unit	War		Documentary First Technicolor film
1946	The Best Years of Our Lives	Samuel Goldwyn Co.	War Drama	Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Harold Russell, Teresa Wright
1947	Thunderbolt!	United States Air Force	War		Co-directed with John Sturges Documentary / Short Film
1949	The Heiress	Paramount	Drama	Olivia De Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Miriam Hopkins
1951	Detective Story	Paramount	Film-noir	Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker
1952	Carrie	Paramount	Drama	Laurence Olivier, Jennifer Jones, Miriam Hopkins
1953	Roman Holiday	Paramount	Romance	Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck
1955	The Desperate Hours	Paramount	Film-noir	Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March
1956	Friendly Persuasion	Allied Artists	Drama	Gary Cooper	DeLuxe Color film
1958	The Big Country	Anthony Productions	Drama	Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston	Technicolor film
1959	Ben-Hur	MGM	Drama	Charlton Heston	Technicolor film
1961	The Children's Hour	Mirisch Productions	Drama	Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner, Miriam Hopkins
1965	The Collector	Columbia	Drama	Terence Stamp, Samantha Eggar	Technicolor film
1966	How to Steal a Million	Fox	Comedy	Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole	Technicolor film
1968	Funny Girl	Columbia / Rastar	Drama	Barbra Streisand	Technicolor film
1970	The Liberation of L.B. Jones	Columbia	Drama	Lee J. Cobb, Anthony Zerbe, Roscoe Lee Browne, Lola Falana	Technicolor film

References

Sources

• Anderegg, Michael A. William Wyler. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1979. ISBN 0-8057-9268-6.
• Freer, Ian. Movie Makers: 50 Iconic Directors. London: Quercus Publishers, 2009. ISBN 978-1-84724-512-0
• Harris, Mark. Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War. New York: Penguin Press, 2014. ISBN 978-1594204302.
• Herman, Jan. A Talent for Trouble: The Life of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1995. ISBN 0-399-14012-3.
• Madsen, Axel. William Wyler: the Authorized Biography. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1973. ISBN 0-491-01302-7.
• Marcus, Daniel. “William Wyler’s World War II Films and the Bombing of Civilian Populations.” Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television, 29, March 2009, pp. 79–90.
• Wakeman, John, ed. World Film Directors: Vol. I, 1890–1945. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1987. ISBN 978-0-8242-0757-1.

Further reading

• Miller, Gabriel: William Wyler: The Life and Films of Hollywood’s Most Celebrated Director. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2013. ISBN 978-0-8131-4209-8

External links

• William Wyler at the Internet Movie Database
• William Wyler bibliography via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center
• In Loving Memory Of William Wyler
• Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
• "The Little Foxes" and Wyler's screen collaborations with playwright Lillian Hellman
• Margaret Tallichet and William Wyler remembered at Alabama festival
• The Fighting Lady
• William Wyler papers, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

1. REDIRECT Template:Academy Award for Best Director

• This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name. For more information follow the bold category link.

1. REDIRECT Template:Directors Guild of America Award Feature Film

• This is a redirect from a page that has been moved (renamed). This page was kept as a redirect to avoid breaking links, both internal and external, that may have been made to the old page name. For more information follow the bold category link.