Wilder, Billy (1906–2002)

Austrian-born US film director and screenwriter. His films display an acerbic wit and a cynical analysis of US society. They include the pioneering film noir Double Indemnity (1944), The Lost Weekend (1945), Sunset Boulevard (1950), and the comedies Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Apartment (1960).

Wilder began his film career writing scripts in Germany and then made his debut as director in France. He moved to the USA in 1934 and worked on a number of screenplays for director Ernst Lubitsch. His first directorial outing in Hollywood was The Major and the Minor (1942); he went on to co-write and direct a string of Hollywood classics, proving himself a master of both comedy and drama. He has won Academy Awards both for direction (twice) and screenwriting (three times).

Among his many films are Five Graves to Cairo (1943), Ace in the Hole (1951), Stalag 17 (1953), Sabrina (1954), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Love in the Afternoon (1957), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), One, Two, Three (1963), and The Fortune Cookie (1966).

He was the recipient of the American Film Institute's life achievement award in 1986 and the Academy Awards' Irving Thalberg Memorial Award in 1987.