William Wyler
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| William Wyler | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | Willi Wyler July 1, 1902 Mülhausen, Alsace, Germany (now Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France) |
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| Died | July 27, 1981 (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Spouse(s) | Margaret Sullavan (1934-1936) Margaret Tallichet (1938-1981) |
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William Wyler (July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was an Academy Award-winning motion picture director. He was known to require tens of takes for every shot in his films and for demanding control over the story, location and crew of each production, yet his exacting nature and attention to detail paid off in the form of both popular and critical success.
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[edit] Career
Wyler was born Willi Weiller to a Jewish family in Mulhouse in the French region of Alsace (then part of the German Empire). [1]He was related to Carl Laemmle, founder of Universal Pictures, through his mother (a cousin of Laemmle's). His family connections served him well, as he became the youngest director on the Universal lot in 1925. In 1928, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He soon proved himself an able craftsman, and in the early 1930s became one of Universal's greatest assets, directing such solid films as The Love Trap, Hell's Heroes, Tom Brown of Culver, and The Good Fairy. He became well-known for his merciless (some would say sadistic) insistence on multiple retakes, resulting in often award-winning and critically acclaimed performances from his actors. Laurence Olivier, whom Wyler directed to two Oscar nominations in two films, credited Wyler with teaching him how to act more subtly onscreen than he had previously. Bette Davis not only received three Oscar nominations for her screen work under Wyler, but 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.
Wyler signed with Samuel Goldwyn in the 1930s and directed such quality films as These Three, Come and Get It, Dodsworth, Dead End, Jezebel, Wuthering Heights, The Letter, The Westerner, and The Little Foxes.
Between 1942 and 1945, Wyler served as a major in the U.S. Army Air Corps and directed the documentary Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress. He also directed two key films which first captured the mood of the nation as it prepared for battle and, four years later, peace. Mrs. Miniver (1942), a story of a middle class English family adjusting to the war in Europe, helped condition American audiences to life in wartime (and galvanized support for the British). The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), the story of three veterans arriving home and adjusting to civilian life, dramatized the problems of returning veterans for those who had remained on the homefront. Wyler won Best Director Oscars for both films (which also won Best Picture Oscars).
During the 1950s and 1960s, Wyler directed a handful of critically acclaimed and influential films, most notably Roman Holiday (1953) which introduced Audrey Hepburn to American audiences and resulted in her first Oscar nomination and only win, The Heiress which earned Olivia de Havilland her second Oscar, Friendly Persuasion (1956) which was awarded the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the Cannes Film Festival, and Ben-Hur (1959) which won eleven Oscars (equalled only twice, by Titanic in 1997 and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003).
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, ten of Wyler's films earned Best Picture nominations. He received twelve Oscar nominations for Best Director, winning three times, while three dozen of his actors won Oscars or were nominated.
Wyler's style is (among auteurist critics) notoriously difficult to perceive. He did not build a stable of players like Capra, Sturges or Ford. He directed varied types of films without any trademark shots or themes, but in his choice of lighting, blocking and camera distance, and in the serious liberal tone of his work, a continuity of worldview is detectable.
On July 24, 1981, Wyler gave an interview with his daughter, producer Catherine Wyler for Directed by William Wyler, a PBS documentary about his life and career. A mere three days later, Wyler died from a heart attack. Wyler's last words on film concern a vision of directing his "next picture...Going Home". Wyler is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Wyler was briefly married to Margaret Sullavan (November 25, 1934 - March 13, 1936) and married Margaret Tallichet on October 23, 1938 until his death; they had four children.
[edit] Academy Awards and nominations
- 1937 Nominated Dodsworth
- 1940 Nominated Wuthering Heights
- 1941 Nominated The Letter
- 1942 Nominated The Little Foxes
- 1943 Won Mrs. Miniver
- 1947 Won The Best Years of Our Lives
- 1950 Nominated The Heiress
- 1952 Nominated Detective Story
- 1954 Nominated Roman Holiday
- 1957 Nominated Friendly Persuasion
- 1959 Won Ben-Hur
- 1966 Nominated The Collector
Wyler has the distinction of having directed three Best Director Academy Award winners: 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. There are twelve other directors who have won two Academy Awards for Best Director.
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by John Ford for How Green Was My Valley |
Academy Award for Best Director 1942 for Mrs. Miniver |
Succeeded by Michael Curtiz for Casablanca |
| Preceded by Billy Wilder for The Lost Weekend |
Academy Award for Best Director 1946 for The Best Years of Our Lives |
Succeeded by Elia Kazan for Gentleman's Agreement |
| Preceded by Louis Malle and Jacques Yves Cousteau for The Silent World |
Palme d'Or - Cannes Film Festival 1957 for Friendly Persuasion |
Succeeded by Mikhail Kalatozov for The Cranes Are Flying |
| Preceded by Vincente Minnelli for Gigi |
Academy Award for Best Director 1959 for Ben-Hur |
Succeeded by Billy Wilder for The Apartment |
[edit] Filmography (as a director)
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[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Madsen 1973, p. 3.
[edit] Bibliography
- Madsen, Axel. William Wyler: the Authorized Biography. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1973, ISBN 0-49101-302-7.
[edit] External links
- William Wyler at the Internet Movie Database
- William Wyler bibliographyvia UC Berkeley Media Resources Center
- Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Wyler, William |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Weiller, Wilhelm |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Oscar-winning motion picture director |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 1, 1902 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Mülhausen, Alsace, Germany (now Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France) |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 27, 1981 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
