William Wyler facts for kids

William Wyler
c. 1945
Born	Willi Wyler (1902-07-01)July 1, 1902 Mülhausen, Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire (present-day France)
Died	July 27, 1981(1981-07-27) (aged 79) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Nationality	American
Occupation	Film director, producer
Years active	1925–1970
Spouse(s)	Margaret Sullavan (m. 1934; div. 1936) Margaret Tallichet (m. 1938)
Children	5

William Wyler (/ˈwaɪlər/; born Willi Wyler (German: [ˈvɪlɪ ˈvi:lɐ]); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Notable works include Ben-Hur (1959), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Mrs. Miniver (1942), all of which won Academy Awards for Best Director, as well as Best Picture in their respective years, making him the only director of three Best Picture winners as of 2018. 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. Through his talent for staging, editing, and camera movement, he turned dynamic theatrical spaces into cinematic ones.

He helped propel a number of actors to stardom, finding and directing Audrey Hepburn in her Hollywood debut film, Roman Holiday (1953), and directing Barbra Streisand in her debut film, Funny Girl (1968). Both of these performances won Academy Awards. He directed Olivia de Havilland to her second Oscar in The Heiress (1949) and Laurence Olivier in Wuthering Heights (1939), for his first Oscar nomination. Olivier credited Wyler with teaching him how to act for the screen. And Bette Davis, who received three Oscar nominations under his direction and won her second Oscar in Jezebel (1938), said Wyler made her a "far, far better actress" than she had ever been.

Other popular Wyler films include: Hell's Heroes (1929), Dodsworth (1936), The Westerner (1940), The Letter (1940), Friendly Persuasion (1956), The Big Country (1958), The Children's Hour (1961) and How to Steal a Million (1966).

Legacy

Bette Davis in Jezebel (1938)

Fourteen actors won Oscars under Wyler's direction, including Bette Davis in Jezebel (1938) and her nomination for The Letter (1940). Davis summed up their work together: "It was he who helped me to realize my full potential as an actress. I met my match in this exceptionally creative and talented director."

Other Oscar winners were Olivia de Havilland in The Heiress (1949), Audrey Hepburn in her debut film, Roman Holiday (1953), Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur (1959), and Barbra Streisand in her debut film, Funny Girl (1968).

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, while dozens of his collaborators and actors won Oscars or were nominated. In 1965, Wyler won the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial 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 (1961), which was nominated for five Academy Awards. Later films included The Collector (1963), Funny Girl (1968), and his final film, The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970).

Personal life and death

Wyler was briefly married to actress Margaret Sullavan (from November 25, 1934 – March 13, 1936) and married actress 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. Catherine said during an interview that her mother played an important part in his career, often being his "gatekeeper" and his reader of scripts presented to him.

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, near his older brother, Robert Wyler, sister-in-law, actress Cathy O'Donnell and his son, William "Billy" Wyler, Jr in Glendale, California.

Honors and awards

Wyler is the most nominated director in Academy Awards history with twelve nominations. He 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. He is also only director in Academy history to direct three Best Picture-winning films (the three for which he won Best Director), and directed more Best Picture nominees than anyone else (thirteen).

He 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, also a record. He received the fourth AFI Life Achievement Award in 1976. Among those who thanked him for directing her in her debut film, was Barbra Streisand.

For his contributions to the motion picture industry, on February 8, 1960, Wyler has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1731 Vine Street.

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
1956	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

Images for kids

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  Olivier and Oberon in Wuthering Heights

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  Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (1953)

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  Charlton Heston as Ben-Hur