William Wyler
Swiss-German-American director and producer (1902-1981) · United States · Directors · Died at 79
William Wyler is read about 740 times a day, in 69 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?He holds the record no director wants to chase: twelve Oscar nominations for Best Director, more than anyone in history. Three wins, all for Best Picture winners, and a reputation so exacting that actors dreaded his retakes and loved their performances.
A life in dates
HollywoodSeries1976AFI Life Achievement AwardAward1973
The American Film Institute Salute to ...Series1971
Great PerformancesSeries1968
Funny GirlFilm, Director1965Irving G. Thalberg Memorial AwardAward1961Golden Plate AwardAward
The Children's HourFilm, 1961Director, Producer1960Academy Award for Best DirectorAwardBAFTA Award for Best DirectionAwardGolden Globe Award for Best DirectorAwardGolden Globe AwardsAward1958
The Big CountryFilm, Director, Producer1957Palme d'OrAward1956
CinépanoramaSeries1955
The Desperate HoursFilm, Director, Producer1953
The OscarsSeries1951
Detective StoryFilm, Director, Producer1948
The Ed Sullivan ShowSeries1947Academy Award for Best DirectorAward
ThunderboltFilm, 1947Director1944
The Fighting LadyFilm, Director1943Academy Award for Best DirectorAward1940
The LetterFilm, Director, Producer1938
JezebelFilm, Director, Producer1935
The Gay DeceptionFilm, Director1929
Hell's HeroesFilm, Director1902Born1 July 1902Also in Deutsch
Photos 4
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Filmography 40
SESword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
TBThe Cold Blue
FBFive Came Back
SSStardust: The Bette Davis Story
BCBen-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema
BEBen-Hur: The Making of an Epic
TJThe Liberation of L.B. JonesFGFunny Girl
HMHow to Steal a Million
TCThe CollectorTHThe Children's Hour
BHBen-HurTCThe Big Country
FPFriendly PersuasionTHThe Desperate Hours
RHRoman Holiday
CACarrieDSDetective Story
THThe HeiressTHThunderbolt
TLThe Best Years of Our Lives
TBThe Memphis BelleTLThe Fighting Lady
MMMrs. Miniver
TFThe Little FoxesTLThe Letter
TWThe Westerner
WHWuthering HeightsJEJezebel
TLThe Cowboy and the Lady
DEDead End
DODodsworth
TTThese Three
CICome and Get It
TFThe Good FairyTDThe Gay Deception
CLCounsellor at LawHHHell's Heroes
TSThe Shakedown
TTThe Love Trap104 credits on file
Television 7
FBFive Came BackHOHollywoodTTThe American Film Institute Salute to ...GPGreat PerformancesCICinépanoramaTOThe OscarsTSThe Ed Sullivan ShowAwards
Family
William WylerPartners
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Willi Wyler left Germany in 1921 and worked his way up at Universal, becoming the studio's youngest director by 1925. In 1929 he helmed Hell's Heroes, Universal's first sound film shot entirely on location. The next three decades turned him into one of Hollywood's most bankable filmmakers, translating classic literature - Wuthering Heights, The Heiress, The Little Foxes - into both critical and commercial gold. He won Best Director Oscars for Mrs. Miniver in 1942, The Best Years of Our Lives in 1946, and Ben-Hur in 1959. His obsessive perfectionism became industry lore: endless retakes, every nuance honed, theatrical spaces reimagined through camera and cut. Actors feared the process and credited him with their breakthroughs.
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