Billy Wilder

Real name: Samuel Wilder. Born in 1906 in Sucha (currently Sucha Beskidzka), died in 2002 in Los Angeles. Director and scriptwriter of Jewish Austrian origin. He began his career as a reporter in Viennese and Berlin newspapers. Wilder wrote scripts for German films in the late 1920s, early 1930s. After the Nazis came to power, he emigrated to Paris and then Hollywood. His directorial debut came in 1942. Wilder specialized in witty comedies (The Seven Year Itch, Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Irma la Douce), but was most successful in other genres such as noir (Double Indemnity), psychodrama (Lost Weekend) or thriller (Witness for the Prosecution). He won six Oscars.

Selected filmography

1934 Mauvaise graine (współreż. / co-dir.)

1942 The Major and the Minor

1944 Podwójne ubezpieczenie / Double Indemnity

1945 Stracony weekend / The Lost Weekend

1950 Bulwar Zachodzącego Słońca / Sunset Blv.

1955 Słomiany wdowiec / The Seven Year Inch

1957 Świadek oskarżenia / Witness for the Prosecution

1959 Pół żartem, pół serio / Some Like It Hot

1960 Garsoniera / The Apartment

1963 Słodka Irma / Irma la Douce

1981 Najlepszy kumpel / Buddy Buddy