Wilder

Oscar-winning director Billy Wilder dies at 95

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally published Friday, March 29, 2002

LOS ANGELES -- Oscar-winning filmmaker Billy Wilder, the Austrian-born cynic whose gifts for writing and directing led to such classics as "Sunset Boulevard," "Some Like It Hot" and "Double Indemnity," has died, a family friend said Thursday. He was 95.

Wilder died Wednesday night at his home, said George Schlatter, a producer and longtime friend. Schlatter said his friend of 40 years had been in failing health in recent months, and he believed Wilder had been suffering from a bout with pneumonia.

"We've lost a biggie," said Schlatter, producer of the 1960s comedy show "Laugh In." "I met him when I was just a kid, you know. And I was a fan all that time."

As co-writer, director and producer of the 1960 film "The Apartment," Wilder collected three Oscars, the only person to do so for one film. Among his other classics: "Sunset Boulevard," "Double Indemnity," "Stalag 17," "The Lost Weekend," "The Seven Year Itch," "Some Like It Hot" and "Witness for the Prosecution."

"Billy Wilder became the premiere director of films for many, many years, and retains that title even though he hasn't made films for a long time," said Dale Olson, a longtime Hollywood publicist. "He's the idol of almost every other director who's come along."

Wilder also was noted as one of Hollywood's best wits. He once remarked of postwar France: "It's a country where you can't tear the toilet paper but the currency crumbles in your hands." William Holden said Wilder had "a mind full of razor blades."

His films were notable for their clever dialogue and an overlay of cynicism and betrayal. His actors won Oscars for their hard-bitten portrayals: Ray Milland as the unremitting alcoholic in "The Lost Weekend," Holden as the suspected prison-camp traitor in "Stalag 17," Walter Matthau as an insurance cheater in "The Fortune Cookie."

"Making movies is a little like walking into a dark room," he once mused. "Some people stumble across furniture, others break their legs, but some of us see better in the dark than others. The ultimate trick is to convince, persuade. Every single person out there is an idiot, but collectively they're a genius."

The Wilder career peaked with "The Apartment," a cynical tale of corporate corruption. Jack Lemmon played an underling who lends his apartment to company executives for trysts with secretaries. Shirley MacLaine was the romantic victim of a lying boss, Fred MacMurray, in a rare change of type (his other: "Double Indemnity").

In his late years, Wilder was laden with honors, including the Motion Picture Academy's Irving Thalberg award for a consistently high level of production and the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award, both in 1988.

When the film institute ran a survey to pick the 100 best American movies in 1998, four directed by Wilder made the list; when it picked the 100 funniest American movies in 2000, "Some Like It Hot" was No. 1.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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