Billy Wilder

Introduction
Early life and work
Films of the 1940s
Films of the 1950s
Films of the 1960s
Last films
Legacy

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Billy Wilder poses in a suit and hat, leaning against a streetlamp with a sign reading Sunset Blvd. in a promotional photo for the film Sunset Boulevard.

Gloria Swanson, looking up with a dramatic expression, stands close to William Holden, who faces her in a suit, in a scene from the film Sunset Boulevard.

Cecil B. DeMille, right, leans in to speak with Gloria Swanson, dressed in a feathered hat and fur stole, on the set of Sunset Boulevard, with film crew visible in the background.

Marilyn Monroe stands over a subway grate as her white dress billows up, smiling, while Tim Ewell watches in the iconic scene from the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch.

Marilyn Monroe as The Girl stands on a staircase holding a fan, smiling down at Tom Ewell as Richard Sherman in a scene from the film The Seven Year Itch.

Marlene Dietrich as Christine Vole stands at the witness stand in a courtroom scene from the 1957 film Witness for the Prosecution.

Black-and-white publicity photo from Some Like It Hot showing Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in drag embracing Marilyn Monroe, who stands between them winking.

Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe dressed as musicians with a band in a train car in a scene from the 1959 film Some Like It Hot.

At a Glance

Billy Wilder summary

Quizzes

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia

Related Questions

How did A Foreign Affair portray occupied Berlin after World War II?
How did Billy Wilder begin his career in journalism?
How did Billy Wilder combine cynicism and romanticism in his films?
How did Billy Wilder reach the United States after leaving Europe?
How did The Lost Weekend portray alcoholism?
How is Double Indemnity told to the audience?
How is Erich von Stroheim’s character connected to Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard?
What Academy Award nominations did Double Indemnity receive?
What historical crime do the musicians witness in Some Like It Hot?
What is the plot of Hold Back the Dawn?
What is the plot of Sabrina?
What is the plot of Stalag 17?
What is the plot of Sunset Boulevard?
What is the plot of The Fortune Cookie?
What is the plot of The Lost Weekend?
What is the plot of The Major and the Minor?
What is the plot of The Seven Year Itch?
When did Billy Wilder begin collaborating with I.A.L. Diamond?
When did Billy Wilder begin directing his own films?
Where was Billy Wilder born?
Which Academy Award did the screenplay for Sunset Boulevard win?
Which Academy Awards did The Lost Weekend win?
Which Billy Wilder films appeared on the American Film Institute’s Top 100 films list?
Which actor won an Academy Award for Stalag 17?
Which actors played the wealthy brothers in Sabrina?
Which famous Marilyn Monroe scene came from The Seven Year Itch?
Which film did Billy Wilder codirect with Alexander Esway in Paris?
Which films did Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett write together before Wilder became a director?
Which historical flight is portrayed in The Spirit of St. Louis?
Which lifetime-achievement honors did Billy Wilder receive from the American Film Institute and the Academy Awards?
Which newspaper beat did Billy Wilder cover in Berlin?
Who did Billy Wilder room with during his early years in Hollywood?
Who played Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard?
Who wrote the screenplay for Double Indemnity?
Why did Ace in the Hole fail at the box office?
Why did Billy Wilder leave Germany in 1933?
Why did Billy Wilder leave the University of Vienna?
Why do the main characters disguise themselves as women in Some Like It Hot?
Why is Some Like It Hot considered one of the greatest American film comedies?
Why was Fred MacMurray’s role in Double Indemnity unusual for him?
Why was Kiss Me, Stupid criticized when it was released?
Why was Samuel Wilder called Billy?
Why was Some Like It Hot set during Prohibition?
Why was The Spirit of St. Louis unusual in Billy Wilder’s career?
What TV series is Donald Glover best known for?
Who is Childish Gambino?
What is Warren Beatty known for?
What was Sam Raimi’s most famous work early in his career?
Who is Lena Dunham?
What was Lena Dunham’s early education and career path?
What is the HBO series Girls about?
What was the cause of death for Sage Stallone?
Who is Ryan Murphy?
How much did Netflix pay Ryan Murphy?

Entertainment & Pop Culture Film, TV & Theater Directors

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External Websites

BBC - Arts and Ideas - Billy Wilder
BFI - Meet whiplash Wilder: Billy Wilder interviewed in 1967
Smithsonian - Archives of American Art - Oral history interview with Billy Wilder, 1995 February 14 (PDF)
Senses of Cinema - Biography of Billy Wilder
PBS - American Masters - Billy Wilder
Turner Classic Movies - Billy Wilder

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

Billy Wilder - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Billy Wilder

Austrian-born American director and producer

Also known as: Samuel Wilder

Written by

Michael Barson

Michael Barson is the author of more than a dozen books that examine various facets of American popular culture in the 20th century, about which he has been interviewed by National Public Radio on several...

Michael Barson

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Sep. 18, 2026 •History

Billy Wilder (born June 22, 1906, Sucha, Austria [now in Poland]—died March 27, 2002, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.) was an Austrian-born American motion-picture scenarist, director, and producer known for films that humorously treat subjects of controversy and offer biting indictments of hypocrisy in American life. His work often focused on subjects that had previously been considered unacceptable screen material, including alcoholism (The Lost Weekend, 1945), prisoner-of-war camps (Stalag 17, 1953), and prostitution (Irma La Douce,...

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