FILM DIRECTOR

Billy Wilder

1906 - 2002

Photo of Billy Wilder

Icon of person Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder (; German: [ˈvɪldɐ]; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. He was born in Sucha Beskidzka, Poland, a town in Austria-Hungary at the time of his birth. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hollywood cinema. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Billy Wilder has received more than 4,186,923 page views. His biography is available in 64 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 60 in 2019). Billy Wilder is the 43rd most popular film director (down from 33rd in 2019), the 59th most popular biography from Poland (up from 66th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Polish Film Director.

Billy Wilder is most famous for his comedies, which include Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, and The Lost Weekend.

Memorability Metrics

  • 4.2M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 70.06

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 64

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.48

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.01

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, Billy Wilder ranks 43 out of 2,041. Before him are Ken Loach, John Ford, Krzysztof Kieślowski, James Cameron, David Lynch, and Lars von Trier. After him are Vittorio De Sica, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Yasujirō Ozu, Roberto Rossellini, Isao Takahata, and Emir Kusturica.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1906, Billy Wilder ranks 20. Before him are Victor Vasarely, Josephine Baker, Hassan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, Sergei Korolev, and Faisal of Saudi Arabia. After him are Henri Charrière, Hans Bethe, Roberto Rossellini, Ernst Ruska, Emmanuel Levinas, and Ilse Koch. Among people deceased in 2002, Billy Wilder ranks 9. Before him are Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, Pierre Bourdieu, Simo Häyhä, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Thor Heyerdahl, and John Rawls. After him are Richard Harris, Vavá, Ruth Handler, László Kubala, Valeriy Lobanovskyi, and Prince Claus of the Netherlands.

Others Born in 1906

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Others Deceased in 2002

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In Poland

Among people born in Poland, Billy Wilder ranks 59 out of 1,694. Before him are Emil von Behring (1854), Klaus Kinski (1926), Konstantin Rokossovsky (1896), Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923), Sigismund I the Old (1467), and Paul Ehrlich (1854). After him are Ferdinand Lassalle (1825), Bolesław I the Brave (967), Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928), Hans-Ulrich Rudel (1916), Albert A. Michelson (1852), and Emanuel Lasker (1868).

Others born in Poland

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Among FILM DIRECTORS In Poland

Among film directors born in Poland, Billy Wilder ranks 3. Before him are Andrzej Wajda (1926), and Krzysztof Kieślowski (1941). After him are Dziga Vertov (1896), Fred Zinnemann (1907), Jerzy Grotowski (1933), Jerzy Skolimowski (1938), Agnieszka Holland (1948), Robert Wiene (1873), Jean Epstein (1897), Jerzy Stuhr (1947), and Krzysztof Zanussi (1939).

Polish born Film Directors

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Filmography

Some Like It Hot
Director
Two musicians witness a mob hit and struggle to find a way out of the city before they are found by the gangsters. Their only opportunity is to join an all-girl band as they leave on a tour. To make their getaway they must first disguise themselves as women, then keep their identities secret and deal with the problems this brings - such as an attractive bandmate and a very determined suitor.
Mar 19o 19598.099 / 10
Sunset Boulevard
Director
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.
Aug 10o 19508.3 / 10
The Apartment
Director
Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
Jun 21o 19608.2 / 10