FILM DIRECTOR

W. S. Van Dyke

1889 - 1943

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Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II (March 21, 1889 – February 5, 1943) was an American film director who made several successful early sound films, including Tarzan the Ape Man in 1932, The Thin Man in 1934, San Francisco in 1936, and six popular musicals with Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. He received two Academy Award nominations for Best Director for The Thin Man and San Francisco, and directed four actors to Oscar nominations: William Powell, Spencer Tracy, Norma Shearer, and Robert Morley. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of W. S. Van Dyke has received more than 297,674 page views. His biography is available in 28 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 25 in 2019). W. S. Van Dyke is the 675th most popular film director (up from 677th in 2019), the 4,273rd most popular biography from United States (up from 4,398th in 2019) and the 169th most popular American Film Director.

Memorability Metrics

  • 300k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 51.94

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 28

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.26

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.29

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among FILM DIRECTORS

Among film directors, W. S. Van Dyke ranks 675 out of 2,041. Before him are Joe Johnston, Baz Luhrmann, Alexander Payne, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Andrew Niccol, and James Gunn. After him are Burt Kennedy, Vilgot Sjöman, Majid Majidi, Ruy Guerra, Billy Hayes, and Terence Davies.

Most Popular Film Directors in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1889, W. S. Van Dyke ranks 160. Before him are Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro, Antonio Caggiano, Robert Z. Leonard, Manuel Prado Ugarteche, Hans Tropsch, and Hulusi Behçet. After him are Ernest Marsden, Laureano Gómez, Ralph H. Fowler, Louis Van Hege, Dorothy Gibson, and James Whale. Among people deceased in 1943, W. S. Van Dyke ranks 125. Before him are Walther von Hünersdorff, René de Saussure, Hristo Lukov, Erich Bey, Alojs Andritzki, and Yemelyan Yaroslavsky. After him are Bernhard Lichtenberg, Curt Haase, Henner Henkel, Rutka Laskier, Harry Baur, and Tōson Shimazaki.

Others Born in 1889

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Others Deceased in 1943

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In United States

Among people born in United States, W. S. Van Dyke ranks 4,273 out of 20,380. Before him are Rose Wilder Lane (1886), Julia Robinson (1919), David Del Tredici (1937), Tommy Mottola (1949), Roseanne Barr (1952), and Julie London (1926). After him are Fanny Crosby (1820), Burt Kennedy (1922), Amber Lynn (1964), Minnie Riperton (1947), J. J. Johnson (1924), and Lesley Ann Warren (1946).

Others born in United States

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Among FILM DIRECTORS In United States

Among film directors born in United States, W. S. Van Dyke ranks 169. Before him are Andrew Blake (1947), Robert Z. Leonard (1889), Richard Linklater (1960), Joe Johnston (1950), Alexander Payne (1961), and James Gunn (1966). After him are Burt Kennedy (1922), Billy Hayes (1947), Paul Mazursky (1930), Aaron Russo (1943), John Stagliano (1951), and Fred Niblo (1874).

American born Film Directors

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Filmography

The Birth of a Nation
Director
Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.
Feb 8o 19156 / 10
The Thin Man
Director
A husband and wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.
May 25o 19347.493 / 10
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
Director
The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.
Sep 4o 19167.08 / 10