Some Like It Hot

Born June 22, 1906 in Sucha, Galicia, Austria-Hungary Billy Wilder broke into films as a screenwriter in 1929 and wrote scripts for many German films. Although he spoke no English when he arrived in Hollywood, he was able to break into American films thanks to contacts such as Peter Lorre. His partnership with Charles Brackett started in 1938 and the team was responsible for writing some of Hollywood's classic comedies, including Ninotchka (1939) and Ball of Fire (1941). The partnership expanded into a producer-director one in 1942. Not long after producing Sunset Boulevard (1950) (Oscars for Best Screenplay), the partnership dissolved. Wilder's subsequent self-produced films would become more caustic and cynical, notably Ace in the Hole (1951), though he also produced such sublime comedies as Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Apartment (1960) (which won him Best Picture and Director Oscars). He then retired in 1981.

1929 Hell of a Reporter | 1930 People on Sunday | 1931 Her Grace Commands | 1932 The Blue from the Sky | 1932 Liebe ist Liebe | 1932 Once There Was a Waltz | 1939 Ninotchka | 1941 Ball of Fire | 1950 Sunset Boulevard | 1951 Ace in the Hole | 1960 The Apartment