William Wyler

Biography

William Wyler (July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a German-born film director, producer, and screenwriter. Notable works include Ben-Hur (1959), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Mrs. Miniver (1942), all which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture. He earned his first Oscar nomination for directing Dodsworth in 1936, sparking a 20-year run of almost unbroken greatness. Film historian Ian Freer calls Wyler a "bona fide perfectionist," whose penchant for retakes and an attempt to hone every last nuance "became the stuff of legend." His ability to direct a string of classic literary adaptations into huge box office and critical successes made him one of Hollywood's most bankable moviemakers during the 1930s and 1940s.

Directed

1. Ben-Hur (1959) — Director
2. Roman Holiday (1953) — Director
3. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) — Director
4. How to Steal a Million (1966) — Director
5. Funny Girl (1968) — Director
6. The Big Country (1958) — Director
7. The Children's Hour (1961) — Director
8. Wuthering Heights (1939) — Director
9. Mrs. Miniver (1942) — Director
10. The Heiress (1949) — Director
11. The Letter (1940) — Director
12. The Collector (1965) — Director
13. Jezebel (1938) — Director
14. The Little Foxes (1941) — Director
15. The Desperate Hours (1955) — Director
16. Detective Story (1951) — Director
17. Dead End (1937) — Director
18. Dodsworth (1936) — Director
19. Friendly Persuasion (1956) — Director
20. The Westerner (1940) — Director
21. Carrie (1952) — Director
22. These Three (1936) — Director
23. The Memphis Belle (1944) — Director
24. Come and Get It (1936) — Director
25. The Good Fairy (1935) — Director
26. Counsellor at Law (1933) — Director
27. The Liberation of L.B. Jones (1970) — Director
28. Thunderbolt (1947) — Director
29. Hell's Heroes (1929) — Director
30. The Shakedown (1929) — Director
31. The Fighting Lady (1944) — Director
32. The Gay Deception (1935) — Director
33. The Love Trap (1929) — Director
34. The Stolen Ranch (1926) — Director
35. A House Divided (1931) — Director
36. Glamour (1934) — Director
37. The Two Fister (1927) — Director
38. Tom Brown of Culver (1932) — Director
39. The Storm (1930) — Director
40. Her First Mate (1933) — Director

Also appeared in

1. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) — Drug Store customer (uncredited)
2. Dodsworth (1936) — Violin Player in Dance Orchestra (uncredited)
3. The Oscars (1953) — Self
4. Five Came Back (2017) — Self (archive footage)
5. Five Came Back (2017) — Self (archive footage)
6. The Cold Blue (2018) — Himself (archive footage)
7. Great Performances (1971) — Self
8. The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) — Self
9. Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006) — Self (archive footage)
10. Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic (1993) — Self - Director (archive footage)
11. Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic (2019) — Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
12. Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema (2005) — Self (archive footage)
13. The American Film Institute Salute to ... (1973) — Self
14. Cinépanorama (1956) — Self
15. Hollywood's Second World War (2019) — Self (archive footage)
16. The Screen Director (1951) — Self (staged 'archive' footage) (uncredited)
17. Goldwyn: The Man and His Movies (2001) — Self
18. William Wyler: Forty Takes Willy (2025) — Himself (Archival)
19. Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film (2002) — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
20. Laurence Olivier: A Life (1982) — Self
21. Vivien Leigh: A Delicate Balance (2000) — Self (archive footage)
22. Fun in the Big Country (1958) — Self
23. Stars of Cabaret (1956) — Self (archive footage)
24. Directed by William Wyler (1986) — Self
25. Backstory: 'How Green Was My Valley' (2000) — Self (archive footage)