William Wyler (July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), and Ben-Hur (1959), all of which also won for Best Picture. In total, he holds a record twelve nominations for the Academy Award for Best Director.
Born in Alsace, then in Germany, but later part of France, Wyler was a troublemaker in the schools of his youth. He emigrated to United States in 1921, working first for Universal Studios in New York before moving to Los Angeles. By 1925, he was the youngest director at Universal, and in 1929 he directed Hell's Heroes, Universal's first sound production filmed entirely on location. In 1936, he earned his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director for Dodsworth, starring Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton and Mary Astor, "sparking a 20-year run of almost unbroken greatness.": 24 He helped propel a number of actors to stardom, including finding and directing Audrey Hepburn in her debut film, Roman Holiday (1953), and directing Barbra Streisand in her debut film, Funny Girl (1968), both winning Academy Awards. Olivia de Havilland and Bette Davis both won their second Oscar in Wyler films, de Havilland for The Heiress (1949) and Davis for Jezebel. Davis said Wyler made her a "far, far better actress" than she had ever been, while Laurence Olivier, who received his first Oscar nomination for Wyler's Wuthering Heights (1939), credited Wyler with teaching him how to act for the screen. Wyler's three Best Picture-winning films each featured a Best Actress or Actor Oscar winner - Greer Garson in Mrs Miniver, Frederic March in The Best Years of Our Lives, and Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur. Other popular Wyler films include: The Westerner (1940) with Gary Cooper, The Letter (1940) again with Davis, Detective Story (1951) with Kirk Douglas, Friendly Persuasion (1956) with Cooper, The Big Country (1958) with Gregory Peck and Heston, The Children's Hour (1961) with Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine and James Garner, and How to Steal a Million (1966) with Hepburn and Peter O'Toole.
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.": 57 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" from the 1930s to 1960s. Through his talent for staging, editing, and camera movement, he turned dynamic theatrical spaces into cinematic ones. For his work Wyler was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for career achievement, the Director's Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award and the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award.
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Some of their strengths
William Wyler has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Energetic, Generous, Intuitive, Imaginative, Intense, Caring, and Physical.
Intuitive and Imaginative
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, William Wyler is someone who is a highly intuitive, creative and imaginative person who is very loyal, caring and compassionate to others. A person who really cares about helping others make the most of what they have.
Adaptable and Versatile
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know William Wyler well know them as someone who can be adaptable, flexible, and polite, like a flower or a sapling.
Ambitious and Forceful
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe William Wyler as someone who is ambitious, hard-working, determined, and intelligent.
A person who has a knack for identifying opportunities, has amazing concentration and focus, who can work independently, who likes starting new things, and who is somewhat of an intellectual.
Dynamic and Imaginative
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, William Wyler is someone who can bring a purifying element to situations, and who is a risk-taker with vision and imagination.
They are also someone who is curious, dynamic, and positive, and who enjoys inspiring and communicating with other people.
Traditional and Patient
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, William Wyler tends to be someone who is a patient person that is very emotional, has a very sharp memory, has an ability to understand people, and who tends to be traditional and frugal.
Some of William Wyler's challenges
While William Wyler has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, William Wyler can be Emotional, Standoffish, Stubborn, Idle, Impulsive, Careless, and Relentless.
Emotional and Standoffish
One of William Wyler's key challenges is that they are someone who can be emotional and standoffish.
Relentless and Inflexible
William Wyler is someone who can be relentless, obsessive, and inflexible, who can be confrontational with work colleagues, can have difficulty communicating feelings and be somewhat reclusive, and who can be self-destructive, overindulgent, and extravagant.
Sensitive and Money-oriented
Finally, William Wyler also can have mood swings, be overly sensititive, and be a bit rigid and materialistic.
