William A. Wellman
American director, actor (1896-1975)
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1896
- Died
- 1975
- Works
- 4
Top works
- Wings
- Stingaree
- The public enemy
- Beggars of life
via Open Library + Wikidata
Film & TV
Directing · Brookline, Massachusetts, USA
William Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Although Wellman began his film career as an actor, he worked on over 80 films, as director, producer and consultant but most often as a director, notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion. He also directed several well regarded satirical comedies. Wellman…
Known for
- You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story — Self (archive footage)2008
- Filmmakers in Action — Self (archive footage)2006
- Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick — Self (archive footage)1995
- Gable: The King Remembered — Himself1975
- The Men Who Made the Movies1973
- Island in the Sky — Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Article
William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion. He also directed several well-regarded satirical comedies. His 1927 film, Wings, was the first film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture at the 1st Academy Awards ceremony.
Beginning his film career as an actor, he went on to direct over 80 films, at times co-credited as producer and consultant, from the silent era through the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was nominated for four Academy Awards: three Best Director Oscars for the original A Star Is Born (1937), Battleground (1949), and The High and the Mighty (1954) and one in Best Original Story for A Star Is Born, which he won. In 1973, he received the Directors Guild of America's Lifetime Achievement Award. He was previously a decorated combat pilot during World War I, serving in the Lafayette Flying Corps of the French Air Force, and earning a Croix de Guerre with two palms for valorous action.
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1896 births1975 deaths20th-century American screenwritersAmerican Field Service personnel of World War IAmerican military personnel of World War IAmerican recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)Best Story Academy Award winnersDeaths from leukemia in CaliforniaDirectors of Best Picture Academy Award winnersFilm directors from MassachusettsFrench military personnel of World War I