[Rightwing Canuck]

Weird - someone said they usually die in threes, and yesterday we had Dudley Moore and Milton Berle.

[denydenydeny]

How old was he? He was an established director when Hitler came to power.

[Snake65]

Stalag 17 and Some Like it Hot are two of my favorite movies. Talented man, but at 95 no one can accuse him of not living to a ripe old age.

[cinFLA]

But this actually makes four.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

13:37 PST LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Filmmaker Billy Wilder, the Austrian-born cynic whose gifts for writing and directing led to such classics as "Sunset Boulevard," "Some Like it Hot" and "Double Indemnity," has died. He was 95.

Wilder died Wednesday night at his home, said George Schlatter, a producer and longtime friend. Schlatter said Wilder's health had been failing in recent months.

[Amore]

sure didn't take long for that 3rd shoe to drop, did it?

[Texaggie79]

[Clemenza]

Big fan of Some Like it Hot and Double Indemnity (featuring a pre- Chip&Ernie Fred Macmurray).

[lowbridge]

Damn. Today I watched one of his best on video: The Apartment (one of my all time favorite films) just before I learned that he passed away.

[Rastus]

Has anyone seen Wilder's "One, Two, Three?" It's described as a satire of the Cold War in general and capitalism specifically. If that is true, is it a "gentle" satire, or a savaging? Haven't been able to find an ideologically-based review.

It starred Jimmy Cagney, and I believe he had long-since given up his socialist beliefs by then. So, maybe there's hope.

If it is a commie-fest, it won't stop me from enjoying Wilder's other movies. Well, not too much.

[Greybird]

This makes me far sadder than losing Berle and Moore, and the loss this week by "Moulin Rouge" of the best picture and best actress Oscars, combined. And with how I love brilliant comedy and musicals, that is saying one helluva lot.

Before I put on my tape of "The Apartment" once again, I relate -- and I'm afraid I don't have Mr. Wilder's own words -- what he said was the moment of the greatest gratitude he'd ever felt, and the best piece of encouragement he'd ever received. (This was in accepting one of those innumerable awards he'd earned that crowded his mantel, probably the AFI lifetime achievement award.)

Wilder had been a successful screenwriter at UFA in Berlin for many years, but that (and the demand for him in Hollywood) didn't necessarily cut much ice with U.S. immigration officials, when he saw the handwriting on the political wall and attempted to emigrate to the U.S. in the mid-'30s.

When he was applying for an immigration visa at the U.S. embassy in Mexico City, he had a nervous time with the official who was silently perusing his papers, with Wilder knowing that his future and his freedom hung in the balance.

The official finally bent forward and said, "You write movies, is that it?"

"Yes."

After a long pause: "Well, write some good ones."

STAMP STAMP STAMP KER-CHUNK! Wilder had his visa and was on his way.

"Ninotchka," "Double Indemnity," "Some Like It Hot," "The Apartment," "One, Two, Three" ... I'd say he wrote some good ones. Some friggin' immortal ones. Directed most of 'em, too. Rest in peace, Billy.

[Fiddlstix]

Bump

[Atlas Sneezed]

Billy Wilder directed Some like it Hot, in which appeared...

George Raft, who also appeared in Casino Royale with...

Peter Sellers, who appeared in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with...

Dudley Moore, who appeared in Wholly Moses with...

Dom DeLuise, who appeared in The Muppet Movie with...

Milton Berle, who appeared in Let's Make Love! with...

Marilyn Monroe, who starred in Some Like It Hot which was directed by...

Billy Wilder!

Can anyone go full circle by using less than the four other people I used?