Born Samuel Wilder on June 22, 1906 in Sucha, then part of Austria-Hungary and now the town of Sucha Beskidzka in southern Poland, he became one of Hollywood's most influential filmmakers.
He was once described by Alfred Hitchcock as "the two most important words" in cinema.
His parents ran a restaurant, and the family later moved to Nowy Targ, then Kraków and Vienna.
His mother nicknamed him Billie, after a Buffalo Bill Wild West show she had seen in New York as a child – he only became "Billy" once he reached America.
Wilder later worked as a journalist in Berlin, selling his first screenplay there, before fleeing to Paris and then Los Angeles when Hitler came to power.
Teaming up with Charles Brackett, he co-wrote Ninotchka (1939), starring Greta Garbo, earning his first Oscar nomination and launching his career.
His directing breakthrough came with Double Indemnity (1944), co-written with Raymond Chandler, followed by The Lost Weekend (1945), which won best picture.
Together the films picked up 14 Oscar nominations and four wins, helping define film noir.
Those are often overshadowed by Sunset Boulevard (1950), his searing portrait of Hollywood starring Gloria Swanson and William Holden, which won three of its 11 nominations and is regarded as one of the greatest films ever made.
Critic Kenneth Turan praised Wilder's range across genres, while filmmaker Cameron Crowe said many directors secretly wish to be compared to him for his elegance and lack of sentimentality.
More hits followed: Sabrina (1954) with Audrey Hepburn, then Some Like It Hot (1959), with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.
Film critic Roger Ebert later named its closing line, "Nobody's perfect," alongside Norma Desmond's farewell in Sunset Boulevard, as two of cinema's greatest.
The Apartment (1960) won five Oscars including best picture, while Fedora (1978) was his last major film.
Wilder retired in 1981, criticising how financial backers had come to dictate filmmaking decisions once left to directors.
He died on March 27, 2002 in Los Angeles.
Oscar-winning actress Shirley MacLaine said she had learned more from him than from anyone else, while director Curtis Hanson remembered him as witty, unconventional and deeply humane.
(ał/gs)
Source: PAP