Postwar Career
During the immediate postwar period, Wyler directed a handful of critically acclaimed and influential films. In 1949, he directed The Heiress, which earned Olivia de Havilland her second Oscar and garnered additional Oscars for Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Music. Roman Holiday (1953) introduced Audrey Hepburn to American audiences and led to Oscars for Best Actress (Hepburn), Costume Design (Edith Head), and Best Writing (Dalton Trumbo). Friendly Persuasion (1956) was awarded the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1959, Wyler directed Ben-Hur, which won 11 Oscars (a feat equalled only by Titanic in 1997 and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003). Wyler won his third Academy Award for Best Director for Ben-Hur.
Wyler's films garnered more awards for participating artists and actors than any other director in the history of Hollywood. He received 12 Oscar nominations for Best Director in total, while dozens of his collaborators and actors won Oscars or were nominated. In 1965, Wyler won the Irving Thalberg Award for career achievement. Eleven years later, he received the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. In addition to his Best Picture and Best Director Oscar wins, 13 of Wyler's films earned Best Picture nominations. Other late Wyler films include The Children's Hour, The Collector, Funny Girl, and his final film, The Liberation of L.B. Jones.
On July 24, 1981, Wyler gave an interview with his daughter, Catherine, for Directed by William Wyler, a PBS documentary about his life and career. Three days later, he died from a heart attack. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California.
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