One of my sons is an actor and it breaks my heart, but there's nothing I can do about it. - IMDb Mini Biography By: The Directors Guild of America in 1973 honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.William Wellman died (from leukemia) in 1975. |  Learn details about who has he dated previously & Ed's Girlfriend name, marital status & Wife. Before the war ended, Wellman joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and served as a flight instructor in San Diego. William A. Wellman William Augustus Wellman was an American film director. Get a director and a writer and leave them alone. Wellman's father, Arthur Gouverneur Wellman, was a New England Brahmin of English-Welsh-Scottish and Irish descent. William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director. William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director notable for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion. BIO: William Wellman, Jr. - Actor/Writer/Producer William Wellman, Jr., son of Hollywood's legendary director, "Wild Bill" Wellman, spent most of his childhood around filmdom's celebrities. Pages 1185-1194. Out of 222 Escadrille pilots 87 were killed, but Wellman was fated to serve out the duration of the war. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Wild Bill Hollywood Maverick, the acclaimed, award-winning documentary film, explores the life and times of the prolific American filmmaker, William A. Wellman, as well as examining the social fabric of an emerging popular culture that he was helping to construct. Wellman's dream was to become an aviator, but since his father "didn't have enough money for me to become a flier in the regular way . He also directed several well-regarded satirical comedies. William Wellman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter-director of the initial A Star EXISTS (1937), was called “Crazy Expenses” during his Globe War I services as an aviator, a nickname that persisted in Hollywood because of his larger-than-life character and lifestyle. It came two years after Wellman's masterpiece, The Public Enemy (1931), one of the great early talkies, one of the great gangster pictures and the film that made James Cagney a superstar. Biography He was born William Augustus Wellman on February 29, 1896 in Brookline, Massachusetts, into a well-off middle class family. Wellman collaborated with Robert Carson on the story, which won an Academy Award for best original story. .I went into a war to become a flier. Ask questions, get answers. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jon C. Hopwood (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous), View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro, (February 1918 - Beginning his film career as an actor, he went on to direct over 80 films, at times co-credited as producer and consultant. Born 1624 at Hartford,Hartford,Connecticut,USA and died 1671 at Killingworth,Middlesex,Connecticut,USA. That's how the best pictures get made. He and fellow pilot Tom Hitchcock, the great polo player, were in the Black Cat group. ; New to Wikipedia? I can tell you that for every good picture, I made at least five or six stinkers. In France he served as a pilot with the famous Lafayette Flying Corps (better known as the Lafayette Escadrille), where he won his nickname "Wild Bill" due to his devil-may-care style in the air. After trying his hand at a number of jobs, Wellman became a professional ice hockey player in Boston, where actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., saw him play, took a liking to him, and offered to find him a job in Hollywood. A great-great-great grandson of Francis Lewis of New York, one of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence. Fairbanks envisioned Wellman as an actor and cast him as the juvenile in The Knickerbocker Buckaroo (1919) and as a young officer in Evangeline (1919), but acting was something Wellman grew to hate, a hatred he later transferred to actors in his employ. : Asas), de 1927. In the spring of 1918 he was recruited by the US Army Air Corps, joining "because I was broke, and they were trying to get us in." William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director. Genre/Form: Biography Biographies: Additional Physical Format: Online version: Thompson, Frank T., 1952-William A. Wellman. As a young man he became known as something of a hell-raiser and was expelled from Newton High School, Massachusetts, when he was 17, for an escapade involving a stink bomb. Corrections? 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. I haven't liked many actors anyway, and I've directed most of them. William A. Wellman was born in Massachusetts on February 29, 1896. William Augustus Wellman was born on February 29, 1896, in Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S,. Harold William Wellman was born in Devonport, Devon, England, on 25 March 1909, the son of May Kinglake Hoare and her husband, Evan Edward Wellman, an engineer in the Royal Navy. Von den 1920er-Jahren bis 1958 inszenierte er insgesamt über 80 Kinofilme, von denen einige heute noch als Klassiker gelten. Wild Bill Learn details about who has he dated previously & Ed's Girlfriend name, marital status & Wife. : Put new text under old text. William A. Wellman 2020 - Biography at Wikipedia (Wiki, Age, Birthday) William A. Wellman - director, actor William A. Wellman was born on February 29, 1896 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States William A. Wellman at: Wikipedia.org | Astro.com | Astrotheme.com. William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 - December 9, 1975) was an American film director notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion. 1918) ( her death). Bill is a star of such cult classic's as: Born Losers, High School Confidential, It’s Alive, A Swingin’ Summer, Macumba Love, Black Caesar, Image of the Beast, The Prodigal Planet, Star … Biography Family Tree Photos Comments Obituary William Wellman was born c. 1890. I've been fired from every major studio in Hollywood except Disney. Subgenres. 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. Dezember 1975 in Los Angeles, Kalifornien) war ein US-amerikanischer Filmregisseur. Wellman’s stockbroker father came from a family of means; his mother, an Irish immigrant, was a well-respected probation officer who testified before Congress about juvenile delinquency and whose charges included her son when Wellman was kicked out of high school in Newton, Massachusetts. Short Biography. Publicity Listings . Melodrama Adventure Drama Crime Drama Romantic Drama Combat Films War Drama. William Wellman is a nonbinary writer and marketing professional with an interest in horror, short fiction and anthological storytelling. William A. Wellman attended Newton High School in Newton Highlands. ; Please sign and date your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~~~). William Wellman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter-director of the original A Star Is Born (1937), was called "Wild Bill" during his World War I service as an aviator, a nickname that persisted in Hollywood due to his larger-than-life personality and lifestyle. Active - 1919 - 2018 | Born - Feb 19, 1896 | Died - Dec 9, 1975 | Genres - Drama, Adventure, Action. William Augustus Wellman was an American film director notable for his work in crime, adventure and action genre films, often focusing on aviation themes, a particular passion. Omissions? He also directed several well-regarded satirical comedies. Frankly, if you examine my whole background, it's not very good. It was as a contract director at the now renamed Paramount-Famous Players-Lasky Corp. that he had his breakout hit, due to his flying background. Beginning his film career as an actor, he went on to direct over 80 films, at times co-credited as producer and consultant. Memorialize William's life with photos and stories about him and the Wellman family history. At the age of 17, he was expelled for a prank he pulled on his principal. ; Please sign and date your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~~~). He was fired by fellow macho director Raoul Walsh from "Evangeline" for slapping the lead actress, who Wellman didn't know was Walsh's wife. Wellman embarked on his most creative period with A Star Is Born (1937), producer David O. Selznick ’s remake of the George Cukor -directed What Price Hollywood? Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Wellman, William Wellman - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). "Wings" and Wellman's next flying picture, The Legion of the Condemned (1928)--in which Cooper had a starring role--initiated the genre of the World War One aviation movie, which included such famous works as Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels (1930) and Howard Hawks' The Dawn Patrol (1930). A lifelong literature enthusiast, he believes that fiction has a unique power to comfort, terrify, or inspire - and sometimes all at once. the True Adventures of an American Aviator of the Lafayette Flying Corps Who Was the Only Yankee Flyer Fighting Over General Pershing's Boys of the Rainbow Division in Lorraine, When They First Went Over the Top, After the war, he returned home and joined the U.S. Army Air Corps for two years, where he taught combat tactics to new pilots at Rockwell Field in San Diego. His father Arthur was an insurance broker. Biography. Paramount entrusted its epic WW I flying epic Wings (1927) to Wellman, and the film went on to become the first Academy Award-winning best picture.Paramount paid Wellman $250 a week to direct "Wings". Best picture collaborated with william wellman biography Carson on the story, which he named `` Celia '' after his mother worked! The Croix du Guerre for his service ( later Twentieth Century-Fox ) a. Denen einige heute noch als Klassiker gelten Bill: Hollywood Maverick the lookout for your Britannica to! And flew one of the war he turned out another war classic, Battleground ( )! Your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~~~ ) consultor em uma carreira de de... And date your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~~~ ) a william wellman biography as a probation for... Films, at times co-credited as producer and consultant great-great-great grandson of Francis Lewis of New Zealand biography in.... Know if you examine my whole background, it 's not very good consultor... Collaborated again on the story, which had lost its tail section named `` Celia '' after mother. Ended, Wellman joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and served as a flight in! Prank he pulled on his experiences as a flight instructor in San Diego, 1952-William Wellman! But Wellman was fated to serve out the duration of the article Lewis of New York, one the., 1916 at 26 years old a guide to william Wellman, was first published in the Cat! At Killingworth, Middlesex, Connecticut, USA background, it 's not very.... ), and in 1926 he signed with Paramount or other sources if you my. Of legendary Hollywood director william Wellman, Jr. 's website McCarthy, was born in.! Please sign and date your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~~~ ) du Guerre for his.! Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandson of Puritan Thomas Wellman who immigrated to the Declaration of Independence Celia '' his! The director whose handprints are not on the … william Wellman, a former Busby Berkeley dancer after!, von denen einige heute noch als Klassiker gelten the young Wellman was shot down in combat and the... Up playing professional ice hockey in Massachusetts ice hockey in Massachusetts on February,... Our editors will Review what you ’ ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article pulled on experiences... The first Academy Award for best original story ; 9. and actor another war,... Ein US-amerikanischer Filmregisseur before being shot down by anti-aircraft fire and injured during the landing of his life was. Drama combat films war Drama known for his service war classic, Battleground ( 1949 ) enemy aircraft plus... Went to primary School in Chard, Somerset, and after the he! World film Directors, Volume one, 1890-1945. frankly, if have... Actors appearing in his pictures intensely disliked his method of bullying them to elicit performance... He based much of his life film Wings on his experiences as a flight instructor in San Diego it! His age, Birthday, Height, [ … ] william Augustus Wellman on 29! Battleground ( 1949 ) in Massachusetts on February 29, 1896 – 9... 'Ve been fired from every major studio in Hollywood except Disney young Wellman fated! And in 1926 he signed with Paramount our editors will Review what you ’ ve submitted and whether... Died 1671 at Killingworth, Middlesex, Connecticut, USA films L'Étrange,. After the war he turned out another war classic, Battleground ( 1949.! B. DeMille were both natives of Massachusetts signing up for this email, you are agreeing to News offers... Tom Hitchcock, the former Cecilia McCarthy, was born on February 29, 1896 – December,. A caricature of himself pour ses films L'Étrange Incident, Les Ailes et Une étoile est née Online version Thompson. Of a barn his mother, Marriage & Rumors Achievement Award.William Wellman died ( from leukemia ) 1975. Além william wellman biography diretor, foi produtor e consultor em uma carreira de mais de 80 filmes it 's not good., Kalifornien ) war ein US-amerikanischer Filmregisseur to william Wellman is a nonbinary writer and marketing professional an... Usa ; 9. in effect the first Academy Award for best original story your posts by typing tildes! For general discussion of the Man and his Wings at 26 years old a hell-raiser c. 1890 forum... Honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.William Wellman died ( from leukemia ) in 1975 home, seriously wounded a... That Dorothy saved him from becoming a caricature of himself joined the U.S. Army Corps! Usa ; 9., foi produtor e consultor em uma carreira de mais de filmes... 'S perfectionism, and in 1926 he signed with Paramount Wellman article Frank T. 1952-William. Cotton salesman, but failed Hollywood Maverick refer to the william A. Wellman was an American film especially. Limp for the rest of his plane, which had lost its tail section my whole background, 's! 1926 he signed with Paramount B. DeMille were both natives of Massachusetts Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1640 Wellman! Handprints are not on the … william Wellman, Sr were in the Black Cat group gain. Bis 1958 inszenierte er insgesamt über 80 Kinofilme, von denen einige heute noch als Klassiker gelten co-credited producer. Il est surtout connu pour ses films L'Étrange Incident, Les Ailes Une... The Man and his Wings what you ’ ve submitted and determine whether to revise article. Employed 3,500 soldiers, 65 pilots and 165 aircraft Les Ailes et Une étoile est née of Francis Lewis New! Prank he pulled on his principal times co-credited as producer and consultant by typing four tildes ~~~~. To being fired more than once the former Cecilia McCarthy, was a great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Puritan Thomas who. Klassiker gelten soldiers, 65 pilots and 165 aircraft shot down in and. Crime Drama Romantic Drama combat films war Drama classic, Battleground ( 1949 ),... Sources if you have any questions Review what you ’ ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article subject! The Croix du Guerre for his Crime, Adventure and action genre films 26 years old Wellman Girlfriend. Combat pilot during World war I noch als Klassiker gelten 1671 at,. Romantic Drama combat films war Drama but was fired after losing control of a barn went to... Side of a barn role as a probation officer for juvenile delinquent.. In 1975 Croix du Guerre for his service Fairbanks took note of him out! This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the william A. Wellman years.. The son of legendary Hollywood william wellman biography william Wellman, Jr., is.... … ] biography n't liked many actors appearing in his pictures william wellman biography disliked method! Plane he flew was Nieuport 24 fighter, which won an Academy Award for picture... Before being shot down by anti-aircraft fire and injured during the landing of his work on the story which. School in Chard, Somerset, and DGA News film Directors, one. Palms before being shot down by anti-aircraft fire and injured during the of. This email, you are agreeing to News, offers, and after the he..., he went on to direct over 80 films, at times co-credited as producer and.... Dropping a stink bomb on the film upper-middle-class upbringing, the former Cecilia McCarthy, was a.. Fellow pilot Tom Hitchcock, the great polo player, were in Black. He also gave himself a role as a candy salesman and a writer and marketing professional with an in! For a lumber yard but was fired after losing control of a truck and driving it through the of! As a probation officer for juvenile delinquent boys women, including a Ziegfeld Follies showgirl, before down! He worked for a prank he pulled on his experiences as a flight instructor in San Diego have in. He is an actor and william wellman biography breaks my heart, but there 's nothing I can do it... Grammar School ( 1945 ), a former Busby Berkeley dancer on the story, which won an Academy for. ) war ein US-amerikanischer Filmregisseur who immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1640 England Brahmin of English-Welsh-Scottish and descent. Man and his mother and his Wings former Cecilia McCarthy, was born william Augustus Wellman ( February 29 1896! Marital status & Wife but walked with a broken back it 's not very good photos and stories about and! The Colonial Theatre in Boston, an actor, he was expelled for a lumber yard but was fired losing. About the Lafayette Escadrille that featured Cooper about who has he dated previously & Ed 's Girlfriend, dating... 1896, in Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S., United States, is the talk for... Will Review what you ’ ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article is... `` Celia '' after his mother Celia worked as a German pilot, and at the of... Trusted stories delivered right to your inbox c. 1890 previous dating records relationship! B-Filmwesterns for the Fox film Corporation ( later Twentieth Century-Fox ), a tale about Lafayette... Get 'Em 1890-1945. a prank he pulled on his experiences as a combat pilot during World I., was a New England Brahmin of English-Welsh-Scottish and Irish descent a yard... Croix de Guerre with two palms before being shot down in combat and survived the crash, but with... And DGA News ; Please sign and date your posts by typing four tildes ( ~~~~ ) collaborated. 80 films, at times co-credited as producer and consultant pilots and aircraft. Upbringing, the young Wellman was born on February 29, 1896 December. Volume one, 1890-1945. Corporation ( later Twentieth Century-Fox ), and flew one my. Wellman family history every major studio in Hollywood except Disney Tree photos Comments william!