W. Lee Wilder


William Lee Wilder was an Austrian-born American screenwriter, film producer and director. He was the brother of the film director Billy Wilder and father of television comedy writer and producer Myles Wilder.

Biography

Wilder originally was a NY-based maker of purses, Wm. Wilder Co., Inc. Original Handbags, before heading to Hollywood in 1945 to produce movies.
There he started his own film production company and produced his first film The Great Flamarion in 1945 and directed his first film The Glass Alibi the following year.
From 1949 to 1950, Wilder directed, wrote and produced 16 musical short subjects featuring traditional spirituals and folk-music.
During the 1950s Wilder formed a film production company called Planet Filmplays where he produced and directed several low budget science fiction films with screenplays cowritten by his son Myles.

Selected filmography