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 Robert Earl Wise was born on September 10, 1914 in Winchester, Indiana, the youngest of three sons of Olive R. (Longenecker) and Earl Waldo Wise, a meat packer. His parents were both of Pennsylvania Dutch (German) descent. At age nineteen, the avid moviegoer came into the film business through an odd job at RKO Radio Pictures. A head sound effects editor at the studio recognized Wise's talent, and made Wise his prot��g��. Around 1941, Orson Welles was in need of an editor for Citizen Kane (1941), and Wise did a splendid job. Welles really liked his work and ideas. Wise started as a director with some B-movies, and his career went on quickly, and he made many classic movies. His last theatrical film, Rooftops (1989), proved that he was a filmmaker still in full command of his craft in his 80s. The carefully composed images, tight editing, and unflagging pace make one wish that Wise had not stayed away from the camera for very long. Robert Wise died of heart failure on September, 14, 2005, just four days after his 91st birthday.Born in Winchester, Indiana he grew up in nearby Connersville where as a child he became an avid film fan with an ambition of writing for films. He enrolled at Franklin College at Franklin, Indiana. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1933 following David, his older brother who'd moved there 5 years earlier and was working in R.K.O.'s accounts department. Robert eventually joined them by working as an assistant in the editorial department and became a skilled editor. He worked with Orson Welles on 'Citizen Kane' and 'The Magnificent Ambersons'. He then became director at R.K.O. and was then presided over by Val Lewton who gave Robert his first directing opportunities on what was expected to be a series of low budget horror films but emerged as striking psychological studies in terror such as 'The Curse of the Cat People', which was held in high critical esteem and which he credits Val as one of the major influences of his career The horror cycle was followed by 'The Set-Up' with Robert Ryan which won the the Critics Prize at the 1949 Cannes Film Festival then at M.G.M. his direction of Paul Newman in 'Somebody Up There Likes Me' resulted in Newman's emergence as a star. He became a freelance director on such films as 'Run Silent Run Deep' and 'I Want to Live!', earning an Oscar nomination for himself and an Oscar for Susan Hayward. He had a dual role of producer and director on 'Odds Against Tomorrow' followed by 'West Side Story' and 'The Haunting'. On an R.K.O. film set he met actress Patricia Doyle and married her in May 1942 and had a son Robert born 14 March 1943. They lived at Ocean Front, Santa Monica, California.
Bio:
Robert Earl Wise was born on September 10, 1914 in Winchester, Indiana, the youngest of three sons of Olive R. (Longenecker) and Earl Waldo Wise, a meat packer. His parents were both of Pennsylvania Dutch (German) descent. At age nineteen, the avid moviegoer came into the film business through an odd job at RKO Radio Pictures. A head sound effects editor at the studio recognized Wise's talent, and made Wise his prot��g��. Around 1941, Orson Welles was in need of an editor for Citizen Kane (1941), and Wise did a splendid job. Welles really liked his work and ideas. Wise started as a director with some B-movies, and his career went on quickly, and he made many classic movies. His last theatrical film, Rooftops (1989), proved that he was a filmmaker still in full command of his craft in his 80s. The carefully composed images, tight editing, and unflagging pace make one wish that Wise had not stayed away from the camera for very long. Robert Wise died of heart failure on September, 14, 2005, just four days after his 91st birthday.
Born in Winchester, Indiana he grew up in nearby Connersville where as a child he became an avid film fan with an ambition of writing for films. He enrolled at Franklin College at Franklin, Indiana. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1933 following David, his older brother who'd moved there 5 years earlier and was working in R.K.O.'s accounts department. Robert eventually joined them by working as an assistant in the editorial department and became a skilled editor. He worked with Orson Welles on 'Citizen Kane' and 'The Magnificent Ambersons'. He then became director at R.K.O. and was then presided over by Val Lewton who gave Robert his first directing opportunities on what was expected to be a series of low budget horror films but emerged as striking psychological studies in terror such as 'The Curse of the Cat People', which was held in high critical esteem and which he credits Val as one of the major influences of his career The horror cycle was followed by 'The Set-Up' with Robert Ryan which won the the Critics Prize at the 1949 Cannes Film Festival then at M.G.M. his direction of Paul Newman in 'Somebody Up There Likes Me' resulted in Newman's emergence as a star. He became a freelance director on such films as 'Run Silent Run Deep' and 'I Want to Live!', earning an Oscar nomination for himself and an Oscar for Susan Hayward. He had a dual role of producer and director on 'Odds Against Tomorrow' followed by 'West Side Story' and 'The Haunting'. On an R.K.O. film set he met actress Patricia Doyle and married her in May 1942 and had a son Robert born 14 March 1943. They lived at Ocean Front, Santa Monica, California.
Tivia:
After collaborating closely and happily on the editing of Citizen Kane (1941) with Orson Welles, Wise was assigned to edit The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). When Welles left the country after finishing that film, RKO wanted Wise to edit it, making changes that Wise knew Welles wouldn't like. He initially refused because of his respect for Welles' vision of the film, but eventually relented and allowed RKO to put him in charge of a drastic editing of "Ambersons" that would result in a new ending and over 40 minutes of Welles' film being lost forever. A furious Welles held that against Wise for more than 40 years, until they reconciled publicly in 1984 by shaking hands on stage when the Directors Guild of America honored Welles with its Lifetime Achievement Award.He was convinced to accept the position as director of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) by his wife Millicent Wise, who was a huge fan of Star Trek: The Original Series (1966). His wife was also instrumental in convincing him to campaign Leonard Nimoy for the project.Accepted the Oscar for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" on behalf of Paul Newman, who was absent from the awards ceremony, for his performance in The Color of Money (1986) (1987).He was the last surviving crew member of Orson Welles' classic Citizen Kane (1941).Directed nine different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Nina Foch, Susan Hayward, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Julie Andrews, Peggy Wood, Steve McQueen, Mako and Daniel Massey. Hayward, Moreno and Chakiris won Oscars.Agreed to direct The Sound of Music (1965) after it had been abandoned by William Wyler on the condition that 20th Century Fox agree to finance The Sand Pebbles (1966). Wise, who also produced the musical, won his second Best Director Oscar and the Best Picture Oscar. The next year, "The Sand Pebbles" was nominated for Best Picture and Wise was awarded the Irving Thalberg Award, the highest honor for producers.Only four times in Academy Award history have director-collaborators been nominated for Best Directing Oscars: Wise and Jerome Robbins for West Side Story (1961), Warren Beatty and Buck Henry for Heaven Can Wait (1978), and Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men (2007). (Wise/Robbins and the Coens actually won the award). In 2011, the Coens were again nominated for a best directing-duo, for their Western True Grit (2010).When he and Jerome Robbins won the Best Director Oscar in 1962 for West Side Story (1961), it was the first time that a directing Oscar was shared among collaborators.From 1985 - 1988, he was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).Received the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award (1998).He was an avid fan of commercial Indian cinema.He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6340 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.His favorite film is Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments (1923).In preparation for the scene in I Want to Live! (1958) in which Susan Hayward's character is executed, Wise attended a real execution.He oversaw and provided the DVD audio commentary for the director's edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), which included reedited scenes, new optical effects, and a new sound mix. This was the director's final project before his death.He has directed three films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965). He has also edited three films that are in the registry: Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942).A lifelong liberal, he contributed to charitable organizations, including the Americal Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and established the Robert E. Wise Foundation to provide financial assistance to causes in the Los Angeles area.From 1971 - 1975, he was President of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), and later also headed the Special Projects Committee for 24 years.He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, D.C. (1992).He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.Attended and graduated from Connersville High School in Connersville, Indiana (1932). On November 3, 1990, the Robert E. Wise Center for Performing Arts in the high school's auditorium was named in his honor.Had one son, Robert E. Wise, and one stepdaughter, Pamela Rosenberg. Had one granddaughter.When his first assignment under his 20th Century-Fox contract was shelved, his first film under his new deal was a loan-out to Warner Brothers for Three Secrets (1950).He had an expensive bungalow on the Universal Studios lot and owned a modern California beach house. He continued to screen films for personal enjoyment and had "final cut" decisions on his films.Interviewed in "It Came from Horrorwood: Interviews with Moviemakers in the SF and Horror Tradition" by Tom Weaver (McFarland, 1996).Co-founded the film production company Aspen Pictures with Mark Robson.Spoke French fluently.Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945." Pages 1210-1219. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company (1987).Retrospective at the 53rd San Sebasti��n International Film Festival in Spain (2005).Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 582-584. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale (2007).In 2019 he was credited as one of the Co-Executive Producers of Unsolved Mysteries (2020), about 14 years after his death in 2005.Jerome Robbins who did the stage production of West Side Story was signed to direct the film but while he was rehearsing the dancers Robert Wise was brought in to direct the musical numbers and eventually took control of the full film pushing Robbins off. At the Oscars they were named as the only joint directors in the history of the awards, Neither mentioned or thanked the other.Awarded honorary membership in the Society of Operating Cameramen (SOC) (1982).Interviewed in "Conversations with Directors: An Anthology of Interviews from Literature/Film Quarterly", E.M. Walker, D.T. Johnson, eds. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press (2008).Interviewed in Tom Weaver's "It Came from Weaver Five" (McFarland & Co., 1996). |
| Name: |
Robert Wise |
Type: |
Director,Producer,Editor (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
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Business scope: |
Director,Producer,Editor |
| Products for sale: |
Director,Producer,Editor |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 05:02:56 |
| Height: |
5' 10' (1.78 m) |
| Biography: |
Robert Earl Wise was born on September 10, 1914 in Winchester, Indiana, the youngest of three sons of Olive R. (Longenecker) and Earl Waldo Wise, a meat packer. His parents were both of Pennsylvania Dutch (German) descent. At age nineteen, the avid m |
| Trivia: |
After collaborating closely and happily on the editing of Citizen Kane (1941) with Orson Welles, Wise was assigned to edit The Magnificent Ambersons (1942). When Welles left the country after finishing that film, RKO wanted Wise to edit it, making changes that Wise knew Welles wouldn't like. He initially refused because of his respect for Welles' vision of the film, but eventually relented and allowed RKO to put him in charge of a drastic editing of "Ambersons" that would result in a new ending and over 40 minutes of Welles' film being lost forever. A furious Welles held that against Wise for more than 40 years, until they reconciled publicly in 1984 by shaking hands on stage when the Directors Guild of America honored Welles with its Lifetime Achievement Award.He was convinced to accept the position as director of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) by his wife Millicent Wise, who was a huge fan of Star Trek: The Original Series (1966). His wife was also instrumental in convincing him to campaign Leonard Nimoy for the project.Accepted the Oscar for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" on behalf of Paul Newman, who was absent from the awards ceremony, for his performance in The Color of Money (1986) (1987).He was the last surviving crew member of Orson Welles' classic Citizen Kane (1941).Directed nine different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Nina Foch, Susan Hayward, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Julie Andrews, Peggy Wood, Steve McQueen, Mako and Daniel Massey. Hayward, Moreno and Chakiris won Oscars.Agreed to direct The Sound of Music (1965) after it had been abandoned by William Wyler on the condition that 20th Century Fox agree to finance The Sand Pebbles (1966). Wise, who also produced the musical, won his second Best Director Oscar and the Best Picture Oscar. The next year, "The Sand Pebbles" was nominated for Best Picture and Wise was awarded the Irving Thalberg Award, the highest honor for producers.Only four times in Academy Award history have director-collaborators been nominated for Best Directing Oscars: Wise and Jerome Robbins for West Side Story (1961), Warren Beatty and Buck Henry for Heaven Can Wait (1978), and Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men (2007). (Wise/Robbins and the Coens actually won the award). In 2011, the Coens were again nominated for a best directing-duo, for their Western True Grit (2010).When he and Jerome Robbins won the Best Director Oscar in 1962 for West Side Story (1961), it was the first time that a directing Oscar was shared among collaborators.From 1985 - 1988, he was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).Received the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award (1998).He was an avid fan of commercial Indian cinema.He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6340 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.His favorite film is Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments (1923).In preparation for the scene in I Want to Live! (1958) in which Susan Hayward's character is executed, Wise attended a real execution.He oversaw and provided the DVD audio commentary for the director's edition of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), which included reedited scenes, new optical effects, and a new sound mix. This was the director's final project before his death.He has directed three films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965). He has also edited three films that are in the registry: Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942).A lifelong liberal, he contributed to charitable organizations, including the Americal Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and established the Robert E. Wise Foundation to provide financial assistance to causes in the Los Angeles area.From 1971 - 1975, he was President of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), and later also headed the Special Projects Committee for 24 years.He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, D.C. (1992).He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.Attended and graduated from Connersville High School in Connersville, Indiana (1932). On November 3, 1990, the Robert E. Wise Center for Performing Arts in the high school's auditorium was named in his honor.Had one son, Robert E. Wise, and one stepdaughter, Pamela Rosenberg. Had one granddaughter.When his first assignment under his 20th Century-Fox contract was shelved, his first film under his new deal was a loan-out to Warner Brothers for Three Secrets (1950).He had an expensive bungalow on the Universal Studios lot and owned a modern California beach house. He continued to screen films for personal enjoyment and had "final cut" decisions on his films.Interviewed in "It Came from Horrorwood: Interviews with Moviemakers in the SF and Horror Tradition" by Tom Weaver (McFarland, 1996).Co-founded the film production company Aspen Pictures with Mark Robson.Spoke French fluently.Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945." Pages 1210-1219. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company (1987).Retrospective at the 53rd San Sebasti��n International Film Festival in Spain (2005).Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 582-584. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale (2007).In 2019 he was credited as one of the Co-Executive Producers of Unsolved Mysteries (2020), about 14 years after his death in 2005.Jerome Robbins who did the stage production of West Side Story was signed to direct the film but while he was rehearsing the dancers Robert Wise was brought in to direct the musical numbers and eventually took control of the full film pushing Robbins off. At the Oscars they were named as the only joint directors in the history of the awards, Neither mentioned or thanked the other.Awarded honorary membership in the Society of Operating Cameramen (SOC) (1982).Interviewed in "Conversations with Directors: An Anthology of Interviews from Literature/Film Quarterly", E.M. Walker, D.T. Johnson, eds. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press (2008).Interviewed in Tom Weaver's "It Came from Weaver Five" (McFarland & Co., 1996). |
| Quotes: |
Not true there was a cabal preventing Orson [Orson Welles] from making more films. He simply never fulfilled himself after that magnificent start; his own fault - lack of self-discipline.
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[on Julie Andrews] How's she got to the top? It can not be all just talent. A lot of talented don't begin to make it the way she has made it. There is a genuineness about her; an unphoniness. She goes right through the camera, on to the film and out to the audience. Julie seems to have been born with the magic gene that comes through on the screen.
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[on sequels generally especially A Game of Death (1945)] I don't like to do remakes. Usually, for one reason or another you have to see the original film, and it always rather bugs you when you find yourself doing a certain scene, and you keep being reminded of what it was like in the first film. |
| Job title: |
Director,Producer,Editor |
| Others works: |
(2008) Interviewed in "Conversations with Directors: An Anthology of Interviews from Literature/Film Quarterly". |
| Spouse: |
Millicent Wise (January 29, 1977 - September 14, 2005) (his death)Patricia Doyle (May 25, 1942 - September 22, 1975) (her death, 3 children) |
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