Billy Wilder was a filmmaker and screenwriter.
Samuel `` Billy '' Wilder [ ˈwaɪldər ] [ ˈvɪldɐ ] ( June 22 , 1906March 27 , 2002 ) was an Austrian-born Jewish-American filmmaker , screenwriter , producer , artist , and journalist whose career spanned more than five decades . With The Apartment , Wilder became the first person to win Academy Awards as producer , director , and screenwriter for the same film . After the rise of the Nazi Party , he left for Paris , where he made his directorial debut .