September 4, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Leslie Unger - (310) 247-3000
                     lunger@oscars.org

Billy Wilder's Oscars Returned to Academy

Audrey Wilder, widow of writer-director Billy Wilder, returned her husband's six Oscar statuettes and Irving G. Thalberg Award to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Ca on Tuesday, September 3, 2002. Mrs. Wilder (rt) presented the awards to Academy President Frank Pierson prior to the sold out screening of the 1945 Academy Award winning film "The Lost Weekend," which Billy Wilder directed and for which he won two of his Oscars.

Beverley Hills, CA - The six Oscar statuettes won by writer-director Billy Wilder, as well as his Irving G. Thalberg Award, were placed back into the care of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last night by his widow, Audrey. The presentation was made in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater, in front of the capacity audience for the evening's scheduled screening of Wilder's "The Lost Weekend," which won the Best Picture award in 1945, and for which Wilder won two of his Oscars.

Wilder met a young extra named Audrey Young on the set of "The Lost Weekend." Four years later they married, a union that lasted 53 years until Wilder's death in March of this year.

Wilder earned a total of 21 Academy Award nominations during his career. He took home his first two statuettes for writing and directing "The Lost Weekend." He also won statuettes for writing "Sunset Blvd." (1950), and for writing, directing and producing 1960's Best Picture winner, "The Apartment." He received the Irving G. Thalberg Award in 1987. The Thalberg is presented to a producer whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production.

Academy President Frank Pierson unveiled and accepted the awards, thanking Audrey Wilder for entrusting the Academy to keep them as an on-going testament to her husband's magnificent career. One of the statuettes will be featured in 75th anniversary exhibition at the Academy in February and March.

"The Lost Weekend" was screened as part of the Academy's "Facets of the Diamond: 75 Years of Best Picture Winners" series, in which all of the films that have been voted Best Picture are being presented chronologically. The series is part of the Academy's celebration of its 75 anniversary.

Editors: Please note that downloadable photos from this event are available at http://photos.oscars.org