Robert Wise, a conscientious craftsman in many movie genres who twice received Academy Awards as best director, died yesterday at the U.C.L.A. He had some memorable box-office flops as well, among them "The Hindenburg" (1975) and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979).

(1968), with Julie Andrews in the lead as Gertrude Lawrence, failed at the box office,[67] although it was consistent with Wise's other successful films that portrayed a strong woman "whose life choices invite melodramatic relationships. Robert Earl Wise was born on Sept. 10, 1914, in Winchester, Ind., the son of a meatpacker and his wife. Wise later used the technique in films that he directed. [1][2] The family moved to Connersville, Fayette County, Indiana, where Wise attended public schools. He won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for both West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965). The Depression force him to quit college in 1933, and he headed for Hollywood, where his older brother, Dave, was an accountant at RKO.

Gunther von Fritsch fell behind schedule in directing "The Curse of the Cat People," a children's terror fantasy that starred Simone Simon. By Robert E . [16] Welles' Citizen Kane also influenced Wise's innovations in the use of sound in films such as The Set-Up (1949), where Wise limited music to in-film sources, and in Executive Suite (1954), which used no music. In all, "West Side Story" received 10 Oscars and "Sound of Music" won 5. He believed that actors had a special language of their own and, with typical diligence, enrolled in an acting class to learn how performers viewed moviemaking. The film was awarded Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts nominated it for Best Film. [61] Wise struggled to keep The Sound of Music from being an overly sweet, sentimental story by cutting lesser-known songs and adding new dialogue to improve transitions. [53], In the 1960s, Wise directed three films adapted from the Broadway stage: West Side Story (1961), Two for the Seesaw (1962) and The Sound of Music (1965).

His death was confirmed by Lawrence Mirisch, a family friend. He was a former chairman of the guild and a president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who had the respect of many associates for striving to strike a balance between commerce and art, for professionalism and patience and for helping novice moviemakers.
Soon he was learning sound effects and music editing, and working his way up to film editing. As a youth Wise's favorite pastime was going to the movies. Robert's cause of death was heart failure. [93], On November 3, 1990, Wise attended the dedication of the Robert E. Wise Center for Performing Arts at the new Connersville High School. Wise the American Film Institute's life achievement award in 1998. Wise. Robert's cause of death was heart failure. He also sat on the Board of Trustees of the American Film Institute and chaired its Center for Advanced Film Studies. "[45], The biography of convicted killer Barbara Graham in I Want to Live! [68], In the 1970s, Wise directed such films as The Andromeda Strain (1971), The Hindenburg (1975), the horror film Audrey Rose (1977) and Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), the first Star Trek feature film. [46] The film became one of the top-grossing pictures of 1959 and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay from another medium and Best (black and white) Cinematography. He had previously been president of the Director's Guild of America from 1971 to 1975. [58], Prior to directing The Sound of Music (1965), Wise directed the psychological horror film The Haunting (1963), starring Julie Harris, in an adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel, The Haunting of Hill House. [28] In many of Wise's films, but especially in Curse of the Cat People, the melodrama used a vulnerable child or childlike character to challenge a dark, adult world.
[29] Lewton promoted Wise to his superiors at RKO, beginning a collaboration that produced the notable horror film The Body Snatcher (1945), starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. "His films became increasingly fascinating to me because of the editing style, a very crisp, clear style of editing that kind of points the audience toward where to look in a scene," Mr. Scorsese said. Wise counted among his own favorites "The Haunting," a cult favorite from 1963 with Julie Harris and Claire Bloom, and the 1958 drama about capital punishment, "I Want to Live!" [83] Throughout their long life together, Wise and his wife enjoyed entertaining and traveling, before she died of cancer on September 22, 1975. He gained his third and fourth Oscars with "The Sound of Music," the lavish 1965 adaptation of the musical stage hit, in which he was again cited as best director and as producer of the best film. [79], During the 1980s and 1990s Wise served on the advisory board of the National Student Film Institute. His last contributions were to the DVD commentaries of The Sound of Music, The Haunting and The Set-Up. Bobby was raised and remained in Paterson until his untimely death on Tuesday April 21, 2020. In 1989, Wise directed Rooftops, his last theatrical feature film. He was also nominated for Best Film Editing for Citizen Kane (1941) and directed and produced The Sand Pebbles (1966), which was nominated for Best Picture.