Q 01/05

Billy Wilder was born in 1906 in Sucha, a small town in Galicia that was then part of which empire?

A) The German Empire

B) The Russian Empire

C) The Ottoman Empire

D) Austria-Hungary

Answer · why

D) Austria-Hungary

He liked to say it was "half an hour from Vienna. By telegraph."

Q 02/05

What was Billy Wilder's birth name?

A) Josef

B) Samuel

C) Wilhelm

D) Bernard

Answer · why

B) Samuel

His mother nicknamed him Billie after the Buffalo Bill shows she had seen in New York.

Q 03/05

How many Academy Awards did Billy Wilder win?

A) Twelve

B) Nine

C) Three

D) Six

Answer · why

D) Six

He received 21 nominations in all: twelve for writing, eight for directing and one for producing.

Q 04/05

Which jazz bandleader took the young Vienna journalist Wilder along to Berlin in 1926?

A) Paul Whiteman

B) Duke Ellington

C) Glenn Miller

D) Benny Goodman

Answer · why

A) Paul Whiteman

Whiteman liked the interview so much he brought Wilder with the band, where he made his entertainment contacts.

Q 05/05

Before succeeding as a writer in Berlin, what unusual job did Wilder hold?

A) Circus clown

B) Hotel bellboy

C) Boxing referee

D) Taxi dancer

Answer · why

D) Taxi dancer

He was paid to dance with customers while writing crime and sports stories as a stringer.