William A. Wellman was an American film director recognized for his work in the criminal, adventure, and action genres. He also directed a number of critically acclaimed satire comedies. He started off as an actor before moving behind the camera to work as a director, producer, and consultant. His greatest joy came from directing the World War I action film Wings,’ which became the first motion picture to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. William was a troublemaker as a child, the son of an insurance broker from an upper-class English family. He was a mischievous child, intelligent and restless, who was expelled from high school for disruptive behavior. He worked odd jobs as a teenager and also played minor league hockey professionally. During a hockey game, the good-looking teenager drew the attention of actor and director Douglas Fairbanks, who encouraged him to pursue acting. Wellman went to Hollywood after serving in the army during World War I and began his acting career. He soon discovered, however, that directing films rather than acting in them was his actual passion. He directed many films that are now considered iconic parts of Hollywood history during the course of his nearly four-decade career.
Childhood and Adolescence
William Augustus Wellman was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on February 29, 1896, to Arthur Gouverneur Wellman and Celia. His father worked as an insurance broker, while his mother worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a probation officer for “wayward youths” (juvenile delinquents).
He was a troublemaker as a kid, getting kicked out of Newton High School in Newton Highlands for throwing a stink bomb at the principal’s head. As a teenager, he strayed, working various jobs.
For a period, he worked as a candy and cotton salesman until landing a job in a lumber yard. He was fired for losing control of a truck and driving it through the side of a barn on this job as well.
He eventually became a professional ice hockey player in Massachusetts. During a match at Boston’s Colonial Theatre, the good-looking Wellman drew the eye of actor Douglas Fairbanks, who thought the lad had a promising acting career ahead of him. However, at the time, Wellman was more interested in aircraft.
William Wellman’s Career
With the support of his uncle, William A. Wellman pursued his passion for aviation and joined the French Foreign Legion’s air wing at the age of 19. He was a pilot with the legendary Lafayette Flying Corps in France (better known as the Lafayette Escadrille). His flying career was risky, and he narrowly avoided death on several occasions.
In 1918, he was recruited by the US Army Air Corps (AAC) and brought back to the US to teach combat fighting tactics to the new AAC pilots at Rockwell Field in San Diego. During this time, he reconnected with Fairbanks, who offered to assist him in breaking into the film industry.
In 1919, Wellman landed an acting position as the juvenile lead in ‘The Knickerbocker Buckaroo,’ followed by a role as a young officer in ‘Evangeline.’ He was fired from the latter, though, for slapping the main actress, who also happened to be the wife of director Raoul Walsh.
By this time, the ambitious Wellman had recognized that acting was not for him. He was more intrigued by the prospect of working behind the camera as a director. With ‘The Twins of Suffering Creek,’ Wellman made his uncredited directorial debut in 1920.
The Buck Jones westerns ‘Second Hand Love’ and ‘The Man Who Won,’ both released on the same day in 1923, were his debut credits as a director. Before directing ‘Wings,’ a huge war drama about fighter pilots during World War I, the director directed a string of forgettable low-budget films.
Wellman had a prolific decade in the 1930s, directing a succession of commercially successful films that were also critically acclaimed. ‘The Public Enemy’ (1931), ‘A Star Is Born (1937), ‘Nothing Sacred’ (1937), and ‘Beau Geste’ are among his films from this period.
During World War II, he continued to have a successful career, directing films such as ‘The Ox-Bow Incident’ (1943) and ‘Story of G.I. Joe’ (1945). In the years following the war, he directed another military film, ‘Battleground’ (1949), which became a classic.
‘Island in the Sky’ (1953) and ‘The High and the Mighty (1954), both starring and co-produced by John Wayne, are two important films from his later years. Following the release of ‘Lafayette Escadrille’ (1958), he resigned from directing.
Wellman’s Major Projects
His 1927 picture ‘Wings’ was the first and only totally silent film to receive an Academy Award for Best Picture at the first Academy Awards presentation. The romantic action-war picture was praised for its technical skill and realistic air-combat sequences set during World War I.
He directed ‘A Star Is Born,’ a love drama featuring Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress and Fredric March as a fading movie star who assists her in launching her career. The film was a commercial and critical triumph, receiving Academy Award nominations in seven categories.
Achievements and Awards
In 1937, William A. Wellman won an Academy Award for Best Director for his film “A Star Is Born.”
In 1973, the Directors Guild of America gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award.
At 6125 Hollywood Blvd., he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Personal History and Legacy
Willaim A. Wellman had four marriages. His first marriage, to Helene Chadwick, ended in divorce in 1923, despite the fact that they had already separated.
His second marriage, to Margery Chapin, Frederic Chapin’s daughter, terminated the following year. His third marriage, to Marjorie Crawford, lasted only a few years.
In 1934, he married actress Dorothy Coonan for the fourth and final time. The couple had seven children and were married for over four decades before Wellman died.
During his final months, he battled leukemia and died on December 9, 1975, at the age of 79.
Estimated Net worth
William is one of the wealthiest and most well-known directors. William A. Wellman’s net worth is estimated to be $3 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.