$5M gift to build Billy Wilder Theater
at the Hammer
BY STEFFEN BÖDDEKER AND KELLY GRAML
UCLA Today
Audrey L. Wilder, widow of celebrated writer-director Billy Wilder, has
given the UCLA Hammer Museum $5 million to build the Billy Wilder Theater,
which will become the new home of the UCLA Film and Television Archive’s
public screenings.
The 288-stadium seat theater, the centerpiece of the museum’s $25-million
renovation plan, will have the versatility to accommodate early film technology
as well as digital video and film presentation, and satellite communication.
“We deeply appreciate the Wilder gift and its significant contribution
to the Hammer Museum’s building project,” said Chancellor
Albert Carnesale. “The gift will enable two of UCLA’s great
public-arts venues to present world-class programs in a state-of-the-art
facility. This exciting partnership between the Hammer Museum and the
UCLA Film and Television Archive will enhance the university’s enduring
connections with our Westwood neighbors and the broader community.”
“This gift to the UCLA Hammer Museum,” noted Audrey Wilder,
“reflects Billy’s passion for film and art, and his dedication
to supporting and encouraging artists of all kinds. I think he would be
thrilled to have his name on this theater and to see the neighborhood
truly come to life.”
Billy Wilder left behind an unparalleled cinematic legacy after he died
in March 2002. After fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s, he became one
of the most highly regarded writer-directors in postwar Hollywood, honored
with six Academy Awards and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Among the 20-plus films he co-wrote
or directed are such classics as “Double Indemnity” and “Sunset
Boulevard.” He also had a passion for paintings and drawings and,
over a half century, built a major collection of Impressionist and modern
art, including works by Picasso, Klee and Miró.
The Wilder gift significantly advances the museum’s capital campaign,
leaving less than $10 million to be raised before the entire renovation
project can begin. Construction on the theater, a stand-alone phase of
the project, is slated to begin next year. |
