The crazy aviator of the First World War considered cinema unworthy of men. For these very obscene antics, he received two Oscars.
Those who knew this man personally argued that he skillfully uses the image of a madman to attract attention to himself. Constant scandals, a disordered personal life and wild antics made this man a regular hero of the secular chronicles. Perhaps he himself did not really believe in his talent and was seriously mistaken - his works entered the golden fund of cinema.
Childhood
The Wellmen arrived in the New World from England in the early 17th century. Later, they took part in the US struggle for independence and earned the respect of their compatriots. The father of our hero lived in Brookline, Massachusetts and considered himself a local aristocrat. In February 1896, his wife gave birth to a son, William.
From an early age, the restless boy gave a lot of trouble to his Puritan family. He was expelled from school for an obscene joke. It was impossible to get an education without money and with a bad image, and the bully's parents refused to help him, so he started working as a traveling salesman. The teenager was interested in sports, he became interested in hockey and soon began to perform at a professional level. During one of the games, the famous actor Douglas Fairbecks was present on the podium. During the break, he approached Wellman and invited him to act in films. The boy did not pay attention to these words.
War
When the First World War began, the young man served in the army. He went to Europe as a chauffeur of the medical service. The inveterate daredevil was not interested in turning the steering wheel, so he soon enrolled in the French Foreign Legion and learned to be a fighter pilot. Courage in aerial combat was awarded the Order and the nickname "Wild Bill".
In France, our American met his love. The couple hurried to the wedding, however, they were not destined to be happy - William's young wife was killed shortly after the wedding by a fragment of a German aerial bomb. In the spring of 1918, Wellman's plane was shot down. The pilot survived but was seriously injured and could not continue to fight. The veteran was recalled to the United States and instructed to train young aviators. At home, he tried to take up literary work, but it did not go beyond one book.
Debut
The aviation school was located in San Diego, Hollywood was a stone's throw away. William decided to stop by to visit Fairbex. Soon, an airplane landed on the golf course outside the movie star's house. Douglas was a daredevil himself and appreciated the unusual visit. Now the buddies met every weekend. Wellman understood that his military career did not work out, he was not interested in a teaching position, so he agreed to try his hand on the set.
In 1919, an unknown limping young man managed to get a role in the film "Evangeline", directed by Douglas Fairbeck's friend Raoul Walsh. The young talent was tolerated exactly until the moment when William slapped his partner. He insulted not just a lady, but the director's wife. Hamu was shown the door. To stay in the dream factory, our hero took on any job. In his spare time, he scolded the cinema.
Oscar
Among the variety of tasks assigned to the exile was scriptwriting. Since 1920, Wellman directed films himself, but his name was not always indicated in the credits, most of the films were frivolous. In 1927, Paramount Studios were looking for a man who would be able to stage a dramatic film about the pilots of the First World War. The biography of our hero helped him - the veteran was approved.
While filming Wings, Wellman gave free rein to his imagination. He attached video cameras to aircraft fuselages and built towers for operators to film flights from. The beloved of the main character of the picture was an emancipated girl, who provoked the outrage of the conservative public. The result exceeded expectations - the film was loved and awarded the Oscar film award established in the same year. This is how Wild Bill started with the highest award of the 20th century.
Recognition and love
After the resounding success of the first tape, they began to trust the debutant. He preferred adventurous and topical stories. Wellman was not stopped by the arrival of sound in the cinema. The director found this innovation useful and even constructed handy microphone stands out of the available materials. In 1937 he won his second Oscar for A Star is Born. The plot of this tape after our hero was filmed three times.
Cinematography has become not only an arena of fame, but also a field for the amorous adventures of a former pilot. After a fleeting marriage to Helen Chadwick, William led his sister Margery Chaplin to the altar. The couple dreamed of children and took two kids from the orphanage. Unfortunately, they did not manage to conceive their own child, and the case ended in divorce. The director, in order not to get bored, married again for a short time, and then met Dorothy Coonan. The wedding took place in 1934. Dottie gave her husband seven children.
The final
The director's last film was Lafayette Squadron. This was the story of the aviators of the First World War. The premiere took place in 1958. A tight budget and constant quarrels with colleagues prevented Wellman from filming everything the way he wanted. There was no particular attention from the audience either. He didn’t take pictures anymore.
William Wellman died in December 1975. The cause of his death was leukemia. The body of the great director was cremated, and the ashes were scattered over the ocean.
