Trivia

After collaborating closely and happily on the editing of El Ciudadano Kane (1941) with Orson Welles, Wise was assigned to edit Soberbia (1942). When Welles left the country after finishing that film, RKO wanted Wise to edit it, making changes that Wise knew Welles wouldn't like. He initially refused because of his respect for Welles' vision of the film, but eventually relented and allowed RKO to put him in charge of a drastic editing of "Ambersons" that would result in a new ending and over 40 minutes of Welles' film being lost forever. A furious Welles held that against Wise for more than 40 years, until they reconciled publicly in 1984 by shaking hands on stage when the Directors Guild of America honored Welles with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

He was convinced to accept the position as director of Viaje a las estrellas (1979) by his wife Millicent Wise, who was a huge fan of Viaje a las estrellas (1966). His wife was also instrumental in convincing him to campaign Leonard Nimoy for the project.

Agreed to direct La novicia rebelde (1965) after it had been abandoned by William Wyler on the condition that 20th Century Fox agree to finance El cañonero del Yangtzé (1966). Wise, who also produced the musical, won his second Best Director Oscar and the Best Picture Oscar. The next year, "The Sand Pebbles" was nominated for Best Picture and Wise was awarded the Irving Thalberg Award, the highest honor for producers.

Directed nine different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Nina Foch, Susan Hayward, Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, Julie Andrews, Peggy Wood, Steve McQueen, Mako and Daniel Massey. Hayward, Moreno and Chakiris won Oscars.

Accepted the Oscar for "Best Actor in a Leading Role" on behalf of Paul Newman, who was absent from the awards ceremony, for his performance in El color del dinero (1986) (1987).

He was the last surviving crew member of Orson Welles' classic El Ciudadano Kane (1941).

Only four times in Academy Award history have director-collaborators been nominated for Best Directing Oscars: Wise and Jerome Robbins for Amor sin barreras (1961), Warren Beatty and Buck Henry for El cielo puede esperar (1978), and Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for Sin lugar para los débiles (2007). (Wise/Robbins and the Coens actually won the award). In 2011, the Coens were again nominated for a best directing-duo, for their Western Temple de acero (2010).

When he and Jerome Robbins won the Best Director Oscar in 1962 for Amor sin barreras (1961), it was the first time that a directing Oscar was shared among collaborators.

He was an avid fan of commercial Indian cinema.

From 1985 - 1988, he was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

Received the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award (1998).

He oversaw and provided the DVD audio commentary for the director's edition of Viaje a las estrellas (1979), which included reedited scenes, new optical effects, and a new sound mix. This was the director's final project before his death.

His favorite film is Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments (1923).

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6340 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.

In preparation for the scene in La mujer que no quería morir (1958) in which Susan Hayward's character is executed, Wise attended a real execution.

He has directed three films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: El día que paralizaron la Tierra (1951), Amor sin barreras (1961) and La novicia rebelde (1965). He has also edited three films that are in the registry: Bailar es mi destino (1940), El Ciudadano Kane (1941) and Soberbia (1942).

Attended and graduated from Connersville High School in Connersville, Indiana (1932). On November 3, 1990, the Robert E. Wise Center for Performing Arts in the high school's auditorium was named in his honor.

He had an expensive bungalow on the Universal Studios lot and owned a modern California beach house. He continued to screen films for personal enjoyment and had "final cut" decisions on his films.

Spoke French fluently.

From 1971 - 1975, he was President of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), and later also headed the Special Projects Committee for 24 years.

He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, D.C. (1992).

He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.

Had one son, Robert E. Wise, and one stepdaughter, Pamela Rosenberg. Had one granddaughter.

When his first assignment under his 20th Century-Fox contract was shelved, his first film under his new deal was a loan-out to Warner Brothers for Tres secretos (1950).

A lifelong liberal, he contributed to charitable organizations, including the Americal Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and established the Robert E. Wise Foundation to provide financial assistance to causes in the Los Angeles area.

Interviewed in "It Came from Horrorwood: Interviews with Moviemakers in the SF and Horror Tradition" by Tom Weaver (McFarland, 1996).

Co-founded the film production company Aspen Pictures with Mark Robson.

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945." Pages 1210-1219. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company (1987).

In 2019 he was credited as one of the Co-Executive Producers of Misterios sin resolver (2020), about 14 years after his death in 2005.

Jerome Robbins who did the stage production of West Side Story was signed to direct the film but while he was rehearsing the dancers Robert Wise was brought in to direct the musical numbers and eventually took control of the full film pushing Robbins off. At the Oscars they were named as the only joint directors in the history of the awards, Neither mentioned or thanked the other.

Retrospective at the 53rd San Sebastián International Film Festival in Spain (2005).

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 582-584. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale (2007).

Robert Wise also directed Eleanor Parker in "The Sound of Music," and Patricia Neal in "The Day the Earth Stood Still.".

He has directed three films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Amor sin barreras (1961), La novicia rebelde (1965) and El cañonero del Yangtzé (1966). West Side Story and The Sound of Music won in the category. He has also edited two Best Picture nominees: El Ciudadano Kane (1941) and Soberbia (1942).

Awarded honorary membership in the Society of Operating Cameramen (SOC) (1982).

Interviewed in "Conversations with Directors: An Anthology of Interviews from Literature/Film Quarterly", E.M. Walker, D.T. Johnson, eds. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press (2008).

Interviewed in Tom Weaver's "It Came from Weaver Five" (McFarland & Co., 1996).