‘A nice building for Billy’

The UCLA Hammer Museum in Westwood has received a gift of $5 million from Audrey L. Wilder in memory of her late husband, film director and writer Billy Wilder. The donation is designated for the completion of the museum’s theater, which was roughed out when the building opened in 1990 but was never finished. To be called the Billy Wilder Theater, the 288-seat facility will be jointly programmed by the art museum and the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

The theater, says Audrey Wilder, is “the right place, the proper place” for a permanent tribute to her husband because of his longtime love of film and art. Billy Wilder, who died last year at 95, is best known as an Academy Award-winning director whose credits include such classics as “Sunset Boulevard,” “Double Indemnity” and “Some Like It Hot.” But he also was an inveterate collector of modern and contemporary art who cashed in at a 1989 auction, to the tune of $32.6 million, then continued collecting.

Still surrounded by some of his artistic treasures, Audrey Wilder now is looking forward to what she calls “a nice building for Billy” -- with his name, not hers, on it. “It’s Billy’s,” she says. “It will be there forever and it will be of use to film students and other people who are interested in movies.”

The Wilders had no formal ties to the university or the museum, she says. But when she recently was approached about contributing to the museum’s renovation, she responded positively: “They said there was going to be a theater and a courtyard, so I said, ‘What about the theater?’ And that was that.”

“Some gifts take years to cultivate and come to fruition,” says Ann Philbin, director of the museum. “This happened very quickly and elegantly. It was just meant to be. I am thrilled, and not just because it’s a gift but because it’s this gift with this name. This is the perfect context to honor Billy Wilder and his legacy.”

In an era when success is often measured by box office receipts on opening weekends, Wilder’s timeless work is in sync with the UCLA Film and Television Archive program, says Curtis Hanson, a prominent film director, writer and producer who is honorary chairman of the archive. “What better name to be on a theater that will showcase the best work by international filmmakers past and present than Billy Wilder?” he asks. “He was the preeminent Hollywood emigre whose unique world view and extraordinary talent produced an incredible body of work that entertained audiences and inspired artists.”

The archive, which maintains a huge collection of motion pictures, television programs and newsreel footage, screens about 400 films a year and loans material to other programs all around the world. Although it’s best known for preserving and exhibiting vintage films, the institution also provides a forum for new adventurous work. Moving the Los Angeles screenings off-campus to the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer will increase the archive’s visibility and make it “feel more connected to the city,” Hanson says.

The Wilder donation gives a much-needed boost to the museum’s fund-raising campaign for its planned $26.5-million renovation. The museum was founded by Armand Hammer, chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corp., and financed by Occidental. It was designed by architect Edward Larrabee Barnes and built adjacent to Occidental’s international headquarters at the corner of Wilshire and Westwood boulevards. Originally called the Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center, it opened as the home of Hammer’s art collection in November 1990, just a few weeks before his death. UCLA took over management and programming of the facility in 1994.

The renovation was designed by Los Angeles architect Michael Maltzan in collaboration with graphic designer Bruce Mau of Toronto and landscape and interior designer Petra Blaisse of Amsterdam. In addition to the theater, the project calls for 3,650 square feet of new exhibition space, a hall for receptions and lectures and a classroom.

The museum launched its fund-raising campaign in May 2001 with a $2-million gift from the Peter Norton Family Foundation and Eileen Harris Norton. Construction was scheduled to begin in early 2002 and to be complete early this year. But fund-raising has proceeded more slowly than planned and, as inflation has kicked in, the budget has increased from $25 million to $26.5 million.

At this point, the museum’s fund-raisers have secured $10 million and determined that the institution can borrow and pay back a loan of an additional $8.5 million, Philbin says. That leaves $8 million to be raised before construction on the entire project can begin. But the theater is a relatively discrete part of the plan and, now that it has been funded, work on it can begin.

“The ideal scenario would be to have a couple of amazing gifts come in by September and to proceed on the whole thing,” she says. “But right now, the idea is that we will go ahead with the theater and continue to raise funds in the hope that those two things can hook up sooner or later.”

The sooner the better, in Audrey Wilder’s opinion. “I want the theater built because I want to go to the christening,” she says.