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The prolific and multi-Oscar-winning director Robert Wise always credited his Indiana roots for his strong work ethic in Hollywood.

Born in 1914, Wise lived in Winchester until he was 8 years old when the family moved to Connersville, where his father owned a grocery store and meat market.

“Starting at about 10 years old, I would work on Saturdays for my dad. Then during the summer I’d work all week,” he told IndyStar in 2004. “So I was used to a strong work ethic.”

Wise worked on the Connersville High School paper as a sportswriter and considered pursuing journalism as a career. His father’s business suffered financially during the height of the Depression, but Wise managed to earn a small scholarship that allowed him  to study for a year at Franklin College.

Wise’s older brother, David, worked for RKO Studios in Hollywood and wrangled his younger brother a job as a film porter in 1933. Wise then advanced to the cutting department, then on to roles as apprentice sound effects editor, music editor and film editor, where he earned a good reputation — good enough for Orson Welles to select Wise to edit “Citizen Kane.”

“When I came to Hollywood in 1933, I just stepped into the film business and kept on working hard,” he told IndyStar, “The man left Indiana, but Indiana never left the man.”

Wise got his first chance to direct when he was asked to replace Gunther von Fritsch as director of “The Curse of the Cat People” in 1944. He followed up with “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “Somebody Up There Likes Me,” “I Want to Live” and “West Side Story.”

In 1965, Wise produced and directed “The Sound of Music,” which at the time was the biggest grossing musical ever. He then teamed with fellow Hoosier Steve McQueen in “The Sand Pebbles.” Wise attended the red carpet state premiere at the Lyric Theatre in Indianapolis on March 1, 1967. Gov. Roger Branigan proclaimed the day as Robert Wise Day, and he was named a Sagamore of the Wabash.

Wise returned to Indiana the following year to receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts Degree from Franklin College and was selected as a Trustee in Residence at Franklin College in 1970.

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In his long and storied career, Wise received seven Academy Award nominations and won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for “West Side Story” in 1961 and “The Sound of Music” in 1965. He was nominated for Best Film Editing for “Citizen Kane” in 1941 and Best Director for “I Want to Live!” in 1958. He directed and produced “The Sand Pebbles,” which was nominated for Best Picture in 1966. 

Wise, who died in 2005 at the age of 91, was an honorary board member of the Heartland Film Festival and was named a Living Legend by the Indiana Historical Society in 2002. 

Wise was always proud of his Indiana roots and how it shaped his career: “I can say unequivocally that I’m proud to be a Hoosier.” 

Follow IndyStar Visuals Manager and RetroIndy writer Dawn Mitchell on Twitter: @dawn_mitchell61.

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