Who Won the Oscar for Best Director Every Year Since the Oscars Began

British filmmaker David Lean, who directed “Doctor Zhivago” (1965), “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), and numerous Charles Dickens adaptations, won his first Oscar in 1958 for “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” The movie follows a group of British POWs tasked with building a bridge by their Japanese captors.

Vincente Minnelli made some of the greatest American musicals, such as “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “An American in Paris,” and “The Band Wagon.” He only won one Academy Award, however, and that was for “Gigi.” The musical romantic comedy starring Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, and Louis Jourdan won nine Oscars, including for Best Music, Original Song and Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.

Historical epic “Ben-Hur” is tied with “Titanic” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” for the film with the most Oscar wins at 11. This count includes the Best Director Oscar awarded to director William Wyler. Wyler had won the award twice before for “Mrs. Miniver” in 1943 and “The Best Years of Our Lives” in 1947.

Billy Wilder, whose film career laughingly and poignantly examined the human condition, won his second Best Director Academy Award for “The Apartment,” a comedy about the questionable morals of corporate America. Wilder’s other Best Director Oscar was for “The Lost Weekend.”

The Oscar for Best Director was awarded to both Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, marking the first time the Oscar had been shared by two people. The musical won a total of 10 Oscars, including Best Picture.

David Lean, director of some of the greatest movie epics of all time (“Dr. Zhivago,” “The Bridge on the River Kwai”), won his second Best Director Academy Award for “Lawrence of Arabia.” Seven Oscars were awarded to the sprawling story of the British soldier who fought for Arab freedom from the Ottoman Empire in World War I. The huge cast included Peter O’Toole in the titular role, Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, and Anthony Quinn.

British director Tony Richardson won two Oscars for the cinematic adaptation “Tom Jones:” Best Director and Best Picture. Buoyed by Richardson’s well-directed ensemble cast, the film was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning four.

George Cukor’s long and distinguished film career was rewarded in 1965 when he won the Best Director Oscar for “My Fair Lady,” the movie adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw play “Pygmalion.” “My Fair Lady” won eight Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Rex Harrison. Cukor had been nominated four previous times for Best Director, starting in 1934 for “Little Women.”

Robert Wise won two Oscars for “The Sound of Music” four years after he won those same Oscars — Best Director and Best Picture — for “West Side Story.” Actress Julie Andrews accepted the awards for Wise, as he was on location filming “The Sand Pebbles” (1966).

Fred Zinnemann made movies about characters who wrestled with moral and ethical dilemmas. He won his second and final Best Director Academy Award (as well as Best Picture Award) for “A Man for All Seasons,” based on the story of Thomas More, lord high chancellor of England, who opposed King Henry VIII’s demand to get a divorce and remarry. Paul Scofield, who played the title role, was one of six actors who won an Academy Award under Zinnemann’s direction.