A man who has been with Hollywood since 1934, Robert Wise has pretty much been involved with every major film project, in every studio department, in every major genre that you can possibly imagine. According to his bio at IMDB, Wise worked several odd jobs at RKO until someone noticed his talent as a sound editor, and the rest is history. From 1934-35, he worked as a sound editor (vastly uncredited) for movies like Of Human Bondage, The Gay Divorcee, The Informer, and Top Hat, before moving on to editor of Bachelor Mother, 5th Ave Girl, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, My Favorite Wife, and Dance, Dance, Dance, before his first major job on Citizen Kane, being handpicked by the the legendary Orson Welles. Not known by many, his first directing career was actually on The Magnificent Ambersons, uncredited, nonetheless, but a major step in a young filmmaker's career.
Several of Robert Wise's major film roles include:
- Of Human Bondage- Wise's first job as sound editor.
- Citizen Kane - Where Wise first started to get noticed, and appreciated, as a film editor.
- The Curse of the Cat People - One of his early, credited directing jobs.
- The Day the Earth Stood Still
- Return to Paradise - His first film as producer.
- West Side Story
- The Haunting
- The Sound of Music
- The Andromeda Strain
- Star Trek the Motion Picture
He also produced the telecast of the 43rd Academy Awards ceremonies in 1971.