It is one of those design classics with a great backstory – created by the Eames for the famous film director, the chaise longue was never meant as a commercial product, but as a tailor-made act of friendship.
In 1955, while filming The Spirit of St. Louis, Billy Wilder developed a habit of taking short afternoon naps. His solution was pragmatic: a wooden plank balanced on two sawhorses. After shooting ended, Wilder asked Charles Eames (who had produced a montage sequence for the film) whether he could create a design solution, though not one aimed at comfort in the traditional sense. Wilder, famously sharp-tongued, defined the brief: “A man of my reputation simply can’t afford to have something that looks like a casting couch in his office.”
The result was a leather-and-aluminum chaise measuring only 18 inches (or 46 cm) in width, enough to lie on, yet narrow enough to prevent deep sleep. The design forced the user to rest the arms across the chest. As sleep deepened, gravity would come into play, arms falling to the sides and gently waking the sleeper: some kind of self-regulating nap machine. Wilder approved and additionally quipped that „if you had a girlfriend shaped like a Giacometti, then it would be ideal.”
The Eames had no intention of mass-producing the chaise until Herman Miller expressed interest. Released officially in 1968, the Eames ES106 Chaise Longue became known as the Billy Wilder Chaise. It featured six zippered leather cushions mounted on an aluminum frame, plus two loose cushions for added comfort. Early versions were produced in black leather with an aubergine-toned frame, aligning it closely with the broader Soft Pad program of the late 1960s. Nowadays Vitra as authorised European manufacturer of Eames furniture is producing the chaise longue as part of its classic collection.
By the way, Wilder’s relationship with the Eames went far beyond furniture. They were first introduced by graphic designer Alvin Lustig, who was using the garage at Wilder’s Beverly Hills house as a studio. The friendship became so close that Ray and Charles served as maid of honor and best man at Billy Wilder’s wedding to Audrey Young in 1949. The happy couple remained married until Wilder’s death in 2002.
Over many years, gifts were exchanged, often furniture prototypes, culminating in the famous rosewood Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman in 1968. One of the earliest sets, it was given in recognition of their friendship and of Wilder’s influence on their work. Wilder is known to have kept it as part of his personal furnishings.
Between 1987 and 1997, Swiss photographer Christian Coigny produced a series of portraits of more than 130 cultural personalities seated on Vitra furniture, the foundation of a celebrated advertising campaign. Here you see Wilder on the Eames Lounge Chair and Ray Eames with her grandchild on the Wilder chaise longue.
Last but not least, Billy Wilder was also a serious collector of modern art and design. In 1989, he auctioned his collection at Christie’s in New York. Many of the works were drawings or small-format pieces, acquired at a time when that was all Wilder could afford. The sale realized $32.6 million; works by Picasso, Miró, Giacometti or Schiele passed under the hammer. The auction also included a Floating Nude or Floating Figure by Gaston Lachaise, a bronze sculpture that inspired Ray Eames to create the famous white La Chaise chair.
“Life is strange,” Wilder later reflected. “I didn’t get rich making pictures. I got rich collecting pictures.” Within months, the art market collapsed – and a fire damaged his Los Angeles apartment building, once again, his well-known sense for perfect timing proved impeccable.
Alongside Some Like It Hot, this audacious, really funny film is my absolute favourite by Billy Wilder … maybe because I am german 😉 The movie poster for One, Two, Three was designed by Saul Bass in 1961.
Design is fine. History is mine. 