Roman Polanski's Life in Crime and Film [TIMELINE]

(July 12) -- The Swiss government announced today that film director and fugitive Roman Polanski would not be extradited to the United States for an unlawful sexual conduct charge stemming from an accusation that he raped 13-year-old Samantha Gailey Geimer in 1977. Polanski has been under house arrest at his home in Gstaad since the fall.

Below, Surge Desk has compiled a timeline of the director's life and times as they have played out across multiplexes and courtrooms far and wide.

1959 -- Polanski graduates from the Lodz Film School in Poland.

1962 -- Polanski directs "Knife in the Water," his feature debut, which is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

1967 -- Directs future wife Sharon Tate in "The Fearless Vampire Killers."

1968 -- Directs Mia Farrow in "Rosemary's Baby," a thriller that won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay.

1969 -- Sharon Tate, now Polanski's pregnant wife, is murdered by members of the Charles Manson family at Polanski's Los Angeles home. She was stabbed 16 times.

1974 -- Polanksi directs Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in "Chinatown," which gets 11 Academy Award nominations and wins for Best Original Screenplay.

1976 -- Polanski begins dating Nastassja Kinski, a 15-year-old actress, while he is 43.

1977 -- Polanski is arrested, accused of drugging and raping 13-year-old Samantha Gailey (now Samantha Geimer) at Jack Nicholson's Los Angeles home. Polanski pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sexual conduct in a plea deal.

1978 -- Polanski skips bail and flees to France, where he was born in 1933. A U.S. arrest warrant is issued for him, but as a French citizen, he cannot be extradited to the U.S.

1979 -- Polanski directs Kinski in "Tess," which is set in the English countryside but was filmed in France, because Polanski feared he would be arrested in the United Kingdom. The couple broke up soon after the film wrapped. "Tess" won Academy Awards for Best Set Direction, Cinematography and Costume Design.

1986 -- Polanski directs "Pirates," starring Walter Matthau. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.

1988 -- Polansi directs "Frantic," starring Harrison Ford and his future wife Emmanuelle Seigner.

1989 -- Polanski marries Seigner, who is 33 years his junior.

1997 -- Samantha Geimer says it was the media attention that ruined her life, not Polanski. "The fallout was worse than what had happened that night," Geimer told People magazine.

2002 -- Polanski directs "The Piano," which wins Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay. Polanski was not in attendance.

2004 – Polanski sues Vanity Fair for libel in England over a 2002 article that reported Polanski had allegedly hit on a Swedish woman in a New York restaurant while he was on his way to Sharon Tate's funeral. The director testifies via video link from France so as to avoid arrest and extradition.

2005 -- A British court rules in favor of Polanksi.

2008 -- Polanski's lawyers try to have the Geimer case thrown out.

2009 -- An L.A. judge denies the lawyers' request. Polanski is arrested in Switzerland while en route to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Zurich Film Festival. In November, Polanski posts $4.5 million in bail and is released to house arrest at his chalet in the Swiss resort town of Gstaad.

2010 -- The Swiss government denies the U.S. extradition request, freeing Polanski from house arrest.

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