After spending 60 years making us smile through his acting, the comedic genius, Gene Wilder, has passed away. He was 83 years old and died as a result of complications with Alzheimer’s disease.
Gene Wilder was known for many roles, but many people remember him as being the original Willy Wonka in the movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
His nephew said in a statement, “We understand for all the emotional and physical challenges this situation presented we have been among the lucky ones – this illness-pirate, unlike in so many cases, never stole his ability to recognise those that were closest to him, nor took command of his central-gentle-life affirming core personality. The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity, but more so that the countless young children that would smile or call out to him “there’s Willy Wonka,” would not have to be then exposed to an adult referencing illness or trouble and causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion. He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world.”
Gene Wilder was originally born as Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933. At the age of 11, he saw his sister studying acting and wanted to do it himself. He was told by her teacher that he had to be 13 before he could study and on the day after his 13th birthday, he showed up for his lessons.
He got his start in the 1950s after being accepted into the Actors Studio. He didn’t feel that his name, Jerry Silberman had the right sound for his role in Macbeth so he chose the stage name, Gene Wilder.
Gene Wilder first became a household name after landing one of his first film roles.
The Producers became a cult classic, and Gene’s role of Leo Bloom is unparalleled. Many have taken on Bloom’s shoes since Gene, but no one has come close to this comedic genius.
In 1971, Gene auditioned for the role that he will forever be known for, Willy Wonka.
At the time, he thought he hadn’t landed the role. Director Mel Stuart, who was a Wilder fan, ran after Gene and offered him the role on the spot.
Gene accepted the role, under one condition. He said:
“When I make my first entrance, I’d like to come out of the door carrying a cane and then walk toward the crowd with a limp. After the crowd sees Willy Wonka is a cripple, they all whisper to themselves and then become deathly quiet. As I walk toward them, my cane sinks into one of the cobblestones I’m walking on and stands straight up, by itself… but I keep on walking, until I realise that I no longer have my cane. I start to fall forward, and just before I hit the ground, I do a beautiful forward somersault and bounce back up, to great applause.”
After Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory gained a cult following, Gene had a string of unsuccessful movies.
However, being the brilliant creator that he was, he began writing a script for Young Frankenstein. He partnered up with Mel Brooks again, and the film was such a hit, the pair received Best Adapted Screenplay nominations at the 1975 Academy Awards.
Gene’s continued success led him to work with many great talents, but three actors stand out after his days as Willy Wonka.
Gene worked with Richard Pryor, Sidney Poitier, and Gilda Radner during the last decade of his most active period of acting.
He was briefly married to Gilda Radner, until her untimely passing from ovarian cancer. Since 1991, he had been married to actress Karen Webb.
In the last decade, Gene hasn’t been active at all in acting on-screen, but a talent like his will last for many decades to come.
You can see more about Gene Wilder in the video below:
Via: Little Things
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