ACTOR GENE WILDER, who starred in the film Willy Wonka and many Mel Brooks comedies, has died.
He was aged 83. His family announced his death today.
Wilder’s nephew said today that the actor and writer died late last night at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, from complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Jordan Walker-Pearlman said in a statement that Wilder was diagnosed with the disease three years ago, but kept the condition private so as not to disappoint fans.
“He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world,” Walker-Pearlman said.
A long career
Born in 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Wilder made his TV debut in 1962 in the series Armstrong Circle Theatre.
He went on to star in a number of collaborations with Mel Brooks, including Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Producers in 1968.
One of his most famous roles was as the titular Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the movie version of the classic Roald Dahl children’s book.
Wilder played his final roles on screen in the late 2000s, even winning an Emmy award for his guest role in the NBC series Will & Grace.
Wilder, a Milwaukee native, was born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933. His father was a Russian emigre, his mother was of Polish descent. When he was 6, Wilder’s mother suffered a heart attack that left her a semi-invalid. He soon began improvising comedy skits to entertain her, the first indication of his future career.
He started taking acting classes at age 12 and continued performing and taking lesson through college. In 1961, Wilder became a member of Lee Strasberg’s prestigious Actor’s Studio in Manhattan.
That same year, he made both his off-Broadway and Broadway debuts. He won the Clarence Derwent Award, given to promising newcomers, for the Broadway work in Graham Greene’s comedy The Complaisant Lover.
He used his new name, Gene Wilder, for the off-Broadway and Broadway roles. He lifted the first name from the character Eugene Gant in Thomas Wolfe’s Look Back, Homeward Angel, while the last name was clipped from playwright Thornton Wilder.
A key break came when he co-starred with Bancroft in Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage, and met Brooks, her future husband.
He went on to write several screenplays and direct several films. In 1982, while making the generally forgettable Hanky-Panky, he fell in love with co-star Gilda Radner. They were married in 1984, and co-starred in two Wilder-penned films: The Lady in Red and Haunted Honeymoon.
After Radner died of ovarian cancer in 1989, Wilder spent much of his time after promoting cancer research. He opened a support facility for cancer patients called Gilda’s Place. In 1991, he testified before Congress about the need for increased testing for cancer.
In his later years, he painted and wrote short stories and novels. Wilder is survived by his wife, Karen, whom he married in 1991.
- Additional reporting AP
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