Wilder is best known for starring in Mel Brooks films Blazing Saddles, The Producers, and Young Frankenstein (which he also co-wrote) as well as the title role in 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.
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The news was confirmed by Wilder’s nephew, who said he actor died from complications associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to The Associated Press.
Jordan Walker-Pearlman said in a statement that his uncle was diagnosed with the disease three years ago, but kept the condition private so as not to disappoint fans.
Gene Wilder brought a subtle mix of neurosis, craziness and genuine warmth to his roles, which made him one of the most beloved comic actors of all time. A key break came when he co-starred with Bancroft in Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage”, and met Brooks, her future husband.
On a personal note, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Young Frankenstein (and to a lesser extent, Blazing Saddles) were two of the most memorable movies of this writer’s younger years. He had somewhat better luck in Woody Allen’s spoof “Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex”, appearing in a hilarious segment in which he played a doctor who falls in love with a sheep named Daisy.
Wilder married actress Gilda Radner in 1984; she died of ovarian cancer in 1989.
There’s a big hole in Comedy’s heart with the loss of Gene Wilder today.
In 1968, Wilder received an Oscar nomination for his work in Brooks’ The Producers in which he played the introverted Leo Bloom. He also worked with Brooks on The Producers and Blazing Saddles and did a series of team-ups with Richard Pryor that included Silver Streak, Stir Crazy, See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Another You. He also wrote, directed, and starred in “The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother” and “The World’s Greatest Lover”.
Gene Wilder, left, and Richard Pryor are shown in this December 1980 handout photo. In 1994, he starred in a short-lived sitcom called “Something Wilder”, and he also headlined two TV movies for A&E in 1999.
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He was born in Milwaukee and began studying acting at the age of 12. After getting his B.A. from the UI, Wilder enrolled in the Old Vic Theater school in Bristol, where he learned acting technique and fencing. In 1961, Wilder became a member of Lee Strasberg’s prestigious Actor’s Studio in Manhattan. He’s survived by his fourth wife, Karen Webb, who he Wednesday in 1991.
