“I expected it. I expected he would go”. Wilder was cast as Rene Gallimard- a role that was later played by John Lithgow after Wilder withdrew from the production. While chatting with Fallon, Brooks was asked about his experiences with Wilder. I’m still reeling from no more Gene and I can’t call him.
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Wilder apparently also requested his costume include “two large pockets” for his coat, sand-colored trousers and a hat that was “two inches shorter” than originally imagined. I can’t call him.
“I’m heartbroken at Gene’s passing, but what a wonderful way to celebrate his gifts and talents this weekend”, he said. They are always laughing at me.
“Brooks and Wilder met when Brooks” wife Anne Bancroft was doing a play with Wilder. I can think of him, not only as a major actor, not only a comic genius, but also, as a great lover. Not only did the two work together on Young Frankenstein and The Producers, but they also worked on another classic comedy in Blazing Saddles. “And I said, ‘Look, I’m promising you: When we get the money, you are gonna be Leo Bloom.’ He said, ‘Oh yeah, when you get the money”.
This marked Brooks’ first televised interview since Wilder died on Monday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. And when Brooks was in desperate need of an actor to replace real-life alcoholic Gig Young as fictional drunk The Waco Kid in Blazing Saddles, Wilder came to his rescue. But the best part is his reasoning for wanting to include the dramatic scene: “Because from that time on, no one will know if I’m lying or telling the truth”, he said.
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The New York native recalled his long struggle to get funding for his 1967 hit, The Producers, saying that Wilder never believed he’d be able to make the dream a reality. “You want to write it with me?'”
