Born as Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1933, he chose Gene Wilder as his screen name at the age of 26, as a collective homage of sorts to the character Eugene Gant from “Look Homeward, Angel” and the playwright Thornton Wilder. “I am sadden at the news of his passing for the comedy world, yet in peace that he is now with the love of his life, and can say hello to dad”.
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“After Gilda died, a lot of emotion was not coming out of me, and I’d come home at night and instead of being exhausted, I felt relieved because I could cry and laugh”, Wilder said. Heartbreaking as it may sound but our favourite actor who brought Willy Wonka to life has passed away.
Gene Wilder, remembered by many for his lead role in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, died Monday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
The comic actor also starred in classic films such as The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.
“She is my teacher, because she tells the truth more than I do”, Wilder said. Wilder co-starred with Richard Pryor in the 1976 train-murder comedy Silver Streak.
In 1968, Wilder received an Oscar nomination for his work in Brooks’ “The Producers”. “And he made everybody around him feel this incredible feeling of joy”.
On social media Brookes played tribute to “to his friend Jim”: “One of the truly great talents of our time, he blessed every film we did with his magic and he blessed me with his friendship”.
George Takei wrote, “He was always able to make us smile, and that is no small feat”. It turned a $10 million budget into a $101.3 million box office, being the third highest grossing film behind The Empire Strikes Back and 9 to 5. This film was again remade in 2005 with Johnny Depp taking up the popular role. Finally succumbing to his battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Wilder has given the world some of the most memorable comedies of this century.
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The host began Monday night’s episode by telling the story of the time he met Wilder, recalling that he came to a play Corden was in soon after moving to NY and sat backstage with him afterward.
