Especially for all of us who adored the classic film, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, and have, of course, learned of the death of its central character, owned by Gene Wilder (June 11, 1933-August 29, 2016). “He was such a wonderful part of my life”, said Brooks.
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When Gene Wilder passed away at 83 on Monday, many of us wondered how his director/friend, Mel Brooks, was handling the loss of someone so special to him. His longtime comedy partner, Carl Reiner, is still kicking at 94, but over the years, he has had to say goodbye to numerous comedic performers who helped make his films unforgettable.
As actor/director partnerships go, they don’t come more successful than Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks. “He kept going, “Why are they always laughing at me?’ And I said, ‘Well, look in the mirror, blame it on God!'” “The Chaplain was a great part”, said Brooks, adding that the role is serious but gets laughs.
Fallon asked Brooks about the first time he met Wilder.
Brooks recalled first meeting Wilder while the actor was working with Brooks’ wife Anne Bancroft on stage in an adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children. But if you’re among the generations of fans who’ve never had the opportunity to see it in a movie theater, you’ll get your chance this weekend. Wilder was cast as Rene Gallimard- a role that was later played by John Lithgow after Wilder withdrew from the production.
“Young Frankenstein”, in which Wilder plays Dr. Frankenstein, might be his greatest performance: a mad scientist with his own demons and an acute sensitivity to the pronunciation of “Frankenstein”.
“There are two genuine laughs in the entire film”, wrote Vincent Canby of The New York Times.
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“I didn’t want to do the kind of junk I was seeing”, he said in an interview.
