Just Desserts chef Adriano Zumbo has paid tribute to Gene Wilder with a floating top hat, which will feature on the Channel 7 show tonight.
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Jordan Walker-Pearlman said Wilder was diagnosed with the disease three years ago, but kept the condition private so as not to disappoint fans. Wilder was cast as Rene Gallimard- a role that was later played by John Lithgow after Wilder withdrew from the production.
Gene Wilder’s long and illustrious career earned him two Oscar nominations for “The Producers” and “Young Frankenstein”, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for “Willy Wonka”. In Southern California, the films will screen at AMC Ontario Mills 30, AMC Orange 30 and AMC Burbank.
Wilder’s nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, told Variety he died due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease at his home in CT.
This story was originally published at 11:55 a.m.
To mark the sad passing of undeniable film legend Gene Wilder, the Tyneside Cinema will be screening two of his classic films this weekend and no, Willy Wonka isn’t one of them.
“If something comes along that’s really good and I think I would be good for it, I would be happy to do it”.
He said he had never set foot on a film set before he met Wilder.
But perhaps the most touching anecdote Brooks relayed was getting his new friend Gene to play Leo Bloom in a little play he was writing called “The Producers”.
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. With lines as “There is no life I know / To compare with / Pure imagination / Living there, you’ll be free / If you truly wish to be”, the song is a ideal fit to pay homage to Wilder. ‘They’re always laughing, ‘ he said.
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The actor also won an Emmy Award for his guest role on the TV sitcom “Will & Grace”. Brooks replied, “Look in the mirror, blame it on God”.
