I’m still reeling from no more Gene and I can’t call him.
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Renowned actor Peter Ostrum, who portrayed the character of Charlie opposite the famous character Willy Wonka played by Gene Wilder, mourns the death of his late friend and co-star, stating that his demise is nearly like “losing a parent”.
“I expected he would go”, Mel revealed during an appearance on America’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He also talked about writing the role of Leo Bloom from “The Producers” for Wilder, and how the latter said Brooks would never get it produced. Watch to the end for some delightful tidbits about their process for casting Young Frankenstein and Madeline Kahn ad-libbing on the set.
Throughout the ’60s, Mel Brooks had already made a name for himself on TV with a little series known as Get Smart.
“There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination RIP”, Zumbo captioned the snap.
Gene Wilder played Willy Wonka in the 70s and the movie has become a beloved children’s classics. Their creative friendship continued as they wrote “Young Frankenstein” and Wilder’s legendary role in “Blazing Saddles”.
“You can always imagine the unexpected and strive for it”.
“I met him when my late wife Anne Bancroft was doing Mother Courage, a Bertolt Brecht play, and Gene was in it”, he said. He was good friends with Wilder and claimed that Wilder was sick and he knew it. Brooks said what he misses is being able to call Wilder up. While chatting with Fallon, Brooks was asked about his experiences with Wilder. “He was taking off his make-up in his dressing room, I took the script, and I said, ‘Gene, we got the money”.
“He burst into tears and held his face and cried”, Brooks remarked.
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Between my own remembrance of his best work, Kendall Ashley’s appreciation of Young Frankenstein, or Mikey Walsh sharing a personal story about growing up watching Willy Wonka, we’ve all been pretty bummed at the loss of such a comedy legend.
