Earlier this week, Brooks made an appearance on The Tonight Show, where he talked to host Jimmy Fallon about Wilder’s passing. It’s a big shock.
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Wilder was known for a string of iconic roles in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, including leads in The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.
When Wilder passed away on Monday, Brooks was one of the first celebrities to offer a Twitter eulogy, calling him “one of the truly great talents of our time”. “He’s a talented man, but I don’t care for him doing stuff like he did”. “It was a wonderful moment”. From there on, it was an easy step to Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1974), where Wilder memorably plays Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, grandson of the notorious Dr. Victor Frankenstein.
Ticket sales for the film has spiked since Wilder’s death, said Lieberman, leading the cinema to schedule additional screenings – routine practice for the theater when screenings start selling out, he added, to ensure the audience’s needs are met. More on Gene Wilder’s legacy here.
Willy Wonka is headed back to the silver screen this weekend, and not as a Johnny Depp attempt at a remake.
Nomination The part earned Wilder an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.
Though I am a huge fan of Roald Dahl’s writing, at the risk of heresy, I must say that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was never one of my favourites. “But if you go to some movies, can’t they just stop and talk once in a while?”, he added.
“Even the way he said no was so poetic”.
That’s what Willy Wonka asked us to do before revealing his magical world of gummy bear trees and chocolate waterfalls.
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RIP Gene Wilder, you are sorely missed. These were films that I watched with my parents, at school and discovered on my own that all, in some way or another, helped develop my taste in comedy and broadened my knowledge of cinema.
