On August 29th 2016, comedy lost one of its great icons, the multi-talented and warm figure of Gene Wilder. Known for his roles in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, Wilder will be remembered as a pioneer of a new wave of comedy that hit the 1970s.
Everyone has their own story about Gene Wilder. For me, it started as a little boy watching on the television a male figure, dressed in a wonderful purple jacket and sporting a brown top-hat over his wild hair, limping towards the gates of a mysterious chocolate factory. The crowd gathered in front of the gates (and I) watch as this bizarre individual slowly makes his way to the front with the clacking of his cane and shoes on the bright red carpet. He comes to an abrupt stop and stands for a moment in complete silence. He falls forward and just as he is about to hit the ground face flat, he performs a somersault to bounce back up to greet his audience. A magical entrance for a magical man.
Changing his name to Gene Wilder by taking the first name from a character in a Thomas Wolfe novel and surname from playwright Thornton Wilder, Jerome Silberman had an amazing ability to create characters with the warmth of a favourite uncle and the insanity of a mad scientist. Fitting then to play the descendant of the most iconic mad scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Mel Brooks’ cult classic Young Frankenstein.
His calling to comedy would start on tragic terms when his mother was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease at the age of eight where the doctor told him to ‘try to make her laugh’. After a brief time at military academy, he performed his first role at the age of fifteen in front of a paying audience playing Balthazar in a production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Studying a Communication and Theatre Arts at the University of Iowa and appearing in theatre productions, he met actress Anne Bancroft who would introduce Wilder to her boyfriend and future husband Mel Brooks. Becoming good friends, this would start one of the great comedy collaborations and friendships with a series of comedy classics such as Blazing Saddles, The Producers and Young Frankenstein. Films that still stand the test of time in their biting satire and revolutionised the genre of parodies.
He would continue to work with great comedians and even wrote, directed and starred in films such as The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother and The World’s Greatest Lover.
Despite having such a rich list of films under his belt, the role that most will identify him with is the charming, if relatively mad factory owner of a miraculous chocolate factory: Willy Wonka. Children around the world were delighted when first setting eyes on that factory floor covered in sweets of all shapes and sizes, but we will always have Gene Wilder to thank for making these moments even more magical with the beautifully iconic musical number: ‘Pure Imagination’. A character that had the playfulness of a child, but also kept a dark side as seen when Wonka takes us into the trippy tunnel, a scene often brought up as one of the scariest moments in a children’s film.
In the 2000s, Wilder would remain relatively semi-retired, only appearing in a Primetime Emmy Award winning Guest Appearance in Will & Grace. In his latter years, he spent his time participating in many charitable efforts, painting and writing, having released a memoir and three novels.
A man of great talent and who will be solely missed by his family, friends and fans. If any line fits Gene Wilder, it would be when Wonka says, “So shines a good deed in a weary world”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2pt2-F2j2g
Help remember and celebrate his life by sharing your experiences and stories of Gene Wilder in the comments below.