Willy Wonka star Gene Wilder dies

[Raptor]

US actor Gene Wilder, remembered by many for his namesake role in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, has died at the age of 83, his family confirmed.
The comic actor also starred in classic films such as The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.
Mr Wilder frequently collaborated with writer and director Mel Brooks as well as stand-up comedian Richard Pryor.
The two-time Oscar-nominated actor was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1989.
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[Mickey]

R.I.P

[BertRoot]

Me and the boy watched Willy Wonka a couple of weeks back, mint. RIP.

[BertRoot]

Gene Wilder, ‘Willy Wonka’ Star and Comedic Icon, Dies at 83

STEVE WOOD/REX/Shutterstock
August 29, 2016 | 12:22PM PT Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Stir Crazy,” died Monday at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83.
His nephew said in a statement, “We understand for all the emotional and physical challenges this situation presented we have been among the lucky ones — this illness-pirate, unlike in so many cases, never stole his ability to recognize those that were closest to him, nor took command of his central-gentle-life affirming core personality. The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity, but more so that the countless young children that would smile or call out to him “there’s Willy Wonka,” would not have to be then exposed to an adult referencing illness or trouble and causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion. He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world.
He continued to enjoy art, music, and kissing with his leading lady of the last twenty-five years, Karen. He danced down a church aisle at a wedding as parent of the groom and ring bearer, held countless afternoon movie western marathons and delighted in the the company of beloved ones.”
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Celebrities React to Gene Wilder’s Death

He had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989.
The comic actor, who was twice Oscar nominated, for his role in “The Producers” and for co-penning “Young Frankenstein” with Mel Brooks, usually portrayed a neurotic who veered between total hysteria and dewy-eyed tenderness. “My quiet exterior used to be a mask for hysteria,” he told Time magazine in 1970. “After seven years of analysis, it just became a habit.”
Habit or not, he got a great deal of mileage out of his persona in the 1970s for directors like Mel Brooks and Woody Allen, leading to a few less successful stints behind the camera, the best of which was “The Woman in Red,” co-starring then-wife Gilda Radner. Wilder was devastated by Radner’s death from ovarian cancer in 1989 and worked only intermittently after that. He tried his hand briefly at a sitcom in 1994, “Something Wilder,” and won an Emmy in 2003 for a guest role on “Will & Grace.”
His professional debut came in Off Broadway’s “Roots” in 1961, followed by a stint on Broadway in Graham Greene’s comedy “The Complaisant Lover,” which won him a Clarence Derwent Award as promising newcomer. His performance in the 1963 production of Brecht’s “Mother Courage” was seen by Mel Brooks, whose future wife, Anne Bancroft, was starring in the production; a friendship with Brooks would lead to some of Wilder’s most successful film work. For the time being, however, Wilder continued to work onstage, in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” in 1963 and “Dynamite Tonight” and “The White House” the following year. He then understudied Alan Arkin and Gabriel Dell in “Luv,” eventually taking over the role.
Wilder also worked in television in 1962’s “The Sound of Hunting,” “The Interrogators,” “Windfall” and in the 1966 TV production of “Death of a Salesman” with Lee J. Cobb. He later starred in TV movies including “Thursday’s Game” and the comedy-variety special “Annie and the Hoods,” both in 1974.
In 1967 Wilder essayed his first memorable bigscreen neurotic, Eugene Grizzard, a kidnapped undertaker in Arthur Penn’s classic “Bonnie and Clyde.”
Then came “The Producers,” in which he played the hysterical Leo Bloom, an accountant lured into a money bilking scheme by a theatrical producer played by Zero Mostel. Directed and written by Brooks, the film brought Wilder an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor. With that, his film career was born.
He next starred in a dual role with Donald Sutherland in “Start the Revolution Without Me,” in which he displayed his fencing abilities. It was followed by another middling comedy, “Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx,” also in 1970.

In 1971 he stepped into the shoes of Willy Wonka, one of his most beloved and gentle characters. Based on the children’s book by Roald Dahl, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” was not an immediate hit but became a children’s favorite over the years. The same cannot be said for the 1974 Stanley Donen-directed musical version of “The Little Prince,” in which Wilder appeared as the fox. He had somewhat better luck in Woody Allen’s spoof “Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex,” appearing in a hilarious segment in which he played a doctor who falls in love with a sheep named Daisy.
Full-fledged film stardom came with two other Brooks comedies, both in 1974: Western spoof “Blazing Saddles” and a wacko adaptation of Mary Shelley’s famous book entitled “Young Frankenstein,” in which Wilder portrayed the mad scientist with his signature mixture of hysteria and sweetness.
Working with Brooks spurred Wilder to write and direct his own comedies, though none reached the heights of his collaborations with Brooks. The first of these was “The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother” (1975), in which he included such Brooks regulars as Madeline Kahn and Marty Feldman. It was followed by 1977’s “The World’s Greatest Lover,” which he also produced.
Wilder fared better, however, when he was working solely in front of the camera, particularly in a number of films in which he co-starred with Richard Pryor.
The first of these was 1976’s “Silver Streak,” a spoof of film thrillers set on trains; 1980’s “Stir Crazy” was an even bigger hit, grossing more than $100 million. Wilder and Pryor’s two other pairings, “See No Evil, Hear No Evil” and “Another You,” provided diminishing returns, however.
While filming “Hanky Panky” in 1982, Wilder met “Saturday Night Live” comedienne Radner. She became his third wife shortly thereafter. Wilder and Radner co-starred in his most successful directing stint, “The Woman in Red” in 1984, and then “Haunted Honeymoon.” But Radner grew ill with cancer, and he devoted himself to her care, working sporadically after that and hardly at all after her death in 1989.
In the early ’90s he appeared in his last film with Pryor and another comedy, “Funny About Love.” In addition to the failed TV series “Something Wilder” in 1994, he wrote and starred in the A&E mystery telepics “The Lady in Question” and “Murder in a Small Town” in 1999. He also appeared as the Mock Turtle in a 1999 NBC adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland.”
He last acted in a couple of episodes of “Will and Grace” in 2002-03 as Mr. Stein, winning an Emmy.
He was born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee and began studying acting at the age of 12. After getting his B.A. from the U. of Iowa in 1955, Wilder enrolled in the Old Vic Theater school in Bristol, where he learned acting technique and fencing. When he returned to the U.S. he taught fencing and did other odd jobs while studying with Herbert Berghof’s HB Studio and at the Actors Studio under Lee Strasberg.
Wilder’s memoir “Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art” was published in 2005. After that he wrote fiction: the 2007 novel “My French Whore”; 2008’s “The Woman Who Wouldn’t”; a collection of stories, “What Is This Thing Called Love?,” in 2010; and the novella “Something to Remember You By: A Perilous Romance” in 2013.
Wilder was interviewed by Alec Baldwin for the one-hour TCM documentary “Role Model: Gene Wilder” in 2008. The actor was also active in raising cancer awareness in the wake of Radner’s death.
He is survived by his fourth wife Karen Boyer, whom he married in 1991 and his nephew. His sister Corinne, predeceased him in January 2016.
Before Radner, Wilder was married to the actress-playwright Mary Mercier and Mary Joan Schutz (aka Jo Ayers).

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/ge...in-1201846745/

[Delboy_1976]

R.I.P

Time to dust off my Silver Streak DVD, haven't watched that film in ages.

[doughboy]

His duos with Pryor were probably my favourite.


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[Mystical_2K]

I am truly gutted, R.I.P. sir.

I feel a few movies being watched in the next week: Willy Wonka, Blazing Saddles, Stir Crazy, See No Evil Hear No Evil

[akimba]

Stir Crazy and See No Evil are the main ones I will remember him for ;-) RIP

[Raptor]

Actor and director Mel Brooks has led an outpouring of tributes from entertainment figures to Gene Wilder, who has died aged 83.
Wilder was famous for playing Willy Wonka and starred in a number of films directed by Brooks.
They collaborated on Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and The Producers.
The director tweeted: "One of the truly great talents of our time. He blessed every film we did with his magic & he blessed me with his friendship."
Willy Wonka star Gene Wilder dies
Obituary: Gene Wilder
In pictures: Life and career
Actor Billy Crystal described Wilder as "a giant of comedy," adding: "His legacy of films is inspiring. A true genius," while actor and musician Steve Martin said: "Goodbye, Gene Wilder. You were one of the great screen comedians. Original and surprising every time."
Wilder worked with Richard Pryor on four films - Silver Streak, Another You, Stir Crazy and See No Evil, Hear No Evil.
Rain Pryor, his daughter, told The Hollywood Reporter: "To watch the two of them together, there's not a magic that's been like that in a long time."
She added: "[My father] always said: 'That man's a genius, and he's a good man, that's for sure'."
Denise Nickerson, who played the role of Violet Beauregarde, one of the five children to win golden tickets to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, also paid tribute. The film was based on Roald Dahl's children's book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
She tweeted: "RIP Gene. You were so talented and kind-hearted. You will be sorely missed by so many. All of us have lost our Willy Wonka. Love, Violet."
Rusty Goffe, who also appeared in the film as an Oompa Looma, said: "Gene Wilder was one of the nicest if not the nicest actor I have ever worked with. A true star. Thank you Mr Wonka."
Julie Dawn Cole, who played Veruca Salt, told the BBC Wilder was "a very kind, endearing, and patient man".
"He had five kids who were probably high on sugar bouncing all over the set, he was just a joy to work with," she said.
"The joy was that as children we just kind of accepted him, so I can't say I was in awe of him at 12 but I suppose I'm more in awe now, [thinking] 'Wow, I really worked with that legend.'"
Sir Roger Moore, who also worked with Wilder, wrote: "RIP Gene Wilder. Only happy memories of making Sunday Lovers together."
A number of comedians also took to social media to pay tribute, citing Wilder as one of their biggest influences.
Peep Show actor Robert Webb said: "Oh boy, Gene Wilder. The vulnerability in his eyes & the rage in his perfect voice. Incredible comic actor."
David Baddiel tweeted: "There was a time in the 70s where you knew a film was a comic masterpiece because it starred Gene Wilder."
Leigh Francis, normally known as his alter-ego Keith Lemon, wrote: So sad to hear about Gene Wilder. One of my Heroes. Comedic wizard."
Other actors paying tribute included West Wing star Rob Lowe, who said: "Gene Wilder as one of my earliest heroes.
"Blazing Saddles, Willy Wonka, are clinics on comic acting. Sad to hear of his passing."
George Takei, best-known for playing Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek, tweeted: "He was always able to make us smile, and that is no small feat. Rest with the stars, Gene Wilder."
Russell Crowe wrote: I saw Blazing Saddles seven times at the cinema with my school friends . George St. Cows outside. Gene Wilder you were a genius."
Veep star Julia Louis Dreyfus described Wilder as "wonderful", adding: "What an influence you were in my life. Thank you for all that joy."
Comic actress Sarah Silverman posted: Hilarious & heartbreaking in the very same moment. RIP beautiful Gene Wilder. There was & will never be anyone like you."

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[cyprus]

Classic scene from one of my all time favourite movies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5O5jd5cqZA

[moonrat]

Stir Crazy and See No Evil are the main ones I will remember him for ;-) RIP

Exactly this [emoji106] RIP [emoji56]


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[TJB]

So many classic scenes to choose from. A true giant of comedy.

[MajorFU]

For me it will always be stir crazy and blazing saddles with young Frankenstein just behind.

A fantastic actor and comedian of whom we have all been lucky to grow up with under his breed of crazy humour, surely there's a bit of wilder in all of us.....the mark of a true legend would you not agree