Gene Wilder has passed away

Oh, this is incredibly sad news. The legend that is Gene Wilder has died at the age of 83. He starred in so many of my  favourite films – Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, The Silver Streak, The Producers and and so many more.

The two-time Oscar nominee also starred in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and in four films alongside stand-up legend Richard Pryor.

Wilder’s nephew said Monday that the actor died this month in Stamford, Conn. from complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Wilder began his career on stage, and made his screen debut in the TV-series Armstrong Circle Theatre in 1962. Although his first film role was portraying a hostage in the 1967 motion picture Bonnie and Clyde, Wilder’s first major role was as Leopold Bloom in the 1968 film The Producers for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This was the first in a series of collaborations with writer/director Mel Brooks, including 1974’s Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, which Wilder co-wrote, garnering the pair an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Wilder is known for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and for his four films with Richard Pryor: Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), andAnother You (1991). Wilder directed and wrote several of his own films, including The Woman in Red (1984).

His third wife was actress Gilda Radner, with whom he starred in three films. Her death from ovarian cancer led to his active involvement in promoting cancer awareness and treatment, helping found the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Center in Los Angeles and co-founding Gilda’s Club.

As my daughter just said “sadly he is now in a world of pure imagination.”

What is your favourite Gene Wilder moment?