Just when you thought this year couldn't get any worse.
Gene Wilder has passed away from Alzheimer's at age 83.
Of all the celebrity deaths that have happened lately, this one hurt really hard. It feels like I just lost my Grandpa. My friend. I never met Gene Wilder once in my life. But it really feels like I knew him. It's impossible to explain the impact he's had not just on me, but on film fans for a generation.
Gene Wilder was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 11, 1933. He studied Communication and Theater Arts at the University of Iowa. He performed in many plays from The Complaisant Lover to One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and so much more.
In 1963, he was cast in Mother Courage and Her Children. His co-star, Anne Bancroft, introduced him to her boyfriend Mel Brooks.
Brooks cast Wilder as Leo Bloom in his outrageous Broadway satire comedy, The Producers.
The Producers is about two Broadway producers, Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, who are both facing financial troubles. They learn that under the right circumstances, a producer can make more money with a flop than with a hit.
The two try to find the worst possible play they can find. They come across Springtime For Hitler, a play that glorifies Adolf Hitler and Nazis. They hire a Nazi to direct it. And they cast a "flower power" hippie to play Hitler. Surly it will flop, right?
The plan backfires. The play is a smash hit! The opening night audience thinks the play is a satire that mocks Hitler and eats it up.
On paper, the story sounds way too wacky, and way too unrealistic. And it totally is. The film finds the perfect balance of silly and tasteless. Mel Brooks won a well deserved Oscar for the Screenplay. And it's very rare that the Academy rewards a Comedy these days. But The Producers Definetely deserved it.
But it's not just the writing that makes The Producers work. It's the cast. Particularly Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. They have such great chemistry and feed perfectly off each other.
The film was later adapted into a successful, long running Broadway musical starring Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom and Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock.
After that, Wilder and Brooks would form a fruitful director-actor partnership. Up there with Scorsese and DeNiro, Spielberg and Hanks, and ironically Burton and Depp.
Their next film together was the western comedy Blazing Saddles. Not only is the film a love letter to the classic westerns of John Ford and John Wayne by playing to their strengths while also mocking their clichés. It also brings attention to the horrific racism that was common in those days. This is the kind of film that would NEVER be made today. It's a miracle it was even made in 1974! Not only do they say the N-word in practically every scene, but it involves scenes of black people being treated horribly.
The film sounds like a racist film. But it's not. The film is mocking racism and showing how idiotic it was. For a film with the first ever farting scene, it's really insightful and poetic.
But the film is also loaded with memorable characters. One of them is Jim "the Wacco Kid" by Gene Wilder. A drunk sheriff with the fastest hand in the West.
Both The Producers and Blazinf Saddles are comedy masterpieces. But in my opinion, it's Young Frankenstein that is the crowning jewel in the Brooks/Wilder partnership.
Young Frankenstein takes place after the events of the original Frankenstein and focuses on Dr. Frankenstein's grandson, Dr. "Fronkensteen".
The plot is exactly like the original, except with a comedic tone.
I remember watching this film as a little kid at my Grandparents' house. It was one of the hardest times I had ever laughed. And the main reason was Gene Wilder's performance. In my opinion, Wilder gives the greatest comedic performance in film history in Young Frankenstein. He goes from calm and collected to insane and paranoid in the flash of one minute. He can be the most peaceful person on the room, and is screaming at the top of his lungs.
Nobody perfected the art of screaming better than Gene.
Wilder went on to collaborate with Richard Pryor, arguably the greatest stand-up comedian that ever lived, in films such as Silver Streak and Stir Crazy.
He played so many great roles.
But to me, he will always be Willy Wonka.
Based on the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory followed Charlie Bucket and four other lucky children as they toured in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory where he makes all his delicious candy.
The film is a classic in lines with The Wizard of Oz. Just like The Wizard of Oz, the film is somewhat corny, but that's what we all love about it. It has this timeless feel to it. You could watch it at age 5 or 95 and still be enchanted by it.
And it's Gene Wilder's performance that makes it such a classic. He's like our favorite school teacher. The one who's smarter than he appears. The one who makes everything sound so fascinating. The one who is mysterious, but you love being with because they are so entertaining. They can be strict when they need to. But what makes that teacher our favorite is how kind and understanding they are.
One great example of Wilder's brilliant performance is his grand entrance (link below).
The scene was not initially in the script. Wilder said he came up with the idea of Willy Wonka acting old and weak but then catching everyone off guard with a summarsault so they would not be able to tell if he was lying or telling the truth.
Little touches like that show how much effort and dedication Wilder put into his roles. He knew his own characters more than the people who created them.
The film is loaded with so many songs we are all familiar with. The Candy Man, I Got A Golden Ticket, all the Oompa Loompa songs, etc. But my personal favorite is Pure Imagination.
It's so whimsical and touching. It's simple in words, and yet deep in meaning. It's the film's Over The Rainbow. And Gene Wilder sings it with such majesty and grace.
I called this tribute "the man who got everything he ever wanted". Not only is it a reference to the ending scene of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It's how I like to picture Gene Wilder lived his.
Wilder had quite a few relationships. He had a few marriages. Quite common in Hollywood. But what is uncommon in Hollywood? Having a meaningful marriage that lasts until death. Wilder found his with SNL alumni Gilda Radner, whom he met in 1981. Radner was married to guitarist G. E. Smith. The two became great friends. But their friendship became something more. Radner divorced Smith in 1982. She moved in with Wilder for a few years, and they were married in 1984.
Sadly, Radner was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1986. She passed away in 1989.
You can read Wilder's letter to his wife here: https://www.google.com/amp/www.thewrap.com/read-gene-wilders-heartbreaking-essay-about-wife-gilda-radners-death/amp/?client=safari
Wilder became an activist to raise awareness for cancer, and began the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Center in Los Angelos.
Wilder met his final wife, Karen Webb, on the set of See No Evil, Hear No Evil. The two married in 1991, and lived in the house Wilder shared with Radner.
He was mostly out of the spotlight in his final years. But spent a good deal of it writing books.
As we say goodbye to Gene Wilder, he leaves behind an incredible legacy in film and acting history. But more than that. He left an incredible impact on my life.
He fueled my love of acting, performing, and the magic of storytelling. He made me fascinated in quirky, fascinating characters. He helped me feel comfortable with being weird. He also helped me laugh when I needed it most. And most of all, he helped me to realize what is really important in life. The little joys in life. He taught me that in his films. But he also taught me that with how he lived his life. He may not have been working in movies in his last years. But he didn't seem to care. All he cares about was writing books.
The reason I call Gene Wilder "the man who suddenly got what he wanted" is because I am referring to the two times he met his wife Gilda Rander. The first time when he fell in love with her, and when he met her again today in Heaven. I have a feeling all Wildee ever really wanted was someone special to spend his life with, as we all do. And after he found her and lister her, all he ever wanted was to be with her again....
... And they lived happily ever after.
Thank you Gene Wilder. Thank you for taking us all to a world of Pure Imagination.
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