Tributes as Wonka star Wilder dies after secret battle with Alzheimer’s
COMEDY actor Gene Wilder, perhaps best known for his starring role in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, has died at the age of83.
The twice Oscarnominated actor, who rose to prominence in comedy gems The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and Stir Crazy, died at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said they did not disclose his condition until now because his uncle did not want to alarm young fans of Willy Wonka.
He said: “The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity, but more so 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 ... worry, disappointment or confusion.
“He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world.”
Mr Walker-Pearlman said Wilder “had continued to enjoy art, music, and kissing with his leading lady of the last 25 years” his fourth wife Karen.
Stars of stage and screen were swift to pay their tributes.
Mel Brooks, who collaborated with Wilder in The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, called his friend “one of the truly great talents of our time”. He added: “He blessed every film we did with his magic and he blessed me with his friendship.”
Like many others, comedian Ricky Gervais picked up on one of Wilder’s famous lines as Wonka, and said, simply: “Good Day Sir! RIP Gene Wilder”
Wilder had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989.
Born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee on June 11, 1933, Wilder, with his wild, curly hair and wide blue eyes, was in his 30s by the time he broke through in Hollywood.
The star first made waves on Broadway before transitioning to the silver screen, beginning his movie career with a brief role as a kidnapped undertaker in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde.
He took on his first major role in The Producers and while the film was a box office flop and received mixed reviews, Wilder earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
But it was the creation of the warm-hearted but slightly mad Willy Wonka in 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory that is still considered one of his most famous.
Willy Wonka brought to life the Roald Dahl book of the same name, and established Wilder as a leading man who could hold his own.
Wilder’s other well-known roles included the Waco Kid in the 1974 cult classic Blazing Saddles, the title character in Young Frankenstein in the same year and Doctor Ross in Woody Allen’s 1972 film, Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask.