Mel Brooks Remembers The Time He Made Gene Wilder Burst Into Tears

They would break for lunch and Gene and I would always buy a chocolate bar and share it on the way back to the set. That started his relationship with the incomparable Gene Wilder, who played Willy Wonka.

Mel Brooks was previously scheduled to be on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, but his appearance on the show had a somber tone. Meanwhile, actor Gene Wilder had been in a few stage performances, small TV roles and minor spots in feature films. “You are Leo Bloom, ‘” Brooks said, recalling a conversation he had with Wilder. He also revealed that the idea for what became “Young Frankenstein” was actually Wilder’s.

Wilder and Brooks consistently worked with each other throughout their careers.

A key break came in 1963 when he co-starred with Anne Bancroft in Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage”, and met Brooks, her future husband. Why are they laughing at me?’ Brooks said. “Miracle of miracles, we got the money”, Brooks said, so he went to tell Wilder the good news, and Wilder burst into tears.

The New York native recalled his long struggle to get funding for his 1967 hit, The Producers, saying that Wilder never believed he’d be able to make the dream a reality. We’re gonna make the movie. “He cried, and I hugged him”.

In tribute to his collaborator and friend, Brooks also tweeted on Monday, “Gene Wilder-One of the truly great talents of our time”. And I took the script and said, ‘Gene, we got the money.

“Bless you for all these years of laughter and love, such warmth and humanity”, wrote film critic Leonard Maltin.

The legendary comedic performer was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease three years ago but kept his battle secret, because he “couldn’t bear the thought of one less smile in the world”.