Peter Ostrum Mourns The Death Of Gene Wilder

Gene Wilder, who breathed his last on Sunday, had left Ostrum in a state of shock from which Ostrum is still recovering and says he misses his late friend and co-star very much now. On a much much sadder note, Mel’s appearance also came one day after losing his great friend, Gene Wilder who Mel Brooks described as “such a wonderful part of my life”.

The pair worked together on many classic films like Blazing Saddles, The Producers, and Young Frankenstein, two of which earned Wilder Oscar nominations. “I met him when my late wife Anne Bancroft was doing ‘Mother Courage, ‘ a Bertolt Brecht play, and Gene was in it”, Brooks began.

Brooks also shared a touching story of how he told Wilder that he would be starring in The Producers after the film got financed. I can’t call him. Brooks, who just turned 90 this summer, remembered his friend and said he’ll miss being able to call him. Consider “The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother”, the movie in which Wilder played Sigerson Holmes, the younger and lesser-known brother of Sherlock Holmes. With lines as “There is no life I know / To compare with / Pure imagination / Living there, you’ll be free / If you truly wish to be”, the song is a ideal fit to pay homage to Wilder.

“Gene Wilder was an fantastic man, he was very gentle, very quiet, but he knew what he wanted”.

During his visit, Wilder signed autographs and passed out hugs to the enthusiastic audience made up of young kids. “You are Leo Bloom, ‘” Brooks recalled. It turns out it wasn’t strictly a silly moment to be played for laughs and, in fact, laid the groundwork for the characters (and we, the viewers) to never really know if the chocolatier was lying or telling the truth. He held his face and cried. “It was a wonderful moment”, the Oscar victor recalled.