Remembering Comedic Great Gene Wilder, Who Delighted Audiences For Decades

“He was so quirky”, Ostrum said.

Wilder’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory co-stars Julie Dawn Cole, who starred as Veruca, and Denise Nickerson, who played Violet, have both commented on the passing.

The Hollywood actor has been hailed a “comic genius” and one of the “great talents” of his generation. “He blessed every film we did with his magic & he blessed me with his friendship”, Brooks said on Twitter.

Besides his classic collaborations with Brooks, Wilder paired memorably with comedian Richard Pryor in hits “Silver Streak” and “Stir Crazy”. “Except in a comedy in films”, Wilder said.

Mean girl Veruca only had nice things to say. “I think I can be in the movies”.

A Milwaukee native, Wilder was born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933.

He started taking acting classes at age 12 and continued studying through college.

“He was 83 and passed holding our hands with the same tenderness and love he exhibited as long as I can remember”, Walker-Pearlman concluded. He went on to star in Broadway’s MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, THE WHITE HOUSE and LUV. Wilder’s performance received a supporting actor Oscar nod. Brooks also encouraged Wilder to become a director himself.

After Radner died of ovarian cancer in 1989, Wilder spent much of his time after promoting cancer research and opened a support facility for cancer patients. One of his final “roles” was especially sweet, though.

The truth of it is, he was just this magical person and he made everybody around him feel this incredible feeling of joy. In 2015, he was among the voices in the animated “The Yo Gabba Gabba!”

“It’s kind of like losing a parent”, Ostrum, who hadn’t seen Wilder since filming Wonka in 1971, told Variety on Tuesday, August 30. “I didn’t want to do 3D for instance”. And all he wanted to talk about was… Wilder was treated for lymphoma in 2000 and had worked only sporadically since.