Jerome Silberman, known better as Gene Wilder passed away in peace on August 29th, and caused all of us who love him to reminisce on his success in film. According to Wikipedia and Biography.com; Wilder started his film career in 1967, as he played a hostage in the major motion picture Bonnie and Clyde. Wilder did not stay silent after this picture however, he was nominated for many nominations including Best Supporting Actor.
In 1971 Wilder had the role of Willie Wonka in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, for those of us reading this article, at this point we are thinking on the amazing performance that Wilder put forth. Wilder in this amazing performance reminded all of us, that having the imagination of a child is something so special that all of us lose, the older we get.
In addition to Wilder's movie career, Wilder was active in cancer awareness, after his wife died of ovarian cancer. Wilder spent a lot of time starting organizations and raising awareness in honor of his wife. When Wilder retired, he spent much of his time writing, painting and giving to charity. Wilder's last live performance was on an episode of Will and Grace on which he received an award for Best Outstanding Guest Actor; even towards the end of his career, Wilder was still showing his talent and receiving the reward. (Information obtained from wikipedia)
Wilder passed away this past Monday of complications from Alzheimer's disease. As the public found out about the disease Wilder battled with, many wondered why he did not relay this information sooner. As the family was interviewed Wilder's nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman, talked about his uncle in relation to his disease. Pearlman said that his uncle did not want the public to know about his disease, because he wanted his younger fans to remember him as the imaginative Willy Wonka.
This very fact speaks volumes to Wilder's character and personality. In his amazing performance of Willy Wonka, Wilder redefined having a kid like imagination in our daily life. Wilder reminded all of us to take joys in the simple things, to see this world as our great playground and to be grateful for the experiences we have.
As we go day to day in our lives, let us not forget how much joy we had as a child. That joy is still in us somewhere, we need to balance that joy with the knowledge we have acquired over the years. And as Wilder said so eloquently; " There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there, you'll be free, if you truly wish to be."