On August 29th, 2016, the world said goodbye to Gene Wilder. It’s safe to say that it was a sad goodbye for many generations, as we lose one of our favorite childhood heroes. The 83-year-old actor died at his home in Connecticut on Monday. "The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity," Wilder’s nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said. "But more so that 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 delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion. He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world." His nephew’s statement epitomizes Wilder’s kindness and how much he valued being multiple generations’ childhood hero.
The 1971 classic "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" not only earned him a Golden Globe Award nomination, but Willy Wonka quickly became the role Wilder was most known and admired for. Other iconic roles of his include, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein in "Young Frankenstein," and "The Producers" which he also wrote, alongside Mel Brooks, and Leo Bloom. Wilder was an accomplished screenwriter, novelist, director and stage actor, particularly admired for his ability to play slightly off the wall characters.
Wilder was born Jerome Silberman, on June 11, 1933, in Milwaukee. He took part in his local community theater and then studied theater at the University of Iowa. He eventually moved to England to study Shakespeare at the Bristol Old Vic Theater School, before returning to the United States to pursue acting on Broadway.
After losing his wife, Gilda Radner, to ovarian cancer in 1989, Wilder began actively promoting the awareness and treatment of cancer. He founded the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Center in Los Angeles and co-founded Gilda’s Club in New York, a community for people living with cancer. The club also helps cancer patients' family and friends.
His death is a great loss to the entertainment industry, but his legacy will be remembered for years to come.
