Remembering Gene Wilder - Comic Actor, Screenwriter, Film Director and Author

Gene Wilder, the stage and screen comic actor, screenwriter, film director, and author who died yesterday at the age of 83, was born Jerome Silberman to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1933. 

His Wikipedia entry says that he was raised Jewish, but he held only the Golden Rule as his philosophy. He described himself as a "Jewish-Buddhist-Atheist" in an interview published in 2005.

Wilder discussed his Jewish upbringing at length in an interview with Abigail Pogrebin for her book Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish. Yesterday Tablet, the online magazine, posted an excerpt from the book.

Three years ago we posted an excerpt from an 80th birthday interview with Gene Wilder by Robert Osborne that we attended at the 92nd Street Y.

It runs for 28 minutes and includes Wilder's reflections on making movies and answering questions from the audience.

As a tribute to Gene Wilder, we're reposting the interview today. In it, Wilder reminisces about his experiences in filming Willy Wonka, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein. Below the half-hour interview video, we're sharing a few clips from his performances in these movies.

(Please be warned that when talking about the excessive swearing that he doesn't like in the movies, he uses an expletive for illustration purposes. We said we'd warn you before posting anything that might offend readers who object to language that the mainstream media find unfit to print. So if you don't want to hear the word, don't watch the video.)

Enjoy!

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)   




Willy Wonka's Grand Entrance



Wilder as the Waco Kid in Blazing Saddles



Puttin' on the Ritz from Young Frankenstein