Jerome Silberman, better known as Gene Wilder has passed away at the age of 83 from complications with Alzheimer’s. He was a screenwriter, author, and a comedic actor of both stage and screen. Best known for his roles in The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and Young Frankenstein, Wilder was a talent unlike any other.
In a statement released from Wilder’s family, they said the actor had suffered from Alzheimer’s for the last three years. “The choice to keep this private was his choice, in talking with us and making a decision as a family,” the statement read. “We understand for all the emotional and physical challenges this situation presented we have been among the lucky ones – this illness-pirate, unlike in so many cases, never stole his ability to recognize those that were closest to him, nor took command of his central-gentle-life affirming core personality. It took enough, but not that.”
The full statement from Wilder’s nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman reads…
It is with indescribable sadness and blues, but with a spiritual gratitude for the life lived that I announce the passing of husband, parent, and universal artist Gene Wilder, at his home in Stamford Connecticut. It is almost unbearable for us to contemplate our life without him.The cause was complications from Alzheimer’s Disease which he co-existed for the last three years. The choice to keep this private was his choice, in talking with us and making a decision as a family. We understand for all the emotional and physical challenges this situation presented we have been among the lucky ones – this illness-pirate, unlike in so many cases, never stole his ability to recognize those that were closest to him, nor took command of his central-gentile-life affirming core personality. It took enough, but not that.
The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity, 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 causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion. He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world.
He continued to enjoy art, music, and kissing with his leading lady of the last twenty-five years, Karen. He danced down a church aisle at a wedding as a parent of the groom and ring bearer, held countless afternoon movie western martahons and delighted in the company of beloved ones.
He is survived by Karen, Jordan, and the Webbs (Kevin, Gretchen, Tucker, Spencer) along Jordan’s wife Elizabeth. Gene’s sister Corinne, predeceased him in January of this year.
He was eighty-three and passed holding our hands with the same tenderness and love he exhibited as long as I can remember. As our hands clutched and he performed one last breath, the music speaker, which was set to random, began to blare out one of his favorites: Ella Fitzgerald. There is a picture of he and Ella meeting at a London Bistro some years ago that are among each our cherished possessions. She was singing, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” and he was taken away.
“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams”
Sincerely,
“Gene’s Kid”
Jordan Walker-Pearlman
Wilder was born in Milwaukee, WI in 1933. He adopted “Gene Wilder” for his professional name at the age of 26, later explaining, “I had always liked Gene because of Thomas Wolfe’s character Eugene Gant in Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time and the River. And I was always a great admirer of Thornton Wilder.” He first became interested in acting at age 8, when his mother was diagnosed with rheumatic fever and the doctor told him to “try and make her laugh.”
He studied Communication and Theatre Arts at the University of Iowa and was then accepted at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, England. Quite an athlete in his own right, Wilder became the first freshman to win the All-School Fencing Championship while in school. He was drafted into the Army in 1956 and was assigned to the medical corps.
Wilder’s life changed dramatically in 1963 when he was cast in Mother Courage and Her Children, which also happened to star Anne Bancroft who introduced Wilder to Mel Brooks. And so it was, a relationship that has been solidified in time as one of the best comedic duos to work together on screen. Working together on The Producers reep many rewards for the two, Brooks an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Wilder a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In 1971 he would take on one of his most, if not thee most memorable role of his career, Willy Wonka. Soon to follow would be Blazing Saddles, The Little Prince, Young Frankenstein, and his partnership with Richard Pryor would grow from their connections to Saddles. The two did four films together including Silver Streak, Stir Crazy, Another You, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil.
Wilder’s relationships in Hollywood were with those of legends. Because he was one too. He would meet Gilda Radner in 1981 while working on Sidney Poitier’s Hanky Panky. The two would grow closer and eventually marry in 1984. After Radner’s death in 1989, Wilder spent a countless hours raising money for cancer research and charities. Wilder married his other love, Karen Boyer in 1991 who he remained with until his death.
The 90s and 2000s would see a career in the spotlight slow down for the man as he grew tired of Hollywood. After one season of the 1994 NBC sitcom Something Wilder, he focused his efforts on writing books. In 2005, Wilder released his personal memoir Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art. In 2010, he would release a collection of stories called What Is This Thing Called Love? His third novel, Something to Remember You By: A Perilous Romance, came in 2013.
No stranger to stage, he appeared on Broadway in five notable shows including Mother Courage and Her Children and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. He also starred in Laughter on the 23rd Floor in London.
Gene Wilder will be missed as he was one of a kind. With hair and a comedic voice so distinctly his, Wilder was also a master at pace and timing. Realizing he could be just as funny being quiet as he was saying something. He was able to be hilarious one moment, tender the next, or having a full blown freakout right after. Sometimes all in the same scene. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone of a certain generation that doesn’t have a fond memory about an experience they had involving Wilder, whether on television, film, or stage. Willy Wonka, The Waco Kid, Leo Bloom, and Dr. Frankenstein – just one of those roles would make a man’s acting career. Gene embodying all of them, made him an icon.
We will miss you Gene and your “Pure Imagination.”
