RIP: GENE WILDER

From the mania of Victor Frankenstein to Willy Wonka’s subtle lunacy, Gene Wilder — who died Sunday in Stamford, Connecticut from complications from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 83, his nephew told the Associated Press — lit up the funniest movies of the 1970s with an irresistible neurotic charm. But off-screen, Wilder’s life was no comedy: The actor was battered by tragedy, including a difficult childhood and the untimely death of his third wife, comedian Gilda Radner, of cancer in 1989.

Born Jerry Silberman in Milwaukee in 1933, Wilder grew up entertaining his sickly mother in the hope that laughter would prevent her death. He began his showbiz career on stage, where he met Mel Brooks while costarring in a Broadway production of Bertolt Brecht’sMother Courage and Her Children with Brooks’ wife, Anne Bancroft. The two became fast friends, and Wilder’s professional partnership with Brooks over the next decade would become the stuff of legend. Their first collaboration, The Producers (1968), garnered an Oscar nomination for Wilder, while 1974’s one-two of Blazing Saddles andYoung Frankenstein (which Wilder co-wrote) established them as the brightest comedy team in the business.

“I started writing about what I would like to see [Frankenstein stories] become,” Wilder told Robert Osborne about the genesis of Young Frankenstein in a rare interview in 2013. “I wanted to make it a happy ending.”

In the meantime, Wilder found his calling-card role, the eponymous candy czar of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971). Over 40 years later, Wilder estimated that he still got five letters a day asking for him to sign his photograph. “It’s all because they saw Willy Wonka,” he told Osborne. “Sometimes it’s someone who’s 12 years old, sometimes it’s 21 years old, sometimes it’s 34 years old. But they want to have it signed.”

Around the same time, Wilder gave an unforgettably wry performance as a doctor who falls in love with a sheep in Woody Allen’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1971). Still, the actor’s biggest commercial success came with a string of madcap comedies with comic Richard Pryor — including Silver Streak(1976), Stir Crazy (1980), and See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) — that made Wilder the most bankable star in Hollywood.

Wilder was already twice married when he met Saturday Night Live veteran Radner on the set of 1982’s Hanky Panky. The pair wed in 1984, just five years before Radner’s death, of ovarian cancer, in 1989. “She was always funny, and she loved doing what she was doing,” Wilder told Osborne, recalling how Radner teased him for never having seen any of her “Roseanne Rosannadanna” sketches, then made him watch them all. “And I saw those films, and she was wonderful,” Wilder said. “And then she got sick.”

The tragedy turned the actor — who was himself diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1999 — into an activist, inspiring him to co-found the cancer outreach network Gilda’s Club. Wilder still worked sporadically after Radner’s death, notably in his own NBC sitcom Something Wilder (1994–95) and an Emmy-winning guest spot as Will Truman’s off-kilter boss on Will & Grace in 2003. In recent years, Wilder shifted his focus from performing to writing, producing a memoir (2005’s Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art), a book of stories, and three novels.

While Wilder will be remembered as one of the funniest actors Hollywood ever knew, he insisted otherwise. “When people see me in a movie, and if it’s funny, they stop and say things to be about ‘how funny you are,’” he told Osborne, saying that was the biggest misconception people have about him. “I don’t think I’m that funny. I think I can be, in the movies.”
The movies will miss him... 

GENE WILDER AT 80

Gene Wilder doesn't think he's funny -- at least not in real life.

"[People] say, 'What a comic, what a funny guy,' and I'm not -- I am really not -- except in a comedy film," said the actor, who made a rare public appearance Thursday night (June 13) at the 92Y in New York City. "I also make my wife laugh once or twice in the house, but nothing special."

It's a bit odd to hear Wilder, known for playing comedic roles in films, including "Blazing Saddles," "The Producers," and "Young Frankenstein," to say something like this. Then again, Wilder always was a dramatic actor at heart, studying at renown institutions the Old Vic, in England, and Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio, in New York, before earning acclaim in his now classic comedies.

Last night, Wilder spoke about his career in and outside of show business, with Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osbourne. The actor touched on everything from his early acting days to his roles in movies like "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" to why he hasn't appeared on-screen in more than 20 years, opting instead to write books.

"I like writing books," said Wilder, who is about to release his second novel, "Something to Remember You By." "I'd rather be at home with my wife. I can write, take a break, come out, have a glass of tea, give my wife a kiss, and go back in and write some more. It's not so bad. I am really lucky."

Before he became an author and celebrated actor, Wilder began his professional career in 1966, with a supporting role in the TV adaptation of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman." One year later, he appeared in the crime drama "Bonnie and Clyde" as Eugene Gizzard. While that movie went on to become an American classic, it was an encounter he had soon after that that would help launch his career.

After that, Brooks cast Wilder as Leo Bloom in "The Producers," a role that ended up securing him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Wilder would work with Brooks again six years later, on the Western comedy "Blazing Saddles," and then a third time, on "Young Frankenstein." For "Saddles," Wilder played the gunslinger Jim, or "The Waco Kid." However, that wasn't the original plan.

"Saddles" marked another important turn in Wilder's career, as it was the first time he worked with Richard Pryor, who co-wrote the film. Wilder would go on to star in four movies with the comedian: "Silver Streak," "Stir Crazy," "See No Evil, Hear No Evil," and "Another You." The on-screen chemistry between the two actors was palpable. However, Pryor's drug habit off-screen made things difficult.

"'Silver Streak' was very good, we got along really swell. But when we did 'Stir Crazy,' he'd come in 15 minutes late, 30 minutes late, 45 minutes late, an hour late. [Director] Sidney [Poitier] was going nuts," Wilder said.

Unfortunately, by the late '80s, Pryor's health was in rapid decline, which was very difficult for his friend and co-star to watch.

"He had a heart [issue], and he wanted to smoke. The doctor said, 'I am telling you, if you smoke, you will die. Don't smoke.' When I went to see him, he had cigarettes and a lighter, and he couldn't walk without stumbling. He couldn't really do much, except he knew how to put the cigarette in his mouth. I didn't know what I could say to him to stop him from smoking cigarettes."

"Another You," which Wilder also starred in with Pryor, was the final movie in which Wilder appeared; his last three credits are all TV movies: "Murder in a Small Town," "Alice in Wonderland," and "The Lady in Question."

So what made him leave acting? As Wilder has previously explained, he wasn't interested in the way in which films were headed. At the 92Y, he elaborated on this -- and even left open the possibility of acting once again.

"After a while, [films] were so dirty. Once in awhile, there was a nice, good film, but not very many," Wilder said. "If something comes along and it's really good and I think I'd be good for it, I'd be happy to do it. Not too many came along. I mean, they came along, but I didn't want to do them. I didn't want to do 3D, for instance. I didn't want to do ones that were just bombing and swearing. If someone says 'Ah, go f*ck yourself,' if it came from a meaningful place, I'd understand it. But if you go to some movies, can't they just stop and talk once in awhile?"

Since Wilder seems open to it, perhaps it's time that someone came and wrote a part just for him -- one that doesn't involve unnecessary swearing, explosions, or 3D, of course. Also, it probably shouldn't be a remake, either, a trend Wilder seems less than impressed with. Take, for instance, the 2005 version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Wilder, of course, is best known for portraying chocolatier Willy Wonka in Mel Stuart's "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory." But he did not mince words about Tim Burton's take on the beloved Roald Dahl tale.

"I think it's an insult. It's probably Warner Bros.' insult," Wilder said. "Johnny Depp, I think, is a good actor, but I don't care for that director. He's a talented man, but I don't care for him doing stuff like he did."

If you consider the types of films Hollywood is putting out now, it might be tough for Wilder to find the right part. Then again, he seems content on what he's doing now. In fact, earlier in the evening, Robert Osbourne had asked Wilder about his thoughts on working in Hollywood. Not surprisingly, his immediate reply was "Yuck! I don't like it."

SOURCE

UPDATE: UNFORTUNATELY, GENE WILDER DIED ON AUGUST 28TH, 2016 AT THE AGE OF 83. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT IT HERE

FILM BIOS AND THEIR CASTING

Since almost movies began, the industry was interested in making film biographies of famous people. Especially in classic Hollywood, the movies were not truly factual, but "based on" the life of a famous person. Some of those film biographies like Pride Of The Yankees (Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig) or The Spirit Of St. Louis (Jimmy Stewart as Charles Lindbergh) are famous to this day.

I have always been interested in who can be cast as a famous person. For years I said to people that Kevin Spacey bears a striking resemblance to crooner Bobby Darin. Then Spacey (although too old) made and starred in a movie of Darin's life called Beyond The Sea (2004). My wife gets tired of me constantly telling her I had the idea for the movie even before Spacey did!

Through the years interesting casting has been announced like Tom Hanks as Dean Martin, Forest Whitaker as Louis Armstrong, and Reese Witherspoon as Peggy Lee. As of this article, the movies have not came to be - but the casting ideas are still interesting.

Here are some movie casting ideas I have been thinking about for years and you heard it here first if they ever happen!

STEVE BUSCEMI as PETER LORRE
No two actors in film history are more bug eyed and sickly looking than Steve Buscemi and the great Peter Lorre (1904-1964). Lorre's life might not be the story Hollywood is looking for, but Buschemi could play him. Lorre's later years was filled with constant gall bladder pain and an addiction to morphine, so maybe there is a movie there.

NATHAN LANE as LOU COSTELLO
I think both Nathan Lane and legendary comedian Lou Costello (1906-1959) are truly great entertainers. At one point in Lane's career I think he could have played funny man Costello. The time might have passed now that Lane is in his mid 50s, but I think the similarities and even voice to a degree are uncanny.

HALLE BERRY as LENA HORNE
Berry has already played famous actresses like Dorothy Dandridge (1922-1965), but of all of the great black actresses out there I think only Berry could play legendary singer Lena Horne (1917-2010). When Horne was alive it was proposed that Janet Jackson would play her life, but Horne was against it. Berry of course can not sing, but she can act.

CHRIS ROCK as RICHARD PRYOR
Now I know this is stretching it a bit, but I always thought Chris Rock has more acting chops than his movies have shown. He is a great comedian, and I believe he can capture the essence of fellow funny man Richard Pryor (1940-2005). Pryor's life could make a trilogy of movies not just one film, but again Chris Rock is not yet viewed as a capable dramatic actor.

KELSEY GRAMMER AS JACK BENNY
I am a big fan of both Kelsey Grammer and Jack Benny (1894-1974), and it is amazing at the similarities in the comic styles of both actors. Looking at Grammer on the television series "Cheers" and "Frasier", you see a lot of Jack Benny in Grammer's mannerisms. Grammer even hosted a great special on Benny for NBC in 1995. I am not sure of Kelsey Grammer looks enough like Jack Benny, but I think it would be a great role to do. Unfortunately, Jack Benny was such a nice guy, it would probably be boring doing his life story.

For every great film movie like Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles in Ray (2004), there is Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981). Still Hollywood will continue to make film biographies because where else but Hollywood could the town get the best ideas and stories. The stars' lives are often more interesting than the movies they were in.

What casting ideas do you have...