Overview (4)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (4)

Trade Mark (6)

Soft mellow voice



Curly brown hair and blue eyes



Often played highly eccentric yet likeable characters





Often worked with Richard Pryor



Often worked with Mel Brooks

Frequently did comedic pauses in his dialogue



Trivia (34)



Won the Clarence Derwent award for the Broadway play "The Complaisant Lover" in 1962.

Attended and graduated from Washington High School (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) in 1951. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa at Iowa City in 1955. He was a lifelong brother of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.





Wilder adopted his second wife (Mary Joan Schutz)'s daughter, Katharine Anastasia, but the two reportedly became estranged when she was in her early 20s. After his third wife, Gilda Radner , died of ovarian cancer, Wilder co-founded Gilda's Club, a support group to raise awareness of the disease. Wilder's fourth wife and widow, Karen Boyer , is a former speech pathologist. They first met when he consulted with her about playing the role of a deaf man in Die Glücksjäger (1989).



Wilder was a supporter of the Democratic Party for many years, and staunchly opposed U.S. actions in the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. He supported Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 presidential election. That same year, he campaigned, along with Elaine May and Renée Taylor , on behalf of Eugene McCarthy , Allard Lowenstein and Paul O'Dwyer

In 1999, Wilder was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy. The following year, he was treated with adult stem-cell therapy. He made a full recovery.





When he chose his stage name, he chose "Wilder" because he loved Thornton Wilder 's play "Our Town". He chose the name "Gene" simply because he liked this, not realizing until later this was because his mother's name was Jeanne (she was sick for most of his childhood, and he spent much of his time entertaining her as a kid to keep her happy and her spirits up. He subconsciously chose the name because he loved her so much and in honour of her).

While serving in the United States Army from 1956-1958, he was assigned as a Medic to the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology at Valley Forge General Hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. He worked in treating psychiatric patients.





Wilder claimed that before Mel Brooks recruited him, he regarded himself as more of a dramatic actor than a comedic actor.



His performance as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein ("that's FRONKensteen") in Frankenstein Junior (1974) is ranked #9 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).



His performance as Willy Wonka in Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik (1971) is ranked #38 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Wilder was born to an Ukrainian Jewish immigrant father and an Illinois-born mother of Russian Jewish descent; he had a Bar Mitzvah when he was 13 years old in 1946.





For an American Film Institute poll, Wilder designated Der Zirkus (1928) as his favourite film.



In 1991, the Best Man at his wedding was his nephew, director-screenwriter Jordan Walker-Pearlman . Twenty-four years later, Wilder served as Best Man Emeritus, Ring Bearer, and Parent of the Groom at Walker-Pearlman's wedding to Elizabeth Hunter. He was recorded dancing down the aisle. According to Wilder's memoir, "Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art", he considered his nephew, whom he helped to raise as his son.

Longtime resident of Fairfield County's Stamford, Connecticut until his death. Upon his death from complications of Alzheimer's disease, he was cremated and his ashes given to his family.



In October 2001, he read from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" as part of a special benefit performance held at the Westport Country Playhouse to support families affected by the September 11 attacks. Also in 2001, Wilder donated a collection of scripts, correspondences, documents, photographs, and clipped images to the University of Iowa Libraries.





He was set to reunite with Richard Pryor in Die Glücksritter (1983) until Pryor dropped out. When Eddie Murphy was cast, he requested that Wilder be replaced, as he did not want to come-off as a poor substitute for Pryor.



Wilder guest-starred in Will & Grace: Boardroom and a Parked Place (2002) as Will Truman's new boss, Mr. Stein. As Will is trying to boost Stein's confidence, he has Stein shout "I am Stein! I am Stein!" In an outtake from the episode Will (played by actor Eric McCormack) stands up and shouts "You're Frankenstein!".

In early 2001, Wilder was grocery shopping in a supermarket near his home in Stamford, Connecticut, when a mother approached him and asked him if she could tell her kids who he was, and Gene said "Yes, if you promise not to say it loud." And the mother whispered to her kids "That's Willy Wonka!" She then turned to Wilder and said, "What a legacy!".





His final novel, "Even Dogs Learn How to Swim", was released in April 2017. The audio version, for which he performed the narration, was directed by his nephew filmmaker Jordan Walker-Pearlman . It was created over five days in a recording studio near the actor's Stamford, Connecticut home two years before his death.



One of his all-time favorite songs was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", and particularly the version sung by Ella Fitzgerald . According to his family, as Wilder laid on his deathbed, the music player (which was set to random) changed to this song. Wilder then smiled, closed his eyes, and peacefully passed away.

Passed away just 7 months after his sister Connie.



He was most widely known to be a very private man.



Personal Quotes (70)



[on Mel Brooks ] A loud kind of Jewish genius--maybe that's as close as you can get to defining him.



Woody [ Woody Allen ] makes a movie as if he were lighting 10,000 safety matches to illuminate a city. Each one is a little epiphany: topical, ethnic or political.



[on the movie Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik (2005) to the Daily Telegraph] It's all about money. It's just some people sitting around thinking, "How can we make some more money?" Why else would you remake "Willy Wonka" [ Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik (1971)]?



[on his role in Was Sie schon immer über Sex wissen wollten, aber bisher nicht zu fragen wagten (1972)] And that's not an easy task, being in bed with a sheep, especially if you make the sheep nervous. I'm not going to go on, if you know what I'm talking about.



I'm not so funny. Gilda [ Gilda Radner ] was funny. I'm funny on camera sometimes. In life, once in a while. Once in a while. But she was funny. She spent more time worrying about being liked than anything else.



[on Mel Brooks ] We are not interested in polite titters, we want the audience rolling on the floor and falling about. Mel works on his feet -- it's a hit and miss, hit and miss, hit and miss. Then in the editing he will take out the misses!



[on Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik (2005), the remake of his Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik (1971)] I haven't seen it. I like Depp [ Johnny Depp ], but when I heard they were doing a remake, I heard, "Mistake". When I saw clips on television, and I saw what Depp was doing, I thought, "Don't see that movie--you like Depp too much." I always get comments: "Yours is better". I know they're talking about "Willie Wonka".



[on his relationship with Richard Pryor ] We were never good friends, contrary to popular belief. We turned it on for the camera, then turned it off. He was a pretty unpleasant person to be around during the time we worked together. He was going through his drug problems then and didn't want a friendship outside of what we did on the screen.

[on being asked to play Willy Wonka] I said, "I'd like to come out with a cane, and be crippled," and I said, "because no one will know from that time on whether I'm lying or telling the truth." And he said, "You mean--if we don't do that, you won't do the part?" And I said, "Yeah, that's what I'm saying." [imitates the producer mumbling to himself] "Okay. Okay. We'll do it." And I, and I meant it, too. Because it was a tricky part. But that element, of "who knows? is he lying, or is he telling the truth?" is what my main motor was. And I liked that; it appealed to me a lot.





[on Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik (1971)] Well, you know, it wasn't a success when it came out. And I heard some talk about mothers who thought it was cruel to the children. What... what they and everyone else found out later on was that maybe some mothers felt that way, but the children didn't feel that way. The children understood the movie very well. That there are limits. And they want to know the limits. And it's reassuring to know that someone can tell you what the limits are, and that's what Willy Wonka did.

[on why he doesn't make movies anymore] I like writing books. 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.





[on Mel Brooks ] There's not much white sugar in Mel's veins. He would never ask an audience for sympathy.



[on Zero Mostel ] You may have heard stories about how bombastic, aggressive, and dictatorial Zero might be. It didn't happen with me. He always took care of me. I loved him. He looked after me as if I were a baby sparrow.

I never thought of it as God. I didn't know what to call it. I don't believe in devils, but demons I do because everyone at one time or another has some kind of a demon, even if you call it by another name, that drives them.



So my idea of neurotic is spending too much time trying to correct a wrong. When I feel that I'm doing that, then I snap out of it.



My mother was suffering every day of her life, and what right did I have to be happy if she was suffering? So whenever I got happy about something, I felt the need to cut it off, and the only way to cut it off was to pray. "Forgive me Lord." For what, I didn't know.



Great art direction is NOT the same thing as great film direction!



A lot of comic actors derive their main force from childish behavior. Most great comics are doing such silly things; you'd say, "That's what a child would do.".



Actors fall into this trap if they missed being loved for who they really were and not for what they could do - sing, dance, joke about - then they take that as love.



I write funny. If I can make my wife laugh, I know I'm on the right track. But yes, I don't like to get Maudlin. And I have a tendency towards it.



I don't mean to sound - I don't want it to come out funny, but I don't like show business. I love - I love acting in films. I love it.



I'm not so funny. Gilda was funny. I'm funny on camera sometimes. In life, once in a while. Once in a while. But she was funny. She spent more time worrying about being liked than anything else.



I love the art of acting, and I love film, because you always have anther chance if you want it. You know, if we - if this isn't going well, you can't say - well, you could say - let's stop. Let's start over again, Gene, because you were too nervous.





My basic mistake in Der größte Liebhaber der Welt (1977) was that I made the leading character a neurotic kook and sent him to Hollywood. I should have made him a perfectly normal, sane, ordinary person, and sent him to Hollywood. The audience identifies with the lead character.

Lots of things are hard work, but I think writing, for me, after I started acting at 13 years old. I like writing now much more than I do acting only because, well, partly because the scripts that are offered are junk.



I'm going to tell you what my religion is: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Period. Terminato. Finito. I have no other religion. I feel very Jewish and I feel very grateful to be Jewish. But I don't believe in God or anything to do with the Jewish religion.



I'm quietly political. I don't like advertising. Giving money to someone or support, but not getting on a bandstand. I don't want to run for president in 2008. I will write another book instead.



[2013, asked whether he would ever act again] I'm tired of watching the bombing, shooting, killing, swearing and 3-D. I get 52 movies a year sent to me, and maybe there are three good [ones]. That's why I went into writing. It's not that I wouldn't act again. I'd say, "Give me the script. If it's something wonderful, I'll do it". But I don't get anything like that.



[on why he retired from acting] I don't like show business, I realized. I like show, but I don't like the business.



When I'm not working on something, I seem to go through periods of depression. It helps to keep busy.



I'm going to tell you what my religion is. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Period. Terminato. Finito.



Pride is not the worst of sins. In fact, it's one of the most interesting ones.



Success is a terrible thing and a wonderful thing. If you can enjoy it, it's wonderful. If it starts eating away at you, and they're waiting for more from me, or what can I do to top this, then you're in trouble. Just do what you love. That's all I want to do.



I'm an actor, not a clown.



When your mother gives you confidence about anything that you do, you carry that confidence with you.



I'm funny on camera sometimes. In life, once in a while. Once in a while.



If my mother hadn't laughed at the funny things I did, I probably wouldn't be a comic actor. After she had her first heart attack, the doctor said, 'Try to make her laugh.' And that was the first time I tried to make anyone laugh.



What do actors really want? To be great actors? Yes, but you can't buy talent, so it's best to leave the word 'great' out of it. I think to be believed, onstage or onscreen, is the one hope that all actors share.



My mother was suffering every day of her life, and what right did I have to be happy if she was suffering? So whenever I got happy about something, I felt the need to cut it off, and the only way to cut it off was to pray. 'Forgive me Lord.' For what, I didn't know.



I love the art of acting, and I love film, because you always have another chance if you want it. You know, if we - if this isn't going well, you can't say - well, you could say - let's stop. Let's start over again, Gene, because you were too nervous.



I didn't want to be a comedian. I wanted to be an actor - maybe a comic actor, but a real actor - by real, I mean not a comedian. I wanted to be an actor.





I don't want to do 'Hamlet.' I don't want to do Robert Redford roles or Mel Gibson roles or Kevin Costner roles, because I'm not going to be good at them.



Sidney Poitier was directing a film called Der Geisterflieger (1982). And he said, 'Do you want to come with me to New York to see Gilda Radner in 'Lunch Hour' on Broadway? I said, 'I don't need to see her, I love her. I've wanted to write something for her for a long time. So it's OK by me.'

If something comes along that's really good, and I think I would be good for it, I'd be happy to do it. But not too many came along. I mean, they came along for the first, I don't know, 15, 18 films, but I didn't do that many. But then I didn't want to do the kind of junk I was seeing.



We all grew up on movies with scenes where the actor is lying, and you know he's lying, but he wants to make sure you know it's a lie, and so he overacts and all but winks at you, and everybody in the world except for the girl he's talking to knows he's lying.





I worked two days in Texas and two days in Hollywood on Bonnie und Clyde (1967), and that was it. I had no idea how it was going to turn out. And when I saw it, I was so upset, or fascinated, or something, by the sight of myself on the screen that I could hardly pay attention to the rest of the movie.

I want to do what I can lend my talents to, but I want it to be as a human being and not as a two-dimensional character.



I'm not from Hollywood, and I'm also not one of the people who wants to do a tell-all, and I hate tell-alls. I didn't want to tell all.



The thing I love about making movies is the peace of mind that I know I don't have to be perfect the first time. I can be perfect the second time or the third time.



When I was in desperate trouble for maybe eight or nine years, I went to a neuropsychiatrist.



I feel very Jewish, and I feel very grateful to be Jewish. But I don't believe in God or anything to do with the Jewish religion.



What good is a character who's always winking at the audience to let them in on the secret?



I'm stopped by mothers who say, 'Mr. Wilder, what advice would you give to my young boy? He's really talented.'





I'm not a natural writer like, let's say - I'm not talking about Arthur Miller ; that's a whole other thing - but let's say Woody Allen . But the more I've written, the more I've found that there is a deep well in me somewhere that wants to express things that I'm not going to find unless I write them myself.

I don't like giving speeches. It makes me nervous.





My favorite author is Anton Chekhov , not so much for the plays but for his short stories, and I think he was really my tutor.



I'd like to do a comedy with Emma Thompson . I admire her as an actress so much. I love her. And I didn't know it until recently that her whole career started in comedy.

I said something really stupid once. I told a friend that my mother was so beautiful, but my dad was ugly. My dad heard it and just laughed it off, but I felt guilty. It haunted me for years. I should never have said that.



When you fall in love, and you're very young, you think that that's the love of your life. And maybe it is, but it usually doesn't turn out that way.



I was a milksop as a kid. I had no confidence, no guts. I felt I was going to be someone else someday - someone who didn't have my weaknesses.



I know a lot of sad people who aren't comedians.



There seems to be a pattern. I get one good script every two years.



I've read everything printed in English that Freud has written. It helped me a great deal.



I like writing books. 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.



If there's an audience, I think they're going to expect me to be funny. But what if I'm not funny? What if I fail?



I live in a small town in Connecticut, and they don't write scripts there, but I get them anyway because my agent is in Los Angeles.



I feel alone and safe in public.



Salary (1)