Gene Wilder, who brought a wild-eyed desperation to a series of memorable and iconic comedy roles in the 1970s and 1980s, has died, his lawyer, Eric Weissmann, said.
He was 83.
Wilder is best known for his collaborations with director Mel Brooks, starring as the stressed-out Leo Bloom in Brooks’ breakout 1967 film “The Producers,” and later in the monster movie spoof “Young Frankenstein.” He also portrayed a boozing gunslinger in “Blazing Saddles.”
For many people, Wilder might be best remembered for “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” playing the mysterious candy tycoon in the 1971 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book.
In a statement to CNN on Monday, Brooks called Wilder “one of the truly great talents of our time.”
“He blessed every film we did with his magic and he blessed me with his friendship,” Brooks wrote.
Wilder died due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease, which he struggled with for three years, his nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said in a statement to CNN.
Wilder chose not to disclose his illness, the statement added.
“He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world,” Walker-Pearlman said.
In the years after “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” Wilder continued to star in numerous comedies, with less consistent success.
That included several films with Richard Pryor, including “Stir Crazy” and “Silver Streak,” as well as solo vehicles like “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother” and “The World’s Greatest Lover,” which he also directed.
He was married to “Saturday Night Live” regular Gilda Radner for five years until her death in 1989.
When asked in the same CNN interview whether he thought the public expected him to mourn Radner indefinitely, Wilder said he felt some people did.
Then added, “If you found happiness, real happiness, then it would be stupid to waste your life mourning. And if you asked Gilda, she’d say, don’t be a jerk. You know, go out, have fun. Wake up and smell the coffee.”
He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Karen Wilder.