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Name
at Birth: Jerome (Jerry) Silberman Gene Wilder studied drama at the University of Iowa and
then attended the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Gene taught fencing to support himself while
searching for theater roles and received his first
break was in an off Broadway production of "Roots".
This led to a Broadway debut in "The Complaisant
Lover". In
1967, Wilder married Mary Joan Schultz, having
previously been married to Mary Mercier for five
years, and made his Hollywood breakthrough with a
small role in Bonnie and Clyde. In 1968 Wilder
starred as Leo Bloom in his first Mel Brooks film
The
Producers
which helped establish his comic acting
skills. Over
the next few years, Wilder starred in a number of
films but is probably still best known for his 1971
role as Willy Wonka in "Willy Wonka and the
chocolate factory", an adaptation of the
Roald
Dahl
children's book. Two
of Gene's finest performances came when he
collaborated with Mel Brooks on "Blazing Saddles"
in 1973 and "Young Frankenstein" in 1974. As well
as taking a cameo role in "The Little Prince",
Wilder also completed his divorce from Mary Joan
Schutz in 1974, after seven years of marriage and
one child. Gene Wilder made his directorial debut in 1975 with "The
Adventure of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother" but
it was in 1976 that he first teamed up with Richard
Pryor in smash hit "Silver Streak". The
chemistry between them led to them co-starring in
another three films - Stir Crazy, See
No Evil, Hear No
Evil
and Another you, making them the most prolific
interracial partnership of the time. In
1982, Wilder starred in "Hanky Panky" with Gilda
Radner as Richard Pryor was unavailable for the
role and romance blossomed. The pair married in
1984 and remained married until her death from
ovarian cancer in 1989. Her death was said to have
devastated Wilder who co-founded Gilda's Club in
her memory. Wilder remarried in 1991 to Speech
therapist Karen Boyer but remains actively involved
in charity work for ovarian cancer. In
1998 Wilder became known to a whole new audience
thanks to his collaboration on the book
Gilda's
Disease
for which he shared his personal experiences of his
third wife's struggle with ovarian cancer. It was a
serious move for Wilder and reaffirmed his
dedication to helping both sufferers and supporters
of those with ovarian cancer. Gene Wilder has continued to work with voicing a
character in the hit animation movie
Over
The Hedge
and starring in "Instant Karma", released in 2006.
He
released his autobiography, Kiss
Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and
Art
in 2005 which was widely praised for it's honesty
and openness, particularly surrounding the death of
his third wife Gilda Radner. He also also written
several other Books
and although not active on screen, Gene continues
to entertain with the written word. In
a 2008 Turner Classic Movies special "Role Model:
Gene Wilder", where Alec Baldwin interviewed Wilder about his career, Gene said that he was basically
retired from acting for good. "I don't like show
business, I realized." he explained. "I like show,
but I don't like the business." Where
next? Take a look at Gene Wilder's Movies
Gene Wilder Biography
Date of Birth: 11 June 1933
Star sign: Gemini
Height: 1.79m
Place Of Birth: Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
USA
Copyright © 2013 Gene Wilder