Gene Wilder, 1933-2016: His Most Memorable Roles
We lost one of the big screen’s most original comedy greats on Sunday, when Gene Wilder died at the age of 83. He leaves behind an incredible body of work, from the timeless antics of Willy Wonka and Blazing Saddles to his immortal movie partnership with fellow legend Richard Pryor. Click through to see some of Wilder’s most memorable performances.
‘Bonnie and Clyde’ (1967)
Wilder made his feature-film debut as the good-natured Wisconsinite Eugene Grizzard, held hostage by the infamous burglars Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) and Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) in Arthur Penn's landmark crime drama. (Photo: Everett)
‘The Producers’ (1968)
Wilder starred in Mel Brooks’ 1968 directorial debut as Leo Bloom, the accountant who schemes with Zero Mostel’s shamelessly crooked Broadway producer, Max Bialystock, to make a mint by mounting the world’s biggest theatrical flop. As the flustered money man alongside Mostel’s larger-than-life charlatan, Wilder is simply hilarious. (Photo: Everett)
‘Start the Revolution Without Me’ (1970)
This slapstick costume comedy featured Wilder and Donald Sutherland as two sets of identical twins switched at birth and caught up in the French Revolution. The bonkers historical farce, produced by Norman Lear, directed by Bud Yorkin, and narrated by Orson Welles, served as a template for Wilder romps to come. (Photo: Everett)
‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ (1971)
In arguably his most memorable role, Wilder sports a top hat and giant bow tie as Willy Wonka, in this 1971 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved novel. Guiding his prize-winning children through a tour of his fantastical candy factory, Wilder embodies Wonka both as a lovable clown and — key to the role’s iconic status — a subtle lunatic. (Photo: Everett)
‘Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* But Were Afraid to Ask’ (1972)
Love is strange in Woody Allen’s 1972 anthology comedy — and no vignette in the film is stranger than Gene Wilder’s, which follows a medical doctor who falls hopelessly in love with a sheep. Wilder's priceless facial expressions throughout the saga neatly show off his (acting, not lamb) chops. (Photo: Everett)
‘Blazing Saddles’ (1974)
Mel Brooks’ comedy paired Wilder (as a recovering boozehound gunslinger, “the Waco Kid”) with Cleavon Little (as an African-American sheriff in an all-white town), and the result was an absurd, genre-deconstructing classic. Wilder’s rapport with Little is pitch-perfect and foreshadowed his later chemistry with Richard Pryor, who was originally intended to star in the film. (Photo: Everett)
‘Young Frankenstein’ (1974)
“It’s aliiiiiiive!” Wilder co-wrote this oft-quoted, hilarious monster-mash classic with director Mel Brooks. He also brought gonzo lovability and ferocious energy to the role of Dr. Frankenstein (that’s “Fronkenstein” to you). Unlike the doctor’s grandfather, Wilder’s work was the farthest thing from doo-doo. (Photo: Everett)
‘The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother’ (1975)
After his back-to-back successes in Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, Wilder wrote, directed, and starred in this 1975 spoof. Despite the presence of faces familiar to Brooks fans, including Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, and Dom DeLuise, the end result came across as a poor relation to the two comedies that preceded it. (Photo: Everett)
‘Silver Streak’ (1976)
For the first of their four big-screen collaborations, Wilder and Richard Pryor teamed up for this 1976 suspense-comedy hit about an everyman (Wilder) who finds himself embroiled in art- forgery trouble — which also involves the kidnapping of his love interest (Jill Clayburgh) and an unlikely partnership with a small-time thief (Pryor). (Photo: Everett)
‘Stir Crazy’ (1980)
When their giant bird costumes (which they use to help promote a bank) are stolen and used by thieves in a robbery, Wilder and Pryor’s innocent men are sentenced to life in jail. It’s the setup for what may be Wilder’s funniest, most frazzled performance alongside his frequent co-star. (Photo: Everett)
‘Hanky Panky’ (1982)
Sidney Poitier directed this comedy about a man (Wilder) on the run for a murder he didn’t commit. The film left little impression on the critics, but it was notable for pairing Wilder with Saturday Night Live star Gilda Radner for the first time. (Photo: Everett)
‘Woman in Red’ (1984)
Wilder enlisted then-model Kelly LeBrock for her first film role in this movie he also wrote and directed. While the rom-com didn't earn ravishing reviews, it had a more important real-life effect on Wilder, reuniting him with his Hanky Panky costar Radner. They married that year. (Photo: Everett)
‘See No Evil, Hear No Evil’ (1989)
Wilder is a deaf man. Richard Pryor is a blind man. Together, they’re a ridiculous duo tasked with thwarting a gang of murderous thieves in this outrageously goofy comedy co-starring Joan Severance and a young Kevin Spacey. (Photo: Everett)
‘Another You’ (1991)
One of Wilder’s final film projects was also his last with Pryor. Alas, the mistaken-identity comedy was panned, and Pryor was already seriously affected by the multiple sclerosis that would claim his life in 2005. (Photo: Everett)
‘Something Wilder’ (1994-1995)
In the mid-’90s, Wilder made a foray into TV with this NBC sitcom about a man in his 50s adjusting to life with a much younger wife and 4-year-old twin sons. The kids were cute, and Wilder was winning, but audiences didn’t catch on, and the show was quickly canceled. (Photo: Everett)
‘Will & Grace’ (2003)
Wilder’s last major appearance came as Will’s new boss, the eccentric Mr. Stein, in two episodes of the hit NBC sitcom. Wilder would win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor for his work on the show. (Photo: Chris Haston/NBCU Photo Bank)
