Hollywood remembers 'true genius' Gene Wilder


The passing of Gene Wilder at the age of 83 is hitting Hollywood hard, with friends and co-workers remembering the man who brought Willy Wonka, the Waco Kid, and Dr. Frankenstein to life.
Mel Brooks, his director in Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and The Producers, called Wilder one of the "truly great talents of our time," and said he "blessed every film we did with his magic and he blessed me with his friendship." Steve Martin said Wilder was "one of the great screen comedians," who was "original and surprising every time," while Billy Crystal called him a "true genius" and "giant of comedy" whose "legacy of films is inspiring."
Rain Pryor tweeted a photo of Wilder with her father, the late Richard Pryor, a frequent co-star. She told The Hollywood Reporter her dad thought Wilder "was amazing," and always said, "'That man's a genius, and he's a good man, that's for sure.'" She believes the pair "helped each other grow as artists in their art form and who they were outside of their art form. They are the people who set the stage outside of the Laurel and Hardy type of thing."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Julie Dawn Cole, who played Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, told BBC Radio 5 he was a "wonderfully kind, generous, and mega-talented man, but without an ego. He was not grand, he was not a star, he was not a diva, he was just very sweet and kind." Jim Carrey recalled Willy Wonka in his remembrance, saying Wilder was "one of the funniest and sweetest energies ever to take a human form. If there's a heaven, he has a Golden Ticket."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Sodium batteries could make electric flight viable
Under the Radar Low-cost fuel cell has higher energy density and produces chemical by-product that could absorb CO2 from the atmosphere
-
Flying into danger
Feature America's air traffic control system is in crisis. Can it be fixed?
-
Pocket change: The demise of the penny
Feature The penny is being phased out as the Treasury plans to halt production by 2026
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia