Remembering Gene Wilder — as mensch, mad genius and the only Wonka who matters
A new documentary finds pure imagination and wonder, even in career lowlights
Gene Wilder
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Culture How Gene Wilder became such a unique Jewish comedian
Gene Wilder had an atypical approach to Jewish humor
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Culture Why We Need To Remember Gene Wilder in ‘The Frisco Kid’
The late Gene Wilder is best known for his performance as the title character in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” a dandy in his royal purple suit, and orange felt top hat. The retrospectives published this week in print, radio and online recall his roles in movies such as “Blazing Saddles”, “Young Frankenstein”, “Everything…
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The Schmooze Mel Brooks Shares Sweetest Memories of Gene Wilder
(JTA) — Mel Brooks and the late Gene Wilder — who collaborated in films such as “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein” — had a famously decades-long friendship. When Wilder passed away on Monday, Brooks was one of the first celebrities to offer a Twitter eulogy, “one of the truly great talents of our time.” Brooks got…
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Fast Forward Mel Brooks ‘Still Reeling’ From Death of Gene Wilder
Mel Brooks got emotional while sharing stories about the late Gene Wilder — his longtime friend and frequent collaborator — with Jimmy Fallon Tuesday on “The Tonight Show.” “He was sick, and I knew it. He was such a dear friend,” Brooks said. “I expected it; I expected he would go. But I don’t know….
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The Schmooze Inside Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner’s Short and Sweet Jewish Love Story
The first time Gilda Radner met Gene Wilder, she thought he was suggestively rubbing his crotch on her knee. It was at the very beginning of shooting the Sidney Poitier directed romp “Hanky Panky,” and the two were introduced before filming their first scene. “When she told me this story, I said, ‘You’re nuts!’ And…
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Culture How Gene Wilder Celebrated the Black-Jewish Alliance in ‘Blazing Saddles’
(JTA) — Last year I joined some 3,000 people at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark for a wide-screen showing of Mel Brooks’ 1974 Western parody “Blazing Saddles.” In the onstage interview that followed, Brooks, then 89, was beside himself in his delight at sharing his 42-year-old comedy with a real live audience….
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Fast Forward Mel Brooks Leads Parade of Stars Mourning Loss of Gene Wilder
It was a sad day in Hollywood on Monday as the world learned that Gene Wilder, one of the most beloved comic actors of the ’70s and ’80s, had . The Jewish star, born Jerome Silberman and known for his roles in an array of classic films — from “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”…
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