A tribute to Gene Wilder 1933 - 2016

Gene Wilder Dies at 83; Star of 'Willy Wonka’ and ‘Young Frankenstein’

By DANIEL LEWISAUG. 29, 2016

Gene Wilder, who established himself as one of America’s foremost comic actors with his delightfully neurotic performances in three films directed by Mel Brooks; his eccentric star turn in the family classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”; and his winning chemistry with Richard Pryor in the box-office smash “Stir Crazy,” died on Sunday night at his home in Stamford, Conn. He was 83.

Eric Weissmann, who was Mr. Wilder’s lawyer for many years, confirmed the death. A nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, said that the cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease.

Mr. Wilder’s rule for comedy was simple: Don’t try to make it funny; try to make it real. “I’m an actor, not a clown,” he said more than once.

With his haunted blue eyes and an empathy born of his own history of psychic distress, he aspired to touch audiences much as Charlie Chaplin had. The Chaplin film “City Lights,” he said, had “made the biggest impression on me as an actor; it was funny, then sad, then both at the same time.” http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/movies/gene-wilder-dead.html?_r=0



This announcement came after children were in school, because of his role in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory; but all his movies weren't for children. Here are a few cuts from BLAZING SADDLES, which dealt with alcoholism and racial equality.