It’s almost impossible, in a career as diverse as Gene Wilder’s, to pick a favourite scene. He was anarchic. He could be the most sophisticated comedian in super-dumb comedies, as in Blazing Saddles, or he could be the most childish comedian in a super-sophisticated comedy, as he was in Everything You’ve Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask.
The actor best known for playing Willy Wonka and appearing in Mel Brooks comedies, died on Sunday at the age of 83 from complications with Alzheimer’s disease.
Wilder, stood at the center of hilarity for 10 years, from about 1967 to 1977. He was the comedian you were most likely actually to laugh at during the era of Woody Allen and Lenny Bruce. He was the key to reining in Mel Brooks’ madness, too. Films like Young Frankenstein gave full expression to Wilder’s incredible timing as well as his equally astonishing lunacy. Many comic film actors might call him an ancestor; without Wilder, there would be no Will Ferrell.
To help remember just how good the man was, we’ve compiled some of our Gene Wilder favourite scenes. Rest in peace, sir.
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Everything you’ve always wanted to know about sex but were afraid to ask
Blazing Saddles
Young Frankenstein
The adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ smarter brother
Stir Crazy
Willy Wonka & the chocolate factory