Remembering Gene Wilder

We enjoyed watching Gene Wilder's movies. Many of them are now considered iconic. At the time, we just thought that they were funny, sometimes shockingly so, but ultimately funny. And oh, so quotable!

The strange thing was that you didn't get the sense that the films were funny because Gene was in them. 

Gene didn't have an outsized personality. He wasn't loud. He didn't rely on gags or frantic physical pratfalls to get a laughs. Gene Wilder was soft-spoken and mild-mannered to a fault, and he played most of his characters with that same polite, reserved demeanor.

What we didn't realize at the time was that Gene's gentle, relatable personality was a critical ingredient in the success of his movies. Sure, Gene delivered his lines with expert timing. His facial expressions and his body language were highly developed for comedy. but his gift went so much farther.

Gene Wilder was uniquely suited to mine comedic gold from the most uncomfortable topics imaginable. 

In "The Producers," Gene made a farce of the dark side of show business fundraising. In "Blazing Saddles," he and director Mel Brooks tackled racism as boldly as any production has ever done so (in an all out comedic assault that could not be repeated today). In Woody Allen's brilliant "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask," Gene found a way to get laughs from a topic so taboo that I'm not even going to mention it here. (Rent the video! Rent the video!)

This was Gene's gift, his most unique and special talent. He could make ANYTHING seem funny. Any topic. Under any circumstances. And he did it with a tenderness and a sensitivity that pulled us into the scene right along with him. We felt as though we were living through each subsequent ordeal with a close and trusted friend.

In 1976, Gene filmed "Silver Streak" with comedian Richard Pryor. Pryor, known for adult humor and explicit language in his stand-up routines, showed a much softer and more sensitive side when working with Wilder. The two friends went on to do several films together including 1980's "Stir Crazy," arguably their finest collaboration.

For most audiences, though, Gene will always be know as "Willie Wonka." (Sorry, "Young Frankenstein" fans!) In the iconic role or an iconic career, Gene Wilder lit up the screen as the pretentiously eccentric chief executive of the world's greatest candy company. With vast vats of chocolate and oompa loompas to spare, "Wonka" delivered the most mesmerizing family-friendly fantasy since a lipsticked girl from Kansas sang her way to fame along a yellow-brick road.

Gene Wilder, actor, philanthropist, comedic genius, and motion picture icon, left us today at the age of 83.

Copyright © 2016 Daniel R. South 

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