Gene Wilder

Personal Info

Birthday

June 11, 1933

Day of Death

2016-08-29

(83 years old)

Place of Birth

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Also Known As

Jerome Silberman

Jerry Silberman

Ζερόμ Ζίλμπερμαν

Τζιν Γουάιλντερ

Gene Wilder

Biography

Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman) was an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, singer-songwriter, and author. He began his career on stage, and made his screen debut in an episode of the TV series The Play of the Week in 1961.

Although his first film role was portraying a hostage in the 1967 motion picture Bonnie and Clyde, Wilder's first major role was as Leopold Bloom in the 1967 film The Producers for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. This was the first in a series of collaborations with writer/director Mel Brooks, including 1974's Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, which Wilder co-wrote, garnering the pair an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is known for his iconic portrayal of Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and for his four films with Richard Pryor: Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989), and Another You (1991), as well as starring in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972).