Gene Wilder Biography

Fast Facts

• Following the loss of then-girlfriend Gilda Radner to ovarian cancer in 1989, he began to support numerous cancer research foundations and would eventually start Gilda's Club, a support group for others suffering from the disease
• Got his first big break in 1968's "The Producers" which would land him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor, as well as collaborator Mel Brooks for best original screenplay
• After his mother realized he would not reach his full comedic potential in Wisconsin, she enrolled him in a military boarding school in California, only to have him return months later
• Quote: "I'm not so funny․․․I'm funny on camera sometimes․ In life, once in a while․"
• Quote: "(Regarding friend and collaborator Mel Brooks) "We are not interested in polite titters, we want the audience rolling on the floor and falling about․""
• Despite being drafted into the Army in 1956, he was able to continue his education in theater at the HB Studio in New York City and would leave after three years to begin private classes with Lee Strasberg after insistence from Charles Grodin
• After starring in several hits including "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory", he would go on to collaborate numerous times with friend Mel Brooks and comic Richard Pryor
• Adopted the stage name of Gene Wilder at the age of 26, stating that he enjoy works by Thornton Wilder and one of his favorite characters was Eugene Gant from Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel
• Made his directorial debut with satirical comedy, "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother" in 1975
• Fully recovered from a cancer diagnosis in 2000 after undergoing adult stem-cell therapy