Jerome Silberman, known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, singer-songwriter and author. Known for his iconic portrayal of Willy Wonka in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Wilder also starred as Jim, "The Waco Kid" in the 1974 film Blazing Saddles.
Early life and career[]
Wilder was born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Jeanne (Baer) and William J. Silberman, a manufacturer and salesman of novelty items. His father was a Russian Jewish immigrant, as were his maternal grandparents. Wilder first became interested in acting at age 8, when his mother was diagnosed with rheumatic fever and the doctor told him to "try and make her laugh."
At the age of 11, he saw his sister, who was studying acting, performing onstage, and he was enthralled by the experience. He asked her teacher if he could become his student, and the teacher said that if he were still interested at age 13, he would take Wilder on as a student. The day after Wilder turned 13, he called the teacher, who accepted him; Wilder studied with him for two years.
When Jeanne Silberman felt that her son's potential was not being fully realized in Wisconsin, she sent him to Black-Foxe, a military institute in Hollywood, where he was bullied and sexually assaulted, primarily because he was the only Jewish boy in the school, according to his own account. After an unsuccessful short stay at Black-Foxe, Wilder returned home and became increasingly involved with the local theatre community. He performed for the first time in front of a paying audience at age 15, as Balthasar (Romeo's servant) in a production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Gene Wilder graduated from Washington High School in Milwaukee in 1951. Wilder was raised Jewish, but he held only the Golden Rule as his philosophy. In a book published in 2005, he stated, "I have no other religion. I feel very Jewish and I feel very grateful to be Jewish. But I don't believe in God or anything to do with the Jewish religion". Wilder studied Communication and Theatre Arts at the University of Iowa, where he was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.
Later in his career, he auditioned to play Willy Wonka for Mel Stuart's 1971 adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Before he was about to leave the auditioning station, Mel Stuart (who happened to be a Gene Wilder fan) ran after him and offered him the role. Wilder only accepted the role under the condition that he could do a surprise somersault in the scene of Willy Wonka's first appearance. He wanted this "because from that time on, no one will know if I'm lying or telling the truth." Three of his films after The Producers (1968), including Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, were box office failures. When Wilder accepted his next role, he was hoping that it would be a hit and put an end to his series of flops, which it did.
Roles[]
(Blazing Saddles)
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