Gene Wilder, the stage and screen comic actor, screenwriter, film director, and author who died yesterday at the age of 83, was born Jerome Silberman to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1933.
His Wikipedia entry says that he was raised Jewish, but he held only the Golden Rule as his philosophy. He described himself as a "Jewish-Buddhist-Atheist" in an interview published in 2005.
Wilder discussed his Jewish upbringing at length in an interview with Abigail Pogrebin for her book Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish. Yesterday Tablet, the online magazine, posted an excerpt from the book.
Three years ago we posted an excerpt from an 80th birthday interview with Gene Wilder by Robert
Osborne that we attended at the 92nd Street Y.
It runs for 28 minutes and includes
Wilder's reflections on making movies and answering questions from the
audience.
As a tribute to Gene Wilder, we're reposting
the interview today. In it, Wilder reminisces about his experiences in filming Willy
Wonka, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein. Below the half-hour
interview video, we're sharing a few clips from his performances in
these movies.
(Please
be warned that when talking about the excessive swearing that he
doesn't like in the movies, he uses an expletive for illustration
purposes. We said
we'd warn you before posting anything that might offend readers who
object to language that the mainstream media find unfit to print. So if
you don't want to hear the word, don't watch the video.)
Enjoy!
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Willy Wonka's Grand Entrance
Wilder as the Waco Kid in Blazing Saddles
Puttin' on the Ritz from Young Frankenstein
Yom Kippur
-
[image: Dry Bones cartoon, Yom Kippur, sins, Israel, UN,]
Thge UN is a failing organization.
* * * Dry Bones cannot fail. . . *NOT IF WE HAVE YOUR HELP.*
...
6 hours ago
Fantastic. Thank you for sharing these wonderful clips
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed these clips so much that I watched the 4 of them again today.
ReplyDeleteGene Wilder passing away is a loss for all of us.
And not a swear word was necessary. Amazing ! Whatever happened to talent & dialog !
ReplyDeleteAgreed,
DeleteThe silver screen with a golden touch.
The world is a poorer place since the loss.