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Gene Wilder (1933–2016)

Author of Young Frankenstein [1974 film]

27+ Works 1,876 Members 59 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

Gene Wilder was born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 11, 1933. He studied theater at the University of Iowa, at the Bristol Old Vic Theater School in England, and at the HB Studio in New York. He served a two-year Army stint as an aide in the psychiatric unit of the Valley Forge show more Army Hospital in Pennsylvania. After his discharge, he won a coveted spot at the Actors Studio. He became a stage actor, screenwriter, novelist, and the director of four movies in which he starred. His first major role on Broadway was the chaplain in a 1963 production of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children. In 1967, he made his movie debut as an undertaker in Bonnie and Clyde. He went on to appear in numerous movies including The Producers; Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask; Blazing Saddles; Young Frankenstein; Silver Streak; Stir Crazy; See No Evil, Hear No Evil; Another You; and Hanky Panky. In 1999, he was a writer for two TV movies in which he starred Murder in a Small Town and The Lady in Question. In 2003, he won an Emmy for his guest starring role in an episode of Will and Grace. He retired from acting soon afterward. His third wife, actress Gilda Radner, died of ovarian cancer in 1989. In her memory, he co- founded an ovarian cancer detection center in her name, in Los Angeles, and Gilda's Club, a network of support centers for women with cancer. He also contributed to a book entitled Gilda's Disease with Dr. M. Steven Piver. His memoir, Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art, was published in 2005. His first novel, My French Whore, was published in 2007. His other books included The Woman Who Wouldn't, Something to Remember You By, and What Is This Thing Called Love? He died from complications of Alzheimer's disease on August 29, 2016 at the age of 83. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the name: Gene Wilder

Image credit: 1984 photo (credit: Wikipedia user Towpilot, Oct. 1984)

Works by Gene Wilder

Young Frankenstein [1974 film] (1974) — Screenwriter — 758 copies
My French Whore (2007) 259 copies
The Woman Who Wouldn't (2008) 159 copies
Haunted Honeymoon [1986 film] (2001) — Director, Actor, Screenwriter — 24 copies
The Woman in Red [1984 film] (1984) — Director & Actor — 16 copies
Funny About Love (1990) 13 copies
The World's Greatest Lover [1977 film] — Director — 3 copies

Associated Works

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory [1971 film] (1971) — Actor — 983 copies
Blazing Saddles [1974 film] (1974) — Actor — 716 copies
The Producers [1968 film] (1968) — Actor — 264 copies
Bonnie and Clyde [1967 film] (1967) — Actor — 208 copies
Young Frankenstein: A Novel (1974) 73 copies
The Frisco Kid [1979 film] (1979) — Actor — 46 copies
Silver Streak [1976 film] (1993) — Actor — 44 copies
Stir Crazy [1980 film] (1980) — Actor — 41 copies

Tagged

1960s (16) 1970s (32) autobiography (30) biography (44) Blu-ray (33) children's (14) classic (13) comedy (280) crime (14) drama (19) DVD (402) family (33) fantasy (65) fiction (90) film (80) Frankenstein (19) Gene Wilder (64) historical fiction (22) horror (25) humor (56) Madeline Kahn (14) Marty Feldman (14) Mel Brooks (41) memoir (40) movie (87) movies (38) musical (51) non-fiction (49) parody (26) Peter Boyle (13) read (17) romance (21) satire (15) Teri Garr (13) to-read (53) USA (19) VHS (19) video (17) western (59) WWI (15)

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Reviews

Meh. Definitely puts the Gilda way his one true love to rest; she was obviously not. Strange writing as well; you’d be reading along and suddenly you are in a different time and place. The first time it happened I thought it was an editing error. However it happened so many times I pretty much think it had to be deliberate.
 
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corliss12000 | 17 other reviews | Mar 16, 2024 |
A sweet well told love story. I thought it was great.
 
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MsTera | 14 other reviews | Oct 10, 2023 |
Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art
by Gene Wilder

I have always enjoyed the comedic humor of Gene Wilder but really didn't know anything about him except he was married to Radner ( who I also loved) at one time. This book takes the reader through his whole life. Childhood, school, family life, boarding school, bullies, love life, adulthood, professional life, love life, marriages. His grief, his happiness, what it felt like to be a Jew and bullied, his battle with cancer, watching Glenda's battle with cancer, and so much more.

I picked this up for a couple of bucks on Chirp and Wilder narrates it himself. It's so open and honest to the point of being shocking in spots. It's heartwarming and heartfelt as he lays his life open for all to see. I don't think I could be that brave. He wrote this when his cancer was in remission in 2005. He died in 2016 after battling three years of dementia. I looked this up after I finished the book. That made me cry. Such a brilliant and witty mind and it was crippled in the end.
… (more)
 
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MontzaleeW | 17 other reviews | Feb 24, 2022 |
I listened to this book on audio, narrated by the author. His reading was enjoyable to listen to. I knew him mainly from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and this was a more faceted portrait. He was much more poetic and sensitive than I would have imagined. Also a bit neurotic (less surprising). There were a couple of cringey moments when he lamented the lack of sex from his third wife (who had stage four cancer at the time), but otherwise it was an entertaining read.
 
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bearette24 | 17 other reviews | Feb 12, 2022 |

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