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Gene Wilder
Life Time
11 June 1933 - 29 August 2016
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Gene Wilder (Jerome Silberman, Gene Wilder) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 11, 1933 in the family of William J. Silberman, a migrant from Russia. He adopted the pseudonym "Gene Wilder" at the age of 26. The boy first became interested in acting at the age of eight. Then his mother fell ill with rheumatic fever, and the attending doctor advised her to cheer up and make her laugh. Jean attended the Hollywood private school Black Fox, where he had to endure ridicule and bullying, as he was
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Gene Wilder (Jerome Silberman, Gene Wilder) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 11, 1933 in the family of William J. Silberman, a migrant from Russia. He adopted the pseudonym "Gene Wilder" at the age of 26. The boy first became interested in acting at the age of eight. Then his mother fell ill with rheumatic fever, and the attending doctor advised her to cheer up and make her laugh.
Jean attended the Hollywood private school Black Fox, where he had to endure ridicule and bullying, as he was the only Jewish in the whole school. This attitude led to the fact that the boy returned home and began to participate in productions of local amateur theater. After graduating from high school in his hometown in 1951, Jean entered the University of Iowa, where he studied acting. He graduated in 1955. Then he studied at the theater school of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre, mastered the art of fencing, and then returned to the United States, where he studied the Stanislavsky system in the studio HB Studio.
In the autumn of 1956, Jean joined the army, and in November of the following year his mother died. After serving in the army, Jean returned to HB Studio and continued his studies. At that time, he had to make a living by casual earnings. Then, after completing a course of training according to the Lee Strasberg method, Wilder joined the famous Acting Studio. He knew that his name Jerome Silberman would look strange on the posters, so he took a pseudonym.
In 1963, Jean starred in the play Mother Courage and Her Children and met Mel Brooks, the boyfriend of Anne Bancroft. A few months later, Brooks offered Wilder the role of Leopold Bloom in his film Producers. In the future, the cooperation of Brooks and Wilder continued. In 1974, Jean starred in the film “Young Frankenstein”, which received two nominations for the Oscar, and Wilder – nomination “Best Supporting Actor” for the Academy Award.
Real fame came to Wilder with the role of Willie Wonka in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). Then the actor played in four films:
"Silver pipe" “Psychs,” “See Nothing, Hear Nothing,” and “The Second Me.” In addition, Gene Wilder wrote and directed several films.
Gene Wilder was married four times, the first two ended in divorce. His third wife was killed by the same disease that killed his mother. Wilder married Karen Boyer for the fourth time in 1991.