Known for the portrayal of Willy Wonka in ‘Charlie & the Chocolate Factory’, Gene Wilder is a former American actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, author and activist.
Gene Wilder
@Comedians, Family and Personal Life
Jun 11, 1933
Biography
Personal Details
- Birthday: June 11, 1933
- Nationality: American
- Famous: Atheists, Atheists/Agnostics, Jewish Actors, Jewish Comedians, Film & Theater Personalities, Actors, Comedians
- City/State: Iowa
- Spouses: Gilda Radner (1984–89), Karen Boyer (1991–present), Mary Joan Schutz (1967–74), Mary Mercier (1960–65)
- Known as: Jerome Silberman
- Childrens: Katharine Wilder
Gene Wilder born at
Milwaukee
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Birth Place
In 1960, he got married to his girlfriend Mary Mercier. He met her while he was studying acting at the HB studio. Most of their married life they remained apart from each other and they separated within 5 years.
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Personal Life
In 1967, Wilder got married for the second time with Mary Joan Schutz. Schutz had a daughter named Katherine from her previous marriage whom he adopted after marriage. They both got divorced after being together for 7 years.
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Personal Life
In 1984, he got married for the third time to his co-star Gilda Radner. They got married in the south of France but within two years of marriage it was diagnosed that Radner had ovarian cancer. She died after battling it for 3 years.
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Personal Life
Gene Wilder was born in a Jewish family to William J. Wilder and Jeanne Silberman, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He started taking great interest in acting since the age of 8, from the time his mother had rheumatic fever.
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Childhood & Early Life
His mother recognized his talent and knowing that Wisconsin was not a good place to become an actor, she sent him to Black-Foxe. Wilder was bullied and sexually assaulted there and returned back home.
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Childhood & Early Life
Wilder got involved in the local community theatre in Wisconsin and by the time he was 15, he performed for the first time in the production of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. He did his graduation from Washington High School.
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Childhood & Early Life
In 1955, Wilder got admission in Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Bristol, England. He studied fencing there and became the All-School Fencing Champion. He returned to the U. S. during the same time and got enrolled at the HB Studio.
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Career
In 1956, he joined the army and went to Fort Sam Houston. To remain close to New York in order to learn acting, he served as a paramedic in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurology in an army hospital, Pennsylvania.
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Career
In 1957, after the death of his mother, Wilder was relieved from military service and he started learning acting at HB Studio and side by side did odd jobs like, fencing instructor, limousine driver etc. to support himself.
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Career
After years of studying acting at HB Studio, he left the studio and took private lessons from Lee Strasberg and got selected into the Actors Studio and started getting noticed in the Off Broadway scene.
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Career
In 1963, Wilder got his first lead role in the Broadway production called ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ opposite Anne Bancroft. Around the same time, he toured for ‘Death of a Salesman’ which was televised by CBC.
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Career
Wilder’s mother and her third wife Gilda Radner both died of ovarian cancer.
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Trivia
He has a nephew who is a Director/Screenwriter in the Hollywood - Jordan Walker-Pearlman. He considers him his son.
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Trivia