Actor Gene Wilder, star of Mel Brooks movies, dies at 83

In this April 9, 2008, file photo, actor Gene Wilder listens as he is introduced to receive the Governor's Awards for Excellence in Culture and Tourism at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn.
In this April 9, 2008, file photo, actor Gene Wilder listens as he is introduced to receive the Governor's Awards for Excellence in Culture and Tourism at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn.

LOS ANGELES — Gene Wilder, the frizzy-haired actor who brought his deft comedic touch to such unforgettable roles as the neurotic accountant in The Producers and the mad scientist of Young Frankenstein, has died. He was 83.

Wilder's nephew said Monday that the actor and writer died late Sunday at his home in Stamford, Conn., from complications from Alzheimer's disease.

Jordan Walker-Pearlman said in a statement that Wilder was diagnosed with the disease three years ago, but kept the condition private so as not to disappoint fans.

"He simply couldn't bear the idea of one less smile in the world," Walker-Pearlman said.

Wilder started his acting career on the stage, but millions knew him from his work in the movies, especially his collaborations with Mel Brooks on The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. The last film — with Wilder playing a California-born descendant of the mad scientist, insisting that his name is pronounced "Frahn-ken-SHTEEN" — was co-written by Brooks and Wilder.

"Gene Wilder, one of the truly great talents of our time, is gone," Brooks wrote in a statement Monday. "He blessed every film we did together with his special magic and he blessed my life with his friendship. He will be so missed."

With his unkempt hair and big, buggy eyes, Wilder was a master at playing panicked characters caught up in schemes that only a madman such as Brooks could devise, whether reviving a monster in Young Frankenstein or bilking Broadway in The Producers. Brooks would call him "God's perfect prey, the victim in all of us."

But he also knew how to keep it cool as the boozing gunslinger in Blazing Saddles or the charming candy man in the children's favorite Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

Upcoming Events