8.29.2016

Gene Wilder

Really sad to learn both of his death, and of his having had Alzheimer's for several years.

I can't think of anyone who made me laugh more. That it was almost always as part of an ensemble is a testament to his talent and seriousness as an actor.

Among the many clips being posted today:


And of many tributes.

Wilder was wonderful in all roles I've seen. I remember "Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx" from around 1970, when it was released (and has had limited availability since). The plot may have been over-the-top whimsical, yet I've always wanted to see the film again, on the strength of Wilder's sincere and un-cutesy performance.

That his timing was brilliant goes without saying. From all accounts, he seems to have been a genuinely sensitive and thoughtful person.

Those qualities came across as a sincerity that made it easy to feel a personal connection. With that, it's comforting to hear his nephew describe himself and Wilder's wife each taking a hand, just before the passing, as—
...incredibly, on a random speaker playlist, Ella Fitzgerald, who was his favorite singer, started to sing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow."

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