Gene Wilder, the star of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory and Mel Brooks comedies, died on Monday, his family announced. He was 83.
Wilder passed away at his Samford, Connecticut home after suffering complications from Alzheimer’s disease, his nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman told reporters.
The actor, producer, and writer was diagnosed with the disease three years ago, but did not make his condition public, Mr Walker-Pearlman said in a statement.
In 1989, Wilder was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The fuzzy-haired, celebrated comedian began his acting career on the stage, but became known by millions after appearing in classics such as Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and The Producers.
Brooks, his longtime friend and collaborator, mourned Wilder after the news let out.
“Gene Wilder is one of the truly great talents of our time,” he wrote on Twitter. “He blessed every film we did with his magic and he blessed me with his friendship.”
Wilder received an Oscar nomination for his performance in Brooks’ The Producers, in which he played the introverted Leo Bloom.
Further tributes have been paid to the star’s comic genius, particularly after his turns in Silver Streak, Stir Crazy, See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Another You, in which he and Richard Pryor made a exemplary comedic duo with their contrasting personas.
Actor Jim Carrey, tweeted: "Gene Wilder was one of the funniest and sweetest energies ever to take a human form. If there's a heaven he has a Golden Ticket."
Actor Josh Gad said: "The greatest comedic mind of my childhood is now gone."
Wilder, from Milwaukee, was born Jerome Silberman on 11 June 1933.
He began acting classes at age of 12 and continued to perform and take lessons through college. In 1961, Wilder became a member of Lee Strasberg's prestigious Actor's Studio in Manhattan.
In the same year, he made both his off-Broadway and Broadway debuts. He won the Clarence Derwent Award, given to promising newcomers, for the Broadway work in Graham Greene's comedy "The Complaisant Lover."
Wilder is survived by his wife, Karen, whom he married in 1991, and his daughter from a previous marriage, Katherine, from whom he was estranged.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
