Willy Wonka star Gene Wilder dies at 83

29 August 2016

Gene Wilder died today at his home in Stamford, Connecticut due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. The 83-year-old comedian and actor had previously been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989.

Wilder is known and beloved for roles in The Producers (1968), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971), Young Frankenstein (1974) and Blazing Saddles (1974).

He is survived by his wife, Karen Boyer, and nephew. Wilder was previously married to famed comedienne Gilda Radner. The two met and fell in love on the set of the film Hanky Panky (1982). Radner passed away of ovarian cancer in 1989.

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