1. He was actually born Jerome Silberman, on June 11th 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and made his first steps towards a comedian's career by entertaining his sickly mother with jokes, one-liners and funny accents. Even if he was just a kid he seemed to have a real knack for it. 2. Although he would be famous later for his funny roles, his first role on stage (at a local theatre, when he was just 15) was as Bathasar from Romeo and Juliet.
3. The actor would take the pen-name of Gene Wilder when he was about 26, combining the surname of Thornton Wilder and one of Thomas Wolfe's characters, Eugene Gant. Little did he know that he would make this name a famous one.
4. When he auditioned for the Willy Wonka movie, in 1971, Wilder was so sure that he had failed that he simply went for the door and said farewell. Not that he was very convinced that a kids musical version of a Roald Dahl book would be a success. But Mel Stuart, the director, already a fan of Wilder, simply gave him the part. Maybe the best decision ever for a Roald Dahl inspired movie.
5. Much later, when Tim Burton would remake the movie, Wilder simply refused to even see it.
6. Gene Wilder is best remembered for his longtime collaboration with fellow comedian Richard Pryor, and although the duo only made four movies together (in no small part due to their busy schedules) they had a surprising chemistry on screen.
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