Gene Wilder in 2005 (Photo Credit: MJ Kim | Getty Images)
The new documentary Remembering Gene Wilder delved into the vibrant life and career of the American writer, actor, comedian, and filmmaker, Gene Wilder. In addition, this documentary also showcased his final days.
Gene Wilder breathed his last on August 29, 2016. At the time of his death, he was married to Karen Boyer. According to People Magazine, Boyer revealed she was right by her late husband’s side during his last days. However, the revelation of the actor’s final words is enough to make a hardened person emotional.
Boyer recalled that she and Wilder were listening to Ella Fitzgerald’s evergreen song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” when he spoke for the last time. Boyer stated, “The music was playing in the background. Ella Fitzgerald was singing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ and I was lying next to him, and he sat up in bed, and he said, ‘I trust you,’”.
She further stated, “And then he said, ‘I love you.’ That’s the last thing he said.”
Throughout his life, Wilder was married four times. His first wife was Mary Mercier, to whom he was married from 1960, until their divorce in 1965. He then married Mary Joan Schutz and was with her from 1967 to 1974. In 1984, he married comedian Gilda Radner and was with her till her death in 1989. In 1991, he tied the knot with his fourth and last wife, Karen Boyer. Wilder suffered from Alzheimer’s and died from complications from the disease.
The director of Remembering Gene Wilder is Ron Frank, while its writer is Glenn Kirschbaum. According to IMDb, the synopsis of this project reads, “A special tribute documentary honoring Gene Wilder’s life and career.” Its total runtime is 1 hour and 32 minutes.
How old was Gene Wilder at the time of his death?
Gene Wilder was 83 years old at the time of his passing. According to his last wife Karen Boyer, she began noticing his illness when he struggled to remember things. Furthermore, he couldn’t even remember the title of his favorite film, Young Frankenstein. In the aforementioned documentary, Boyer stated that her late husband didn’t accept that he suffered from Alzheimer’s.
Karen Boyer said, “He never really accepted that he had Alzheimers, and maybe by the time we found out that’s what it was, his hippocampus didn’t let him remember.”
Gene Wilder gave his last major interview three years before his passing on June 12, 2013. In this legendary Turner Classic interview, the late actor reflected on his life and career. Furthermore, he even revealed why didn’t appear in films anymore.
According to Variety, Gene Wilder stated, “Once in a while, there was a nice, good film, but not very many. If something comes along that’s really good and I think I would be good for it, I’d be happy to do it. But not too many came along. I mean, they came along for the first, I don’t know, 15, 18 films, but I didn’t do that many. But then I didn’t want to do the kind of junk I was seeing. I didn’t want to do 3D, for instance. I didn’t want to do ones where it’s just bombing and loud and swearing.”
Some of Wilder’s most iconic films are, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, and more.
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