Remembering Gene Wilder: The Top 7 Movies That Made Him a Legend

4) The Producers

Before his Willy Wonka days, Gene Wilder was best known for his role as Leo Bloom in the outlandish Mel Brooks comedy, ‘The Producers’. In a misguided attempt to make money off an undeniable Broadway flop, Leo and Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) decide to put on the most offensive production they can muster, a show entitled ‘Springtime for Hitler’. A remake with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick was released in 2005, but the same magic that Wilder captured can never be replicated.

3) Blazing Saddles

One of the better known Mel Brooks projects starring Gene Wilder, ‘Blazing Saddles’ took the western genre and turned it on its head. Wilder plays a man named Jim, but his friends call him…Jim. Along with Bart, the new sheriff, they try to take down a corrupt politician trying to ruin their small town. Bringing his dry wit and over-the-top personality, Wilder’s second film with Brooks made way for a strong career with the director following ‘The Producers’.

2) Young Frankenstein

His final Mel Brooks project, ‘Young Frankenstein’ was one of the most memorable films of the actor’s career. The movie was a parody of the classic Boris Karloff film, with Wilder starring as the grandson of Dr. Victor Frankenstein who has inherited his grandfather’s old castle as well as all his research to bring a man back from the dead. Starring opposite Peter Boyle as his monstrous creation, the collaboration with Brooks was a hilarious take on the classic horror genre and is widely considered a modern classic.

1) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Without question, the most memorable role of Wilder’s life was in one of the greatest films of the 21st century, ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’. The clever adaptation of Roald Dahl’s famous children’s book, Wilder portrayed the titular character who sought to pass on his chocolate making empire to a lucky child who found themselves worthy of such a prize. A role that has stood apart from all his others, Wilder’s portrayal of Willy Wonka has become the embodiment of the most successful point of his career. The movie made Gene Wilder a household name and, no matter how hard Hollywood tries, there will never be another to transport us in quite the same way to that world of pure imagination.

Earlier this week, the world was saddened to discover that comedy legend, Gene Wilder, had passed away at the age of 83. Finally succumbing to his battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Wilder has given the world some of the most memorable comedies of this century. Sure to go down in history as a titan in the industry, he leaves behind a legacy that will never (and should never) be replicated or attempted in quite the same way. In remembrance of the man behind the laughs, here are the top seven movies that remind us why Gene Wilder will never be forgotten:

7) Haunted Honeymoon

The 1986 comedy may not be the first title you think of when you mention Gene Wilder, but it was a hilarious project that never gets the praise it deserves. Starring alongside his wife, SNL alumni Gilda Radner, and the late Dom Deluise as Aunt Kate (yes, “Aunt”), the laugh-out-loud romp done in the style of your classic 1930’s castle horrors was one of the most underrated comedies of the decade, but shines bright with hardcore fans the world over.

6) Stir Crazy

Teaming up once again with standup comic, Richard Pryor, after their first collaboration, ‘Silver Streak’, the pair star as a couple of decent guys who are framed for a bank robbery and sent to prison. While in the slammer, they try to survive while keeping their wits about them, despite their ne’er-do-well cohabitants and a warden itching to get them in on the prison rodeo!

5) See No Evil, Hear No Evil

With the roaring success among fans of ‘Stir Crazy’, Wilder and Pryor once again team up nearly a decade later for 1989’s See No Evil, Hear No Evil. Dave (Wilder), a deaf man, forms an unlikely friendship with Wally (Pryor), a blind man, after they collectively witness a murder, but need to work together in order to prove their innocence. The movie is full of wholesome laughs and a lot of heart as the pair discovers how to work together if they want to make it through the ordeal.