Gene Wilder (1933 - 2016)

I’m seeing lots of great clips from Gene Wilder films this morning (Gene as a soul brother in Silver Streak a particular favorite) but what a shame no footage is available of Wilder’s turn in the 1963 Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, playing the vulnerable Billy Bibbit opposite Kirk Douglas’ McMurphy. Brad Dourif's brilliant scene-stealing performance immediately comes to mind when one thinks of the character but you can readily imagine Wilder slotting into the role. I'm sure he was just as spellbinding... If Wilder wasn’t a familiar face in my film collection (he appears in just one film of mine, Woody Allen’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask), he was at least a familiar voice of my record collection, appearing on the Aphex Twin track (via Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) We Are The Music Makers