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["Pure Imagination" playing]
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[Willy Wonka]
♪ Come with me and you'll be
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in a world
of pure imagination ♪♪
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[soft music]
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[man] He was a combination
of innocence and danger.
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-Champagne?
-You didn't know
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what Gene Wilder was gonna do.
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[energetic music]
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[Carol Kane] He was an actor
who had an ability…
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-[laughing maniacally]
-…to be funny.
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Hello!
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[screaming]
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[laughing]
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[Mel Brooks] He's naive,
he's innocent.
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Oops.
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[Mel Brooks] He's sweet,
simple, and honest.
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But when he got excited,
he was a volcano.
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-[zapping]
-Life!
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[woman] He had
a unique ability to find humor.
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I never thought
it could be like this.
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[woman]
In anything.
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[sheep bleats]
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I'm wet!
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[Mel Brooks] You'll never find
another Gene Wilder.
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[Gene Wilder] I didn't
think Jerry Silberman
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had the right ring to it.
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I wanted to be… Wilder.
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[bright music]
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[soft, bright music]
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Suppose you're walking
out of the Plaza Hotel
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in New York City
on a warm spring day.
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You want to go directly across
the street to Fifth Avenue,
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but the Plaza fountain
is directly in your path.
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You can get to Fifth Avenue
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by walking around the fountain
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on the path to your left,
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or by taking
the path to your right.
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I believe that
whichever choice you make
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could change your life.
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I'm sure everyone has had
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these mysterious
brushes with irony,
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perhaps referring to them
years later as "almost fate."
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January, 1963.
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Jerome Robbins
was going to direct
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Bertolt Brecht's play
Mother Courage on Broadway
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with Anne Bancroft as the star.
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Fate must be working its magic,
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because if he hadn't
miscast me in Mother Courage,
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I wouldn't have met
Anne Bancroft.
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If I hadn't met Anne Bancroft,
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I wouldn't have met Mel Brooks.
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If I hadn't met Mel Brooks,
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I would probably be a patient
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in some
neuropsychiatric hospital
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looking through the bars
of a physical therapy window
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as I made wallets.
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[dramatic music]
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[soft, bright music]
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We opened previews
at the Martin Beck Theatre
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to a packed house.
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Anne Bancroft's boyfriend
came to pick her up
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each night after the show.
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The boyfriend's name
was Mel Brooks.
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[Mel Brooks] We were
heavily engaged
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and heavily in love.
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She kept telling me
about this weird, strange,
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very talented guy in the cast…
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[soft music]
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…who had innocence,
blessed with innocence,
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and she knew that I was
writing a rough draft of--
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then it was called
Springtime for Hitler.
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Later I changed it
to The Producers.
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And she knew that I had
this character, Leo Bloom,
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and she said, "I think
he's Leo Bloom on the hoof,
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he's right there, he's…
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He's naive, he's innocent."
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So I saw the show,
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and I kept watching it
every night,
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and I agreed
with her and I said,
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"That's my Leo Bloom."
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I want to meet him.
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I met him backstage
at the Martin Beck Theatre.
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[Gene Wilder] When I met
Mel for the first time,
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he was wearing
a black pea jacket,
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it was the kind made famous
by the Merchant Marines.
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So he said, "That's a pea coat."
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And I--you know, and…
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the Borscht Belt comic
in me said,
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"No, no, that's too vulgar.
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I call it a urine coat."
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And he really grabbed his belly
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and really laughed.
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I immediately
fell in love with him.
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You get a terrific
real laugh out of somebody.
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And Gene was a great laugher.
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[soft music]
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[Gene Wilder] Despite Anne's
Academy Award that year
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for The Miracle Worker,
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Mother Courage closed
after three months.
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[boat horn blares]
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[curious music]
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Mel asked if I would like
to spend a weekend
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with him and Anne
on Fire Island.
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[Mel Brooks] And I
invited him out
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to our house
on the beach for a weekend.
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[seagull squawks]
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[Gene Wilder] After dinner, Mel
asked Anne and me to sit down,
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and then he began reading
the first three scenes
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of Springtime for Hitler
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almost verbatim as they
eventually appeared on screen.
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[Mel Brooks] Gee, you could
make more money…
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…with a flop
than he could with a hit.
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You keep saying that,
but you don't tell me how?
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How can a producer make
more money with a flop
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than he could with a hit?
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I read 37 pages,
that's all I had,
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introducing Leo Bloom fully.
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But you still look angry.
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[shrieks]
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How's this?
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Good.
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That's good.
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That's very nice.
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I thought I saw
a little tear run down his--
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"And you want me to play that?"
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I said, "Yes, I want you to play
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that simple,
beautiful, innocent,
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good-natured accountant."
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-[soft music]
-[waves crashing]
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[Gene Wilder]
I loved it.
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I said yes.
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I wondered,
"How can a few words
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change your life?"
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[interviewer] You originally
were Jerry Silberman.
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Yes, and I think there's--
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somewhere inside
he's still there lurking around.
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[soft music]
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I used to be Jerry Silberman
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from Milwaukee.
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[energetic music]
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When I was eight years old,
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my mother had
her first heart attack.
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[somber music]
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After my father brought her
home from the hospital,
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her heart specialist came
to see how she was doing.
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He grabbed my right arm
and whispered in my ear,
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"Don't ever argue
with your mother.
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You might kill her.
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Try to make her laugh."
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If he hadn't said
those two sentences,
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I might have gone
into used car salesman
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or something like that.
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Or a concert violinist
or perhaps a painter.
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[soft music]
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[Rochelle] Well,
Aunt Jeanne was always ill,
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and Jerry just adored her.
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He did try to be funny,
he tried to amuse her,
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he tried to do things
to make her laugh.
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[Gene Wilder] I had thought
often about being a comedian.
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Mostly because I had seen
Danny Kaye in Up in Arms.
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[scat singing]
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Danny Kaye was,
I think, very special to him.
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[Gene Wilder] And then
Jerry Lewis on television.
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[Jerry Lewis] Let's keep it
quiet, buddy.
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[Gene Wilder] And then for me
the king of them all,
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was Sid Caesar
on Your Show of Shows.
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I did Jewish accents
and German accents.
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And I did make my mother laugh.
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Every once in a while,
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if I was
a little too successful,
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she'd run into
the bathroom squealing,
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"Oh, Jerry, now look
what you've made me do!"
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[door slams]
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[Rochelle] She had
a wonderful sense of humor.
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I think Gene probably got
some of it from her.
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[overlapping chatter]
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[Gene Wilder] And then
when I started acting…
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[overlapping chatter]
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…she always thought
that I was good,
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and that gave me
the confidence to go on.
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-Sorry, sir.
-[soft music]
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[Rochelle] I think he loved
the stage best of all.
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He just belonged there.
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[bright music]
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[Gene Wilder] I was asked
to take over Alan Arkin's role
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in Luv on Broadway.
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It had now been three years
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since I'd heard
from Mel Brooks.
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I'd given up hopes
of being Leo Bloom
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in Springtime for Hitler.
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I was taking off
my makeup one day
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when someone knocked
on my dressing room door.
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[knocking]
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-I opened the door…
-[door opens]
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…and there was Mel.
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Mel said, "You don't think
I forgot, do you?"
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Then he introduced me
to the tall gentleman with him,
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Sidney Glazier,
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who was going to produce
Springtime for Hitler.
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[Mel Brooks] I met
Sidney Glazier,
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I gave him my script.
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He said,
"I don't wanna read it.
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Read it to me."
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And I began reading,
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and he was eating
a big tuna fish sandwich
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and a huge cup of coffee.
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And he'd sip the coffee,
and he'd eat,
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and he'd listen.
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And every once
in a while he'd smile.
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Once in a while
he'd laugh a little bit.
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And when I got
to the blue blanket scene--
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My blanket,
my blue blanket,
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give me my blue blanket!
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[speaking gibberish]
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He spit the coffee
all over the office
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and he said,
"We gotta make this movie."
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[Gene Wilder] Mel started
talking as if we were
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just continuing
a conversation from yesterday.
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"Now, listen,
you know I love you,
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but Zero Mostel
is gonna play Bialystock,
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and I can't just
spring you on him
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because he's got approval
of anyone who plays Leo.
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00:09:37,833 --> 00:09:39,541
So you gotta do
a reading with him
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just so he can see
for himself how good you are.
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[traffic humming]
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The morning of the reading,
I was very nervous.
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If I don't get this part,
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I'll just be a good featured,
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maybe supporting actor
for the rest of my life.
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[door opens]
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Mel opened the door
and gave me a hug.
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I could see Zero Mostel
in the background.
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00:10:00,916 --> 00:10:04,083
And then Mel pulled me
into the office.
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This huge round
fantasy of a man
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came waltzing towards me.
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My heart was pounding so loud
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I thought he'd hear it.
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Zero grabbed Gene,
bent him over,
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and kissed him
on the lips fully.
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And then turned to me
and said, "This is my Bloom."
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[Gene Wilder]
All nervousness floated away.
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00:10:25,583 --> 00:10:27,625
I think Zero did it
for that reason.
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00:10:28,500 --> 00:10:29,750
I gave a good reading
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00:10:29,833 --> 00:10:32,416
and was cast
in Springtime for Hitler.
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[soft music]
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-[crewmember] Take one!
-[clapperboard claps]
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[Gene Wilder] Filming on
Springtime for Hitler
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was to begin in May,
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but in the meantime,
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I was offered a small part
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00:10:44,083 --> 00:10:46,916
in a movie called
Bonnie and Clyde
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00:10:47,041 --> 00:10:49,958
starring Warren Beatty
and directed by Arthur Penn.
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The company was
already filming in Texas.
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I arrived in Dallas
and I went to the set.
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00:10:57,291 --> 00:10:59,750
Arthur Penn introduced me
to the pretty young woman
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00:10:59,833 --> 00:11:01,916
who would be playing
my fiancée.
257
00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:04,875
Her name was Evans Evans.
258
00:11:04,958 --> 00:11:07,416
We said hello and shook hands.
259
00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:08,833
The camera started rolling.
260
00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:11,250
[indistinct speaking]
261
00:11:11,333 --> 00:11:13,208
The first scene started
with Evans and me
262
00:11:13,291 --> 00:11:15,500
kissing on her porch.
263
00:11:15,583 --> 00:11:17,333
A little strange
to start kissing someone
264
00:11:17,416 --> 00:11:19,666
you just met
two minutes earlier,
265
00:11:19,750 --> 00:11:21,791
but it was fun.
266
00:11:21,875 --> 00:11:24,166
Say, isn't that
your car, Eugene?
267
00:11:24,875 --> 00:11:26,333
That's my car.
268
00:11:26,416 --> 00:11:29,791
Arthur said, "Cut. Very good."
269
00:11:29,875 --> 00:11:33,500
And that was my introduction
to movie acting.
270
00:11:33,583 --> 00:11:35,916
Later, I'm riding
in the back of a car
271
00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:37,458
with the Barrow gang.
272
00:11:37,541 --> 00:11:39,041
Maybe y'all oughta
join up with us?
273
00:11:39,125 --> 00:11:41,041
[laughing]
274
00:11:42,125 --> 00:11:44,291
Oh, boy.
275
00:11:44,375 --> 00:11:47,000
It sure would be a surprise
to hear that back home.
276
00:11:47,083 --> 00:11:48,958
Hey, what do you do anyhow?
277
00:11:50,541 --> 00:11:51,625
I'm an undertaker.
278
00:11:57,041 --> 00:11:59,000
Get them out of here.
279
00:11:59,083 --> 00:12:00,541
[Gene Wilder]
When filming was over,
280
00:12:00,625 --> 00:12:02,791
Arthur Penn told me that
he had never envisioned
281
00:12:02,875 --> 00:12:05,541
the part being played
the way I did it.
282
00:12:05,625 --> 00:12:07,583
He never imagined it
being funny.
283
00:12:07,666 --> 00:12:11,166
[bright music]
284
00:12:11,250 --> 00:12:13,833
Zero Mostel had a car
and driver assigned to him
285
00:12:13,916 --> 00:12:16,375
when filming for
Springtime for Hitler began.
286
00:12:17,958 --> 00:12:19,291
He would pick me up
each morning
287
00:12:19,375 --> 00:12:21,458
in that we could travel
to work together.
288
00:12:22,916 --> 00:12:23,833
[indistinct chatter]
289
00:12:23,916 --> 00:12:26,458
[Mel Brooks] It was
a marriage made in heaven.
290
00:12:26,541 --> 00:12:28,208
They were just made
for each other.
291
00:12:28,291 --> 00:12:30,791
I'm an honest man,
you don't understand.
292
00:12:30,875 --> 00:12:32,250
No, Bloom, you don't understand!
293
00:12:32,333 --> 00:12:34,125
This is fate, this is destiny,
294
00:12:34,208 --> 00:12:35,375
this is kismet!
295
00:12:35,458 --> 00:12:38,041
There's no avoiding it!
296
00:12:38,125 --> 00:12:41,375
[Mel Brooks] It was the first
movie I ever directed.
297
00:12:41,458 --> 00:12:42,875
-A toast.
-[Mel Brooks] It was like
298
00:12:42,958 --> 00:12:47,375
getting into a big canoe
and gliding down the river.
299
00:12:47,458 --> 00:12:49,500
That's how easy
they made it for me.
300
00:12:49,583 --> 00:12:51,041
-I'm happy!
-[laughing]
301
00:12:51,125 --> 00:12:53,541
[Mel Brooks] And they did--
sometimes they ad-libbed stuff
302
00:12:53,625 --> 00:12:56,291
that was a lot better
than stuff I had written.
303
00:12:56,375 --> 00:12:57,708
But I was in heaven.
304
00:12:57,791 --> 00:12:58,708
[soft music]
305
00:12:58,791 --> 00:12:59,791
[Gene Wilder] Joe Levine,
306
00:12:59,875 --> 00:13:01,333
the man who put up
half the budget
307
00:13:01,416 --> 00:13:03,833
and was going
to distribute the film
308
00:13:03,916 --> 00:13:06,625
went to
a screening room with Mel
309
00:13:06,708 --> 00:13:09,958
and saw the first
11 minutes of the dailies.
310
00:13:10,041 --> 00:13:11,625
[Mel Brooks] Joe Levine
saw the dailies
311
00:13:11,708 --> 00:13:14,666
on the third day
with Bialystock and Bloom,
312
00:13:14,750 --> 00:13:17,750
the one in the hallway
where he's frightened
313
00:13:17,833 --> 00:13:19,958
and where he's just superb.
314
00:13:20,041 --> 00:13:22,208
Speak to me, speak!
315
00:13:22,291 --> 00:13:25,041
-Why don't you speak?
-I'm scared, can't talk.
316
00:13:25,125 --> 00:13:27,166
[Mel Brooks] He said,
"He's cute, he has curly hair,
317
00:13:27,250 --> 00:13:28,375
but I need a leading man.
318
00:13:28,458 --> 00:13:30,666
He's--he's a--a bit of a wimp.
319
00:13:30,750 --> 00:13:32,041
I'll give you another $10,000.
320
00:13:32,125 --> 00:13:34,500
Get somebody who looks
like a leading man."
321
00:13:34,583 --> 00:13:36,250
I said, "I don't want
a leading man!
322
00:13:36,333 --> 00:13:38,833
I want the opposite
of a leading man.
323
00:13:38,916 --> 00:13:41,708
I want somebody
who's afraid of the world,
324
00:13:41,791 --> 00:13:44,666
who retreats instead
of attacks like Bialystock."
325
00:13:44,750 --> 00:13:48,458
He said, "Get another guy
to play Leo Bloom."
326
00:13:48,541 --> 00:13:51,583
I said, and this is
the first time I said it,
327
00:13:51,666 --> 00:13:53,166
and at every single movie
328
00:13:53,250 --> 00:13:55,166
I said to the head
of the studio,
329
00:13:55,250 --> 00:13:58,250
"Yeah, you're right,
you got it."
330
00:13:58,333 --> 00:14:02,208
And never, ever did
what they wanted me to do.
331
00:14:02,291 --> 00:14:04,583
[soft, quirky music]
332
00:14:04,666 --> 00:14:06,625
I started with Joe Levine.
333
00:14:06,708 --> 00:14:08,666
Gene Wilder is out!
334
00:14:08,750 --> 00:14:09,750
[door slams]
335
00:14:09,833 --> 00:14:10,833
You'll see.
336
00:14:10,916 --> 00:14:13,416
Next week
I'll have somebody else.
337
00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:16,291
He left
the screening room happy.
338
00:14:18,208 --> 00:14:19,750
[Gene Wilder] We were
about to rehearse
339
00:14:19,833 --> 00:14:22,541
my big hysterical scene.
340
00:14:22,625 --> 00:14:26,458
I was anxious to see how Zero
and I would play it together.
341
00:14:26,541 --> 00:14:29,125
Mel never said "action"
like every other director.
342
00:14:29,208 --> 00:14:30,958
Mel said, "Go."
343
00:14:32,291 --> 00:14:33,250
Oh…
344
00:14:33,333 --> 00:14:35,291
And I gave it my all.
345
00:14:35,375 --> 00:14:39,208
You miserable, cowardly,
wretched little caterpillar.
346
00:14:39,291 --> 00:14:41,416
You would normally be
a little afraid of Bialystock,
347
00:14:41,500 --> 00:14:44,708
who was a force,
who's a living force.
348
00:14:44,791 --> 00:14:48,625
He was just a ton of flesh,
a crescendo of humanity.
349
00:14:48,708 --> 00:14:49,583
…glory!
350
00:14:49,666 --> 00:14:51,083
[Leo Bloom]
You're gonna jump on me.
351
00:14:51,166 --> 00:14:52,083
Huh?
352
00:14:52,166 --> 00:14:53,041
You're gonna jump on me,
353
00:14:53,125 --> 00:14:55,416
I know you're gonna jump on me!
354
00:14:55,500 --> 00:14:57,541
[Gene Wilder]
This giant hulk of a man
355
00:14:57,625 --> 00:15:00,333
is now making
all these strange gestures
356
00:15:00,416 --> 00:15:02,708
and might possibly
pounce on me.
357
00:15:02,791 --> 00:15:03,666
Please don't jump on me!
358
00:15:03,750 --> 00:15:04,833
I'm not gonna jump!
359
00:15:04,916 --> 00:15:07,416
-[screaming]
-[indistinct shouting]
360
00:15:08,416 --> 00:15:09,666
Will you get a hold of yourself?
361
00:15:09,750 --> 00:15:11,583
Don't touch me,
don't touch me!
362
00:15:11,666 --> 00:15:13,500
He could scare you.
363
00:15:13,583 --> 00:15:17,000
And, uh, he scared Gene,
and Gene was timid.
364
00:15:17,083 --> 00:15:19,041
[Ben Mankiewicz] I think
what connects Leo Bloom
365
00:15:19,125 --> 00:15:21,916
to me and to the audience
is fear.
366
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:23,458
I'm hysterical!
367
00:15:23,541 --> 00:15:24,750
[Ben Mankiewicz] Just the fear
368
00:15:24,833 --> 00:15:27,166
that he goes
through life carrying.
369
00:15:27,250 --> 00:15:28,541
What comes across
370
00:15:28,625 --> 00:15:31,833
is this intense humanity, right,
371
00:15:31,916 --> 00:15:33,791
this authenticity
372
00:15:33,875 --> 00:15:36,416
that Gene brings out
of Leo Bloom.
373
00:15:36,500 --> 00:15:38,541
[bright music]
374
00:15:38,625 --> 00:15:40,208
[Gene Wilder]
When the scene was over,
375
00:15:40,291 --> 00:15:42,250
the whole crew
laughed and applauded.
376
00:15:42,333 --> 00:15:44,875
I was worn out
and a little hoarse,
377
00:15:44,958 --> 00:15:48,333
but the scene went very well.
378
00:15:48,416 --> 00:15:51,833
[Mel Brooks] Joe Levine,
who said I had to take out Gene,
379
00:15:51,916 --> 00:15:55,125
we kept him away from
the dailies so he never knew
380
00:15:55,208 --> 00:15:57,541
that Gene would come in
every day and work it.
381
00:15:57,625 --> 00:15:59,666
Finally, I said,
"He's done half the picture.
382
00:15:59,750 --> 00:16:01,541
It would cost us too much money
to replace him."
383
00:16:01,625 --> 00:16:02,791
"Yeah, yeah, all right."
384
00:16:03,958 --> 00:16:05,125
[soft music]
385
00:16:05,208 --> 00:16:07,291
[Gene Wilder] We were at
the Lincoln Center fountain
386
00:16:07,375 --> 00:16:08,583
on the last day of filming,
387
00:16:08,666 --> 00:16:11,083
waiting for the sun to go down.
388
00:16:11,166 --> 00:16:13,833
I said to the guy
running the fountain at--
389
00:16:13,916 --> 00:16:16,416
at Lincoln Center, I said,
390
00:16:16,500 --> 00:16:18,250
I said, "It goes up
to 12 or 15 feet.
391
00:16:18,333 --> 00:16:19,416
Can you get it up to 20?"
392
00:16:19,500 --> 00:16:21,750
He says,
"I can get it up to 50."
393
00:16:21,833 --> 00:16:24,500
I said, "Go for broke."
394
00:16:24,583 --> 00:16:26,833
[Gene Wilder] When the sun
finally went down,
395
00:16:26,916 --> 00:16:28,875
the cameras started rolling.
396
00:16:28,958 --> 00:16:30,083
[Leo Bloom]
I'll do it!
397
00:16:30,166 --> 00:16:31,208
[fountain splashes]
398
00:16:31,291 --> 00:16:33,541
[Gene Wilder]
And the fountain was turned on,
399
00:16:33,625 --> 00:16:35,750
in the film and in my life.
400
00:16:35,833 --> 00:16:37,875
[uplifting music]
401
00:16:37,958 --> 00:16:42,250
And we finished the movie
right on that--on that night.
402
00:16:43,375 --> 00:16:45,958
That was a miraculous moment.
403
00:16:47,666 --> 00:16:49,541
[Gene Wilder] I was sad
that the film was ending,
404
00:16:49,625 --> 00:16:51,541
of course, but also very happy.
405
00:16:51,625 --> 00:16:54,041
And I knew that I'd been
part of a unique film,
406
00:16:54,125 --> 00:16:56,333
working with
the two most unusual people
407
00:16:56,416 --> 00:16:57,708
I had ever met.
408
00:16:57,791 --> 00:16:59,166
The outrageousness,
409
00:16:59,250 --> 00:17:01,666
the complete audacity
of Zero and Mel
410
00:17:01,750 --> 00:17:03,041
remains with me.
411
00:17:03,125 --> 00:17:05,541
[grand music]
412
00:17:06,666 --> 00:17:08,958
[soft music]
413
00:17:09,041 --> 00:17:11,458
[Terry Wogan] The movie that
really launched you, as it were,
414
00:17:11,541 --> 00:17:13,958
that was a character
that held in the anger, too,
415
00:17:14,041 --> 00:17:16,333
and that suddenly
would burst out into manic--
416
00:17:16,416 --> 00:17:18,166
-Explosion.
-Was that you?
417
00:17:18,250 --> 00:17:19,333
Yes, that was me.
418
00:17:19,416 --> 00:17:20,625
It was a part of me.
419
00:17:20,708 --> 00:17:21,916
[soft music]
420
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:23,833
When my mother was suffering,
421
00:17:23,916 --> 00:17:26,583
the doctor set off
something terrible in me,
422
00:17:26,666 --> 00:17:29,833
because "don't ever argue
with your mother"
423
00:17:29,916 --> 00:17:32,916
inhibited me
from getting angry with anyone
424
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,791
and holding it all in,
and that's poison.
425
00:17:37,625 --> 00:17:39,375
[Ben Mankiewicz]
No child should ever be told,
426
00:17:39,458 --> 00:17:42,375
"Don't argue with your mother,
you might kill her."
427
00:17:42,458 --> 00:17:45,958
That is an unbelievably
heavy burden to carry.
428
00:17:47,458 --> 00:17:48,458
[Gene Wilder] I felt a rage
429
00:17:48,541 --> 00:17:51,500
that I didn't
or couldn't express,
430
00:17:51,583 --> 00:17:53,250
except through acting.
431
00:17:54,958 --> 00:17:58,583
He started acting
in high school plays.
432
00:17:58,666 --> 00:18:02,125
And then Gene was with
the Milwaukee Players.
433
00:18:03,916 --> 00:18:06,958
He was always the lead.
434
00:18:07,041 --> 00:18:08,916
We'd go to rehearsals together.
435
00:18:10,375 --> 00:18:14,083
And he just came and got me so--
take me with him.
436
00:18:14,166 --> 00:18:15,750
[Gene Wilder] Being
on stage was a thing
437
00:18:15,833 --> 00:18:17,375
that saved me from myself.
438
00:18:18,958 --> 00:18:21,000
When I was in a play,
I was safe.
439
00:18:25,125 --> 00:18:27,166
[soft, bright music]
440
00:18:27,250 --> 00:18:32,375
I was drafted into the Army
on September 10th, 1956.
441
00:18:32,458 --> 00:18:33,541
At the end of basic training,
442
00:18:33,625 --> 00:18:35,333
I was assigned
to the medical corps
443
00:18:35,416 --> 00:18:37,083
at the neuropsychiatric
hospital
444
00:18:37,166 --> 00:18:39,500
in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
445
00:18:39,583 --> 00:18:43,041
Patients were all going
through psychotic phases.
446
00:18:43,125 --> 00:18:45,708
I saw their behavior.
447
00:18:45,791 --> 00:18:48,333
I thought that would be
the closest to acting
448
00:18:48,416 --> 00:18:49,916
that would help me later on.
449
00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:51,166
Rowers, keep on rowing!
450
00:18:51,250 --> 00:18:52,500
[Gene Wilder]
I wasn't wrong.
451
00:18:52,583 --> 00:18:55,750
And they're
certainly not showing
452
00:18:55,833 --> 00:19:00,041
any signs that they are slowing!
453
00:19:00,750 --> 00:19:03,791
[shrieking]
454
00:19:03,875 --> 00:19:06,416
It's really tough for me to pick
my favorite Gene Wilder film
455
00:19:06,500 --> 00:19:08,916
because so many of them
were so great.
456
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,250
[soft music]
457
00:19:12,333 --> 00:19:14,916
But I have to say that
Willy Wonka's my favorite
458
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,625
because what Gene
was able to do on camera.
459
00:19:19,875 --> 00:19:22,000
That was so attractive.
460
00:19:22,083 --> 00:19:25,375
That was so charismatic
and becoming.
461
00:19:25,458 --> 00:19:26,791
I'm so glad you could come.
462
00:19:26,875 --> 00:19:28,958
This is going to be
such an exciting day.
463
00:19:29,041 --> 00:19:30,416
I hope you enjoy it.
464
00:19:31,291 --> 00:19:32,958
I think you will.
465
00:19:33,041 --> 00:19:35,250
And now would you please
show me your golden tickets?
466
00:19:35,333 --> 00:19:37,333
-Charlie Bucket.
-Well, well, Charlie Bucket.
467
00:19:37,416 --> 00:19:38,750
I read all about you
in the papers.
468
00:19:38,833 --> 00:19:40,041
I'm so happy for you.
469
00:19:41,333 --> 00:19:43,166
[Peter Ostrum] I was
in fourth grade
470
00:19:44,416 --> 00:19:46,250
in Shaker Heights, Ohio,
471
00:19:46,333 --> 00:19:48,000
and the Cleveland Playhouse
472
00:19:48,083 --> 00:19:50,375
has a very active
children's theater.
473
00:19:51,791 --> 00:19:53,333
It's got a nice résumé.
474
00:19:53,416 --> 00:19:56,583
Joel Grey came from
the Cleveland Playhouse.
475
00:19:56,666 --> 00:19:59,625
Margaret Hamilton,
Wicked Witch of the West.
476
00:20:01,041 --> 00:20:02,500
It was a good place to learn,
477
00:20:02,583 --> 00:20:05,625
good place to start for me.
478
00:20:05,708 --> 00:20:07,833
When they were
casting Willy Wonka,
479
00:20:07,916 --> 00:20:09,291
that was one of the theaters
480
00:20:09,375 --> 00:20:11,166
that they called.
481
00:20:11,250 --> 00:20:13,916
So my name was given to them.
482
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,416
They had me do a screen test.
483
00:20:16,500 --> 00:20:17,458
I was nobody.
484
00:20:17,541 --> 00:20:19,458
I didn't have a large résumé.
485
00:20:19,541 --> 00:20:21,666
This was just like a lark.
486
00:20:21,750 --> 00:20:23,833
It was fun.
487
00:20:23,916 --> 00:20:25,166
If I didn't get the part,
488
00:20:25,250 --> 00:20:27,958
there was--there weren't
any hard feelings, you know?
489
00:20:29,416 --> 00:20:31,916
Months later,
Mel Stuart, the director,
490
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,958
finally called and talked
to my mother and said,
491
00:20:36,041 --> 00:20:38,875
"Hey, you got the role."
492
00:20:40,166 --> 00:20:41,875
I'm gonna be Charlie.
493
00:20:41,958 --> 00:20:45,208
"And you need to be
in Munich in like 10 days."
494
00:20:46,541 --> 00:20:48,208
Casting was very important
in the--
495
00:20:48,291 --> 00:20:51,833
but above all,
the casting of Wonka.
496
00:20:51,916 --> 00:20:54,916
One day I remember we were at
the Plaza Hotel in New York,
497
00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:56,583
we were casting there.
498
00:20:56,666 --> 00:20:58,083
Gene Wilder walks in.
499
00:20:58,166 --> 00:21:00,625
And I looked at him and I said,
500
00:21:00,708 --> 00:21:01,541
"Here's just a line.
501
00:21:01,625 --> 00:21:04,958
Would you read just a line
for us from the book?"
502
00:21:05,041 --> 00:21:05,916
And he reads it.
503
00:21:06,666 --> 00:21:08,000
And he says, "Okay."
504
00:21:08,083 --> 00:21:09,916
I said, "Okay."
505
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:11,541
And he starts to walk out.
506
00:21:11,625 --> 00:21:15,833
And I went to the producer,
Dave Wolper, and I said,
507
00:21:15,916 --> 00:21:19,875
"No matter what happens,
he is Willy Wonka."
508
00:21:19,958 --> 00:21:22,125
[lively music]
509
00:21:22,208 --> 00:21:25,416
[Gene Wilder] I wasn't sure if
I wanted to play Willy Wonka.
510
00:21:25,500 --> 00:21:26,458
The script was good,
511
00:21:26,541 --> 00:21:28,833
but there was something
that was bothering me.
512
00:21:28,916 --> 00:21:31,541
Mel Stuart asked me,
"What's bothering you?"
513
00:21:31,625 --> 00:21:33,958
It was my entrance walk.
514
00:21:34,041 --> 00:21:35,708
[Harry Connick, Jr.]
I think in the script
515
00:21:35,791 --> 00:21:38,916
it was written as this
big, energetic entrance.
516
00:21:39,583 --> 00:21:42,083
[grand music]
517
00:21:46,291 --> 00:21:49,833
But he wanted to come out
sort of hobbling with a cane,
518
00:21:50,666 --> 00:21:52,708
kind of hunched over.
519
00:21:52,791 --> 00:21:55,000
[footsteps]
520
00:21:55,083 --> 00:21:58,750
[Gene Wilder] Then Willy Wonka's
cane gets stuck in a brick.
521
00:21:58,833 --> 00:22:01,458
[Peter Ostrum] And when Gene
came out and he's hobbling,
522
00:22:01,541 --> 00:22:04,083
and that's not what you expect,
523
00:22:04,166 --> 00:22:07,250
and then he falls
and does a somersault.
524
00:22:07,333 --> 00:22:08,458
[cheering]
525
00:22:08,541 --> 00:22:12,041
That caught everybody
off--off guard.
526
00:22:12,125 --> 00:22:13,541
[Harry] That was Gene's idea,
and I just thought
527
00:22:13,625 --> 00:22:15,791
it was so brilliant
because it was really important
528
00:22:15,875 --> 00:22:18,333
from the very first time
that you met him,
529
00:22:18,416 --> 00:22:21,666
you never know, is this guy,
you know, for real,
530
00:22:21,750 --> 00:22:23,583
or is he full of baloney?
531
00:22:23,666 --> 00:22:24,791
Right from the get-go,
532
00:22:24,875 --> 00:22:28,791
that was how
he was setting himself up
533
00:22:28,875 --> 00:22:30,833
for us and for the audience.
534
00:22:30,916 --> 00:22:34,000
[soft music]
535
00:22:34,083 --> 00:22:36,083
You could tell that
this was gonna be somebody
536
00:22:36,166 --> 00:22:37,833
that was gonna be fun
to work with.
537
00:22:37,916 --> 00:22:40,250
Right away
I think we hit it off.
538
00:22:42,083 --> 00:22:45,666
Gene was a father figure
and my mentor.
539
00:22:45,750 --> 00:22:47,375
He was one of those people,
540
00:22:47,458 --> 00:22:49,291
like when you have
a really good teacher,
541
00:22:49,375 --> 00:22:51,250
you don't want to let them down.
542
00:22:51,333 --> 00:22:55,041
He wasn't treating me
like a kid.
543
00:22:55,125 --> 00:22:57,666
I was being treated
like his costar.
544
00:23:01,333 --> 00:23:02,791
[Willy Wonka]
Ladies and gentlemen.
545
00:23:02,875 --> 00:23:03,958
[door slams]
546
00:23:04,041 --> 00:23:05,375
Boys and girls.
547
00:23:06,750 --> 00:23:07,958
The Chocolate Room.
548
00:23:08,041 --> 00:23:10,541
[mysterious music]
549
00:23:12,125 --> 00:23:13,250
[Peter Ostrum] Our
first introduction
550
00:23:13,333 --> 00:23:15,541
to the Chocolate Room
was in fact
551
00:23:15,625 --> 00:23:18,875
the first time
that we had ever seen it.
552
00:23:18,958 --> 00:23:22,541
And Mel wanted
our initial reaction.
553
00:23:24,291 --> 00:23:27,208
That wow factor.
554
00:23:29,041 --> 00:23:31,583
And it was a big room, big set.
555
00:23:33,083 --> 00:23:34,708
[Willy Wonka]
Hold your breath.
556
00:23:34,791 --> 00:23:36,208
Make a wish.
557
00:23:36,291 --> 00:23:38,291
Count to three.
558
00:23:38,375 --> 00:23:41,875
♪ Come with me and you'll be
559
00:23:41,958 --> 00:23:45,791
in a world
of pure imagination ♪♪
560
00:23:45,875 --> 00:23:47,958
[Peter Ostrum] Everything
is not what you think.
561
00:23:48,041 --> 00:23:49,791
-♪ And you'll see ♪
-[Peter Ostrum] When you watched
562
00:23:49,875 --> 00:23:52,250
Willy Wonka,
and particularly with Gene.
563
00:23:52,333 --> 00:23:54,666
He was always doing
something unexpected,
564
00:23:54,750 --> 00:23:58,875
even if it was going down
three steps, coming back two.
565
00:23:58,958 --> 00:24:00,625
Why didn't you just
go down the step?
566
00:24:00,708 --> 00:24:01,583
No, no, no, no.
567
00:24:01,666 --> 00:24:04,166
[bright music]
568
00:24:07,250 --> 00:24:09,250
[Harry Connick, Jr.]
For him to treat those lyrics
569
00:24:09,333 --> 00:24:10,916
and that vocal performance
570
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:12,083
and that acting performance
571
00:24:12,166 --> 00:24:15,250
with such care and specificity,
572
00:24:15,333 --> 00:24:17,583
it was almost like
the way a wise person
573
00:24:17,666 --> 00:24:19,750
would speak to you
on top of a mountaintop.
574
00:24:19,833 --> 00:24:22,125
It's not always what you expect,
575
00:24:22,208 --> 00:24:24,416
but you leave feeling
a lot more enlightened
576
00:24:24,500 --> 00:24:25,750
than you did when you got there.
577
00:24:25,833 --> 00:24:27,166
[mysterious music]
578
00:24:27,250 --> 00:24:29,833
We are the music makers
579
00:24:29,916 --> 00:24:32,708
and we are the dreamers
of the dreams.
580
00:24:35,833 --> 00:24:37,875
[Harry Connick, Jr.]
And that was Gene's great gift.
581
00:24:39,791 --> 00:24:41,291
[waterfall flowing]
582
00:24:41,375 --> 00:24:43,541
[Mel Stuart] The guy
that built that set,
583
00:24:43,625 --> 00:24:48,375
Harper Goff,
was a brilliant designer.
584
00:24:48,458 --> 00:24:50,250
He had built
the most beautiful office
585
00:24:50,333 --> 00:24:52,833
for Mr. Wonka
for the end of the film.
586
00:24:52,916 --> 00:24:55,083
Charlie's gonna say goodbye.
587
00:24:55,166 --> 00:24:57,708
I said, "No, Wonka's berserk."
588
00:24:58,958 --> 00:25:00,375
I said, "I want you to cut
589
00:25:00,458 --> 00:25:02,958
every piece of furniture
in half.
590
00:25:03,041 --> 00:25:04,625
I want the desks in half,
591
00:25:04,708 --> 00:25:06,291
I want the vault in half,
592
00:25:06,375 --> 00:25:09,208
I want the piece of paper
he reads in half.
593
00:25:09,291 --> 00:25:12,208
You've gotta keep the madness
up to the last minute.
594
00:25:12,958 --> 00:25:13,791
Mr. Wonka.
595
00:25:13,875 --> 00:25:16,083
[Willy Wonka] I am
extraordinarily busy, sir.
596
00:25:16,166 --> 00:25:18,583
I just wanted to ask
about the chocolate.
597
00:25:18,666 --> 00:25:20,083
It was unrehearsed.
598
00:25:20,166 --> 00:25:22,125
Gene knew what he was gonna do,
599
00:25:22,208 --> 00:25:25,125
but we didn't know
what he was gonna do.
600
00:25:25,208 --> 00:25:28,000
The lifetime supply
of chocolate for Charlie.
601
00:25:29,125 --> 00:25:30,666
When does he get it?
602
00:25:30,750 --> 00:25:32,958
-[Willy Wonka] He doesn't.
-Why not?
603
00:25:33,041 --> 00:25:35,250
Because he broke the rules.
604
00:25:35,333 --> 00:25:36,375
What rules?
605
00:25:36,458 --> 00:25:38,083
We didn't see any rules,
did we, Charlie?
606
00:25:38,166 --> 00:25:40,166
And they didn't know
what I was gonna do.
607
00:25:41,375 --> 00:25:42,958
But I really let 'em have it.
608
00:25:43,041 --> 00:25:45,458
Wrong, sir, wrong.
609
00:25:45,541 --> 00:25:47,708
Well, I knew that he was gonna
get a little upset with us,
610
00:25:47,791 --> 00:25:49,750
but I didn't know
he was gonna get that upset,
611
00:25:49,833 --> 00:25:51,333
you know, with us.
612
00:25:51,416 --> 00:25:53,333
It's all there, black and white,
613
00:25:53,416 --> 00:25:54,875
clear as crystal!
614
00:25:54,958 --> 00:25:57,125
You stole Fizzy Lifting Drinks!
615
00:25:57,208 --> 00:25:58,500
You bumped into the ceiling,
616
00:25:58,583 --> 00:26:00,958
which now has to be
washed and sterilized,
617
00:26:01,041 --> 00:26:03,333
so you get nothing!
618
00:26:03,416 --> 00:26:04,875
You lose!
619
00:26:04,958 --> 00:26:07,166
Good day, sir!
620
00:26:07,250 --> 00:26:10,625
He wasn't gonna tell you
what he was gonna do.
621
00:26:10,708 --> 00:26:12,875
And so your expression,
622
00:26:12,958 --> 00:26:17,125
your reaction
was a genuine reaction.
623
00:26:17,208 --> 00:26:18,041
Charlie.
624
00:26:20,125 --> 00:26:21,291
My boy.
625
00:26:21,375 --> 00:26:24,291
[Peter Ostrum] In retrospect,
Gene made it quite easy for me.
626
00:26:24,375 --> 00:26:25,791
That's what good actors do.
627
00:26:25,875 --> 00:26:29,583
They help
their partners on stage.
628
00:26:29,666 --> 00:26:33,333
[Harry Connick, Jr.] This is
a very contemplative artist.
629
00:26:33,416 --> 00:26:34,666
The stars aligned,
630
00:26:34,750 --> 00:26:39,041
because that kind of artistry
is--is super rare.
631
00:26:39,125 --> 00:26:41,291
[Ben Mankiewicz] One of
the best reviews of Willy Wonka
632
00:26:41,375 --> 00:26:43,166
comes from probably
the greatest film critic
633
00:26:43,250 --> 00:26:45,375
of his generation, Roger Ebert,
634
00:26:45,458 --> 00:26:47,958
who says that Willy Wonka
and the Chocolate Factory
635
00:26:48,041 --> 00:26:49,958
is probably
the best film of its sort
636
00:26:50,041 --> 00:26:52,291
since The Wizard of Oz.
637
00:26:52,375 --> 00:26:54,291
"It is everything
that family movies
638
00:26:54,375 --> 00:26:56,833
usually claim to be, but aren't:
639
00:26:56,916 --> 00:27:00,125
Delightful, funny,
scary, exciting,
640
00:27:00,208 --> 00:27:03,291
and most of all,
a genuine work of imagination."
641
00:27:05,541 --> 00:27:07,750
[soft, curious music]
642
00:27:07,833 --> 00:27:09,958
[Gene Wilder] I was asked
to do publicity in Chicago
643
00:27:10,041 --> 00:27:12,541
for the release of Willy Wonka.
644
00:27:12,625 --> 00:27:15,791
The next day, I got
a call from Woody Allen.
645
00:27:15,875 --> 00:27:18,416
"I want to do a remake
of Sister Carrie," he said.
646
00:27:18,500 --> 00:27:19,875
I love you so much.
647
00:27:19,958 --> 00:27:20,958
[Gene Wilder] "But instead
of a woman
648
00:27:21,041 --> 00:27:24,041
in Jennifer Jones' part,
I want to use a sheep."
649
00:27:24,125 --> 00:27:25,291
[soft, quirky music]
650
00:27:25,375 --> 00:27:28,166
I knew before reading
the script why he wanted me.
651
00:27:28,250 --> 00:27:31,583
An actor who could believably
fall in love with a sheep
652
00:27:31,666 --> 00:27:33,750
and play it straight.
653
00:27:33,833 --> 00:27:35,708
[energetic music]
654
00:27:35,791 --> 00:27:40,125
When I left for Los Angeles
to do Woody's film…
655
00:27:40,208 --> 00:27:43,000
I found out that Willy Wonka
had failed at the box office.
656
00:27:44,458 --> 00:27:45,958
I was told
that many mothers thought
657
00:27:46,041 --> 00:27:47,750
the lessons in the movie
were too cruel
658
00:27:47,833 --> 00:27:50,500
for children to understand.
659
00:27:50,583 --> 00:27:53,041
I was leaving for California
to do Woody's film
660
00:27:53,125 --> 00:27:55,416
in hopes
of resurrecting my career.
661
00:27:58,875 --> 00:27:59,833
During all of the filming
662
00:27:59,916 --> 00:28:02,666
of Everything You Always
Wanted to Know About Sex,
663
00:28:02,750 --> 00:28:04,791
Woody said, "If you don't
like any of these lines,
664
00:28:04,875 --> 00:28:06,875
just change them to what
you'd like to say."
665
00:28:08,416 --> 00:28:09,375
Hello, Daisy.
666
00:28:09,458 --> 00:28:10,333
[chuckles]
667
00:28:10,416 --> 00:28:11,250
[Daisy bleats]
668
00:28:11,333 --> 00:28:12,625
She's so…
669
00:28:12,708 --> 00:28:15,875
[Gene Wilder] It seemed
an extraordinary thing to say.
670
00:28:15,958 --> 00:28:17,916
Woody's great confidence
was not that he knew
671
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:19,791
he'd chosen the right actor,
672
00:28:19,875 --> 00:28:21,375
but that the event
he had written
673
00:28:21,458 --> 00:28:23,291
was more important
than the particular words
674
00:28:23,375 --> 00:28:26,416
the actor used to bring
that event to life.
675
00:28:26,500 --> 00:28:28,958
Mr. Milos, I, uh…
676
00:28:30,791 --> 00:28:33,208
I'd like to see
the two of you again,
677
00:28:33,291 --> 00:28:37,666
but right now, you know,
my office is jammed full.
678
00:28:37,750 --> 00:28:40,041
Oh, I knew you could help.
679
00:28:40,125 --> 00:28:41,916
I knew--thank you, Doctor.
680
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,166
As a matter of fact, uh,
681
00:28:44,250 --> 00:28:46,666
if I could see Daisy alone,
682
00:28:46,750 --> 00:28:49,000
maybe, you know…
683
00:28:49,083 --> 00:28:51,500
Anything, anything.
684
00:28:51,583 --> 00:28:54,166
You know, Gene was able
to do things in comedy
685
00:28:54,250 --> 00:28:56,583
that are dangerous to do,
686
00:28:56,666 --> 00:28:59,166
because he went often
687
00:28:59,250 --> 00:29:02,083
for such an extreme
characterization
688
00:29:02,166 --> 00:29:05,125
or such an extreme situation,
689
00:29:05,208 --> 00:29:06,625
digging down into yourself
690
00:29:06,708 --> 00:29:09,291
to find this absurd reality.
691
00:29:10,083 --> 00:29:10,958
Darling.
692
00:29:12,791 --> 00:29:16,208
I know this must all seem
very strange to you.
693
00:29:17,875 --> 00:29:19,541
You from the hills of Armenia
694
00:29:19,625 --> 00:29:21,333
and me from Jackson Heights.
695
00:29:21,416 --> 00:29:24,833
And yet I think it could work…
696
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:27,666
if we gave it a chance.
697
00:29:27,750 --> 00:29:29,125
You could have substituted
698
00:29:29,208 --> 00:29:33,250
the most glamorous
female movie star
699
00:29:33,333 --> 00:29:36,666
for the sheep the way
Gene treated the sheep.
700
00:29:36,750 --> 00:29:39,375
I don't think I've ever known
such peace and happiness
701
00:29:39,458 --> 00:29:40,625
in my life.
702
00:29:40,708 --> 00:29:44,541
There's this ability
to be simple and honest…
703
00:29:44,625 --> 00:29:45,833
Is it my imagination
704
00:29:45,916 --> 00:29:48,125
or do you really smell
from lamb chops?
705
00:29:48,208 --> 00:29:53,041
…in a situation which is
extraordinary and absurd.
706
00:29:53,125 --> 00:29:58,333
[judge] Defendant did commit
an adulterous act with a sheep.
707
00:29:58,416 --> 00:30:00,041
It's most distasteful
in view of the fact
708
00:30:00,125 --> 00:30:02,208
that the sheep
was under 18 years old.
709
00:30:02,291 --> 00:30:03,833
[bright music]
710
00:30:03,916 --> 00:30:04,958
[Gene Wilder] The memory of
711
00:30:05,041 --> 00:30:07,041
Everything You Always
Wanted to Know About Sex
712
00:30:07,125 --> 00:30:10,208
was so happy
that it was making me sad,
713
00:30:10,291 --> 00:30:11,625
wondering if I would
ever be asked
714
00:30:11,708 --> 00:30:13,750
to work on
something wonderful again.
715
00:30:14,583 --> 00:30:17,666
[contemplative music]
716
00:30:17,750 --> 00:30:21,250
In California, Mel Brooks
was doing preproduction
717
00:30:21,333 --> 00:30:23,416
on a film called Black Bart.
718
00:30:23,500 --> 00:30:28,041
The title was later changed
to Blazing Saddles.
719
00:30:28,125 --> 00:30:31,791
[Mel Brooks] It was a Western
poking fun at Westerns.
720
00:30:32,583 --> 00:30:34,041
Has anybody got a dime?
721
00:30:34,125 --> 00:30:35,500
[indistinct chatter]
722
00:30:35,583 --> 00:30:38,500
[Mel Brooks] My biggest problem
was finding the Waco Kid.
723
00:30:38,583 --> 00:30:42,375
The Waco Kid is the sidekick
to the Black sheriff.
724
00:30:42,458 --> 00:30:47,250
An alcoholic that's struggling
to stay alive in the world.
725
00:30:47,333 --> 00:30:49,708
Then I saw a movie
with Gig Young,
726
00:30:49,791 --> 00:30:51,291
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
727
00:30:51,375 --> 00:30:53,750
But I sure as hell
can spot a loser.
728
00:30:53,833 --> 00:30:54,791
[soft piano music]
729
00:30:54,875 --> 00:30:56,166
[Mel Brooks]
A wonderful actor.
730
00:30:56,250 --> 00:30:58,250
And I found out
that in real life
731
00:30:58,333 --> 00:31:00,500
he was a bit of an alcoholic.
732
00:31:00,583 --> 00:31:02,375
His agent said, "No, no,
733
00:31:02,458 --> 00:31:04,333
he's been on the wagon
for two years.
734
00:31:04,416 --> 00:31:05,541
Not to worry."
735
00:31:05,625 --> 00:31:09,583
But life has taught me
"not to worry" means worry!
736
00:31:09,666 --> 00:31:12,166
[energetic music]
737
00:31:12,250 --> 00:31:13,916
Anyway, we start shooting.
738
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:15,000
We're in the jail.
739
00:31:15,083 --> 00:31:17,875
The Waco Kid is upside down.
740
00:31:17,958 --> 00:31:19,083
Are we awake?
741
00:31:19,166 --> 00:31:20,625
[Mel Brooks]
There's Cleavon Little
742
00:31:20,708 --> 00:31:22,875
upside down from
the Waco Kid's POV,
743
00:31:22,958 --> 00:31:23,875
point of view.
744
00:31:23,958 --> 00:31:26,250
And Gig Young, he's struggling.
745
00:31:26,333 --> 00:31:28,000
"Are we Bla--are we Bla--"
746
00:31:28,083 --> 00:31:30,041
He never finished
the word Black.
747
00:31:30,125 --> 00:31:34,500
And ended it
with a geyser of green vomit
748
00:31:34,583 --> 00:31:36,916
that shot across the jail cell
749
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,750
and got the crew
and everybody drenched.
750
00:31:39,833 --> 00:31:43,125
[siren wailing]
751
00:31:43,208 --> 00:31:44,416
So we called for an ambulance
752
00:31:44,500 --> 00:31:48,458
and got him
to the hospital in Burbank.
753
00:31:48,541 --> 00:31:50,875
The doctor who was
treating him said,
754
00:31:50,958 --> 00:31:52,208
"He's suffering from the DTs,"
755
00:31:52,291 --> 00:31:53,875
or what's that,
delirium tremens.
756
00:31:53,958 --> 00:31:56,166
It's a thing alcoholics get.
757
00:31:56,250 --> 00:31:58,250
So he hadn't stopped drinking.
758
00:31:58,333 --> 00:31:59,625
I said, "Well, can he work?"
759
00:31:59,708 --> 00:32:02,833
And he said, "Yeah,
in about three or four months."
760
00:32:02,916 --> 00:32:05,250
This is Friday,
I've got a shoot Monday.
761
00:32:06,666 --> 00:32:08,333
There!
762
00:32:08,416 --> 00:32:11,875
It came to me right then
and there, Gene Wilder.
763
00:32:13,458 --> 00:32:15,041
He'll save me.
764
00:32:15,125 --> 00:32:17,125
He saved me on The Producers.
765
00:32:17,750 --> 00:32:19,750
He will save me.
766
00:32:19,833 --> 00:32:22,291
And I called him and I said,
767
00:32:22,375 --> 00:32:23,416
and I was crying…
768
00:32:25,625 --> 00:32:27,208
I said, "Gene, I need you!
769
00:32:27,291 --> 00:32:28,500
I need you! Come here!
770
00:32:28,583 --> 00:32:30,708
Come. Save me."
771
00:32:30,791 --> 00:32:33,708
[Gene Wilder] He called me
from the phone on stage.
772
00:32:33,791 --> 00:32:36,041
He said,
"Can you come tomorrow?"
773
00:32:36,125 --> 00:32:38,625
I said, "I'm supposed
to go to London to do, uh,
774
00:32:38,708 --> 00:32:41,125
The Little Prince
with Stanley Donen directing."
775
00:32:42,125 --> 00:32:43,375
"Beg off."
776
00:32:43,458 --> 00:32:45,500
-[groaning]
-The next day I was on a plane,
777
00:32:45,583 --> 00:32:48,791
and the next day I was hanging
upside down in a jail cell.
778
00:32:48,875 --> 00:32:50,666
Are we awake?
779
00:32:54,833 --> 00:32:56,250
We are not sure.
780
00:32:57,791 --> 00:33:00,375
Are we Black?
781
00:33:00,458 --> 00:33:03,541
You know, it's just
so great, his reading.
782
00:33:03,625 --> 00:33:06,875
And I said,
"That's the Waco Kid."
783
00:33:06,958 --> 00:33:09,458
[Western style music]
784
00:33:11,250 --> 00:33:14,875
Send a wire to the main office
and tell 'em that I said--
785
00:33:14,958 --> 00:33:16,458
-[ringing thud]
-Ow!
786
00:33:16,541 --> 00:33:18,458
Send wire, main office.
787
00:33:18,541 --> 00:33:21,416
Tell them I said, "Ow." Gotcha.
788
00:33:21,500 --> 00:33:24,250
I was one of the bad guys,
789
00:33:24,333 --> 00:33:28,458
but I was the funniest one
of the bad guys, too.
790
00:33:28,541 --> 00:33:32,041
And I played him
all through the thing,
791
00:33:32,125 --> 00:33:35,291
maybe not quite
all there up here.
792
00:33:35,375 --> 00:33:38,166
[curious music]
793
00:33:38,250 --> 00:33:40,958
We come riding up in the picture
794
00:33:41,041 --> 00:33:43,666
and meet the Waco Kid
and the sheriff.
795
00:33:43,750 --> 00:33:47,625
And Mr. Taggart says,
"We're gonna shoot you guys."
796
00:33:47,708 --> 00:33:49,458
All right, boys.
797
00:33:49,541 --> 00:33:51,041
On a count of three.
798
00:33:51,125 --> 00:33:53,666
I wouldn't do that
if I were you.
799
00:33:53,750 --> 00:33:56,291
[Burton Gilliam]
We have our guns drawn
800
00:33:56,375 --> 00:34:00,041
and we're gonna shoot
all the good guys.
801
00:34:00,125 --> 00:34:04,333
Gene, being the quick draw
that he was,
802
00:34:05,166 --> 00:34:06,375
he's kind of like,
803
00:34:06,458 --> 00:34:09,916
"I got something here
that you don't know I've got."
804
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,541
-[suspenseful music]
-[gunfire]
805
00:34:12,625 --> 00:34:16,291
He puts his guns back
and you can see the smoke
806
00:34:16,375 --> 00:34:18,708
coming out
of his holsters there.
807
00:34:18,791 --> 00:34:20,666
[cheering]
808
00:34:20,750 --> 00:34:26,000
So I'll remember Gene
not just by his acting ability,
809
00:34:26,083 --> 00:34:28,208
which was wonderful…
810
00:34:28,291 --> 00:34:30,000
[mellow country music]
811
00:34:30,083 --> 00:34:34,708
…but because he was so good
to me and so supportive.
812
00:34:34,791 --> 00:34:36,541
-[band music]
-[crowd] Hurray!
813
00:34:36,625 --> 00:34:39,333
Hurray! Hurray!
814
00:34:39,416 --> 00:34:40,416
[music stops]
815
00:34:40,500 --> 00:34:42,041
[hooves clopping]
816
00:34:43,625 --> 00:34:46,875
[Mel Brooks] Even though
it was a wild comedy…
817
00:34:46,958 --> 00:34:48,083
[chair thuds]
818
00:34:49,125 --> 00:34:50,666
…in Blazing Saddles…
819
00:34:50,750 --> 00:34:52,583
[sign clatters]
820
00:34:52,666 --> 00:34:55,541
…racial prejudice
is the engine
821
00:34:55,625 --> 00:34:59,375
that really drives the film
and helps to make it work.
822
00:35:00,291 --> 00:35:01,708
Good mornin', ma'am.
823
00:35:01,791 --> 00:35:03,958
[Mel Brooks] Cleavon Little,
he sees a little old lady.
824
00:35:04,041 --> 00:35:05,458
…a lovely morning?
825
00:35:05,541 --> 00:35:09,041
Trying to make friends
with the citizens of Rock Ridge,
826
00:35:09,125 --> 00:35:12,500
and she says,
"Up yours, n-word."
827
00:35:12,583 --> 00:35:16,208
The sheriff shakes his head
and we can see tears.
828
00:35:16,291 --> 00:35:21,041
And Gene read
these lines so beautifully.
829
00:35:21,125 --> 00:35:23,000
What did you expect?
830
00:35:23,083 --> 00:35:27,416
"Welcome, sonny,
make yourself at home"?
831
00:35:28,583 --> 00:35:30,333
"Marry my daughter"?
832
00:35:30,416 --> 00:35:33,416
You gotta remember that
these are just simple farmers.
833
00:35:34,583 --> 00:35:36,958
These are people of the land.
834
00:35:37,916 --> 00:35:41,000
The common clay of the new West.
835
00:35:42,875 --> 00:35:43,833
You know…
836
00:35:46,083 --> 00:35:46,916
morons.
837
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:47,833
[laughing]
838
00:35:47,916 --> 00:35:49,625
[bright music]
839
00:35:49,708 --> 00:35:53,333
And--and that was one
of the funniest, you know,
840
00:35:53,416 --> 00:35:55,000
laughs in the whole picture,
841
00:35:55,083 --> 00:35:58,250
and nobody in the world
could have handled it
842
00:35:58,333 --> 00:36:01,041
half as well as Gene Wilder.
843
00:36:02,333 --> 00:36:03,666
[Burton Gilliam]
And you can tell
844
00:36:03,750 --> 00:36:06,958
from the scene
and listening to him,
845
00:36:07,041 --> 00:36:10,375
he's speaking from the heart.
846
00:36:10,458 --> 00:36:13,583
[Ben Mankiewicz] There is this
authenticity to the Waco Kid
847
00:36:13,666 --> 00:36:17,666
that I don't think someone
like John Wayne or Gig Young
848
00:36:17,750 --> 00:36:18,583
would have brought,
849
00:36:18,666 --> 00:36:21,708
because instantly
it would have registered,
850
00:36:21,791 --> 00:36:24,500
"Oh, this is a veteran
Western character actor
851
00:36:24,583 --> 00:36:27,916
doing a parody
of a Western character actor."
852
00:36:28,833 --> 00:36:30,750
Gene Wilder played the Waco Kid
853
00:36:30,833 --> 00:36:35,208
as crazy and nutty
but entirely believable.
854
00:36:35,291 --> 00:36:36,875
Where are you headed, cowboy?
855
00:36:36,958 --> 00:36:38,083
[soft Western style music]
856
00:36:38,166 --> 00:36:39,583
Nowhere special.
857
00:36:42,333 --> 00:36:43,750
Nowhere special.
858
00:36:45,291 --> 00:36:47,375
I always wanted to go there.
859
00:36:47,458 --> 00:36:48,291
What can I tell ya?
860
00:36:48,375 --> 00:36:52,375
He did a magnificent job
all through the picture.
861
00:36:52,458 --> 00:36:54,750
[Ben Mankiewicz] I think 1974's
probably the perfect year
862
00:36:54,833 --> 00:36:55,916
for Blazing Saddles.
863
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:59,666
Blaxploitation films
at their height.
864
00:36:59,750 --> 00:37:03,625
Having a smart
and thoughtful Western parody
865
00:37:03,708 --> 00:37:07,416
that really takes a hard look
at America's racism,
866
00:37:07,500 --> 00:37:08,750
that is genius.
867
00:37:15,500 --> 00:37:18,000
[bright music]
868
00:37:19,958 --> 00:37:21,750
[Mike Medavoy]
I met Gene one day
869
00:37:21,833 --> 00:37:25,125
when I was buying clothes
in Beverly Hills.
870
00:37:25,208 --> 00:37:26,041
I introduced myself.
871
00:37:26,125 --> 00:37:29,125
I said, "Gene,
you know, I'm Mike Medavoy.
872
00:37:29,208 --> 00:37:32,125
I'm an agent
and I'd like to represent you."
873
00:37:32,208 --> 00:37:34,541
And I said, "The truth is,
I look at your career,
874
00:37:34,625 --> 00:37:39,041
you oughta be writing
and probably directing too."
875
00:37:39,125 --> 00:37:40,958
[Gene Wilder] Because of
that accidental bump
876
00:37:41,041 --> 00:37:41,916
on the street corner,
877
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:44,666
Mike Medavoy became
my California agent.
878
00:37:45,375 --> 00:37:47,250
And I signed Gene.
879
00:37:47,333 --> 00:37:50,666
[tranquil music]
880
00:37:50,750 --> 00:37:52,541
[Gene Wilder] I rented
a small house on the bay
881
00:37:52,625 --> 00:37:55,875
in Westhampton Beach, New York.
882
00:37:55,958 --> 00:37:57,791
After lunch one afternoon,
883
00:37:57,875 --> 00:37:59,250
I walked up to my bedroom
884
00:37:59,333 --> 00:38:02,375
with a yellow legal pad
and a blue felt pen.
885
00:38:02,458 --> 00:38:04,625
At the top of the page,
I wrote,
886
00:38:05,833 --> 00:38:07,458
"Young Frankenstein."
887
00:38:07,541 --> 00:38:10,125
[dramatic music]
888
00:38:10,208 --> 00:38:12,291
"The Birth of a Monster."
889
00:38:12,375 --> 00:38:14,750
And then wrote two pages
of what might happen to me
890
00:38:14,833 --> 00:38:18,708
if I were the great-grandson
of Beaufort von Frankenstein
891
00:38:18,791 --> 00:38:20,041
and was called to Transylvania
892
00:38:20,125 --> 00:38:21,458
because I had just inherited
893
00:38:21,541 --> 00:38:23,208
the Frankenstein estate.
894
00:38:23,291 --> 00:38:26,208
[mysterious music]
895
00:38:26,291 --> 00:38:29,458
That night I watched a summer
replacement television show
896
00:38:29,541 --> 00:38:32,166
called The Marty Feldman
Comedy Machine.
897
00:38:32,250 --> 00:38:34,000
Would you, uh, walk this way?
898
00:38:34,083 --> 00:38:35,291
[Gene Wilder] After seeing it,
899
00:38:35,375 --> 00:38:38,541
I said, "Who is that
funny man on television?"
900
00:38:41,583 --> 00:38:43,500
A week later, I received a call
901
00:38:43,583 --> 00:38:46,541
from my California agent,
Mike Medavoy.
902
00:38:46,625 --> 00:38:49,625
[Mike Medavoy]
I was sitting in my office
903
00:38:49,708 --> 00:38:52,958
and Marty Feldman
and his wife were there
904
00:38:53,041 --> 00:38:55,500
to try to get me
to represent him.
905
00:38:55,583 --> 00:38:58,416
And then Peter Boyle
walked into the office.
906
00:38:58,500 --> 00:39:00,541
And so I introduced all of them.
907
00:39:00,625 --> 00:39:02,166
And I decided, "You know what?
908
00:39:02,250 --> 00:39:05,791
I have a feeling that this
would be a really good group
909
00:39:05,875 --> 00:39:08,291
to put together with Gene."
910
00:39:08,375 --> 00:39:10,166
So I called Gene up
on the phone.
911
00:39:10,250 --> 00:39:11,166
[phone dialing]
912
00:39:11,250 --> 00:39:12,333
[phone ringing]
913
00:39:12,416 --> 00:39:16,083
And I said, "Gene, do you have
anything that you can do
914
00:39:16,166 --> 00:39:18,416
with Marty Feldman
and Peter Boyle?"
915
00:39:18,500 --> 00:39:20,375
I said, "How did you happen
to come up with that?"
916
00:39:20,458 --> 00:39:23,333
He said, "'Cause I represent
you and Marty and Peter."
917
00:39:23,416 --> 00:39:25,583
-And, uh…
-[audience laughs]
918
00:39:25,666 --> 00:39:26,833
As it happens,
919
00:39:26,916 --> 00:39:28,750
I think I do have something.
920
00:39:28,833 --> 00:39:30,208
I want to work on it
for another day.
921
00:39:30,291 --> 00:39:31,666
I'll send it to you.
922
00:39:31,750 --> 00:39:33,416
-[typing]
-That night, inspired by
923
00:39:33,500 --> 00:39:35,916
having just seen
Marty Feldman on television,
924
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:39,125
I wrote a scene that takes
place at Transylvania Station
925
00:39:39,208 --> 00:39:41,666
where Igor and Frederick
meet for the first time
926
00:39:41,750 --> 00:39:44,125
almost verbatim
the way it was later filmed.
927
00:39:44,208 --> 00:39:46,708
[scraping footsteps]
928
00:39:49,416 --> 00:39:51,125
[Igor]
Dr. Frankenstein?
929
00:39:51,208 --> 00:39:52,333
[thunder crashes]
930
00:39:52,416 --> 00:39:54,916
[eerie music]
931
00:39:56,958 --> 00:39:58,416
Frankenstein.
932
00:40:00,416 --> 00:40:02,166
You're putting me on.
933
00:40:02,250 --> 00:40:04,083
[Gene Wilder] I called
Mel Brooks and told him
934
00:40:04,166 --> 00:40:05,958
my little
Frankenstein scenario.
935
00:40:06,041 --> 00:40:07,291
[soft music]
936
00:40:07,375 --> 00:40:09,583
"Cute," he said,
"that's cute."
937
00:40:09,666 --> 00:40:10,833
"What's your dream for this?"
938
00:40:10,916 --> 00:40:14,708
He said, "I want you to write it
with me and direct it.
939
00:40:14,791 --> 00:40:16,875
And not be in it."
940
00:40:16,958 --> 00:40:18,666
[laughs]
941
00:40:18,750 --> 00:40:21,083
And I said, "Okay, I'll do it."
942
00:40:22,083 --> 00:40:23,541
[typing]
943
00:40:23,625 --> 00:40:26,083
[Gene Wilder] The next morning,
I would start writing.
944
00:40:26,166 --> 00:40:28,291
Mel would come over
after dinner each evening
945
00:40:28,375 --> 00:40:30,250
and look at the pages.
946
00:40:30,333 --> 00:40:33,333
When we thought
we had a good script,
947
00:40:33,416 --> 00:40:36,125
we met Mike Gruskoff,
948
00:40:36,208 --> 00:40:38,666
a wonderful guy
and a wonderful producer.
949
00:40:38,750 --> 00:40:41,833
And he said, "I've had
a discussion already
950
00:40:41,916 --> 00:40:42,916
with Columbia Pictures."
951
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,000
"Yeah? Yeah?"
952
00:40:45,083 --> 00:40:46,500
[Mike Gruskoff]
Gene, Mel, and I,
953
00:40:46,583 --> 00:40:48,958
we had a meeting at Columbia.
954
00:40:49,041 --> 00:40:51,916
I said, "We really like
the script."
955
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:54,125
We thought we had
something good, you know?
956
00:40:54,208 --> 00:40:57,000
We definitely thought
we had something good.
957
00:40:57,083 --> 00:40:58,500
We shook hands.
958
00:40:58,583 --> 00:41:02,666
We're ready, we're ready
to make Young Frankenstein
959
00:41:02,750 --> 00:41:04,916
for Columbia Pictures.
960
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,416
As we leave the--the meeting,
961
00:41:07,500 --> 00:41:09,541
I get to the door,
before I shut it, I say,
962
00:41:09,625 --> 00:41:10,875
"Oh, by the way…"
963
00:41:10,958 --> 00:41:12,250
[dramatic music]
964
00:41:12,333 --> 00:41:17,458
"…in the James Whale
1931 Universal tradition,
965
00:41:17,541 --> 00:41:19,833
we are making it
in black and white."
966
00:41:20,625 --> 00:41:22,208
Closed the door, left.
967
00:41:22,291 --> 00:41:23,416
[quirky music]
968
00:41:23,500 --> 00:41:26,875
A thundering herd
of Jewish executives
969
00:41:26,958 --> 00:41:28,791
run after us
down the hall, saying,
970
00:41:28,875 --> 00:41:30,708
"No, no, it's a deal-breaker."
971
00:41:30,791 --> 00:41:32,083
And as one,
972
00:41:32,166 --> 00:41:36,125
Gruskoff, and Gene,
and Mel shouted back,
973
00:41:36,208 --> 00:41:38,458
"Then break it."
974
00:41:38,541 --> 00:41:41,500
Nobody wanted to do
a black and white movie.
975
00:41:41,583 --> 00:41:45,166
Mike Gruskoff actually was
very friendly with Alan Ladd,
976
00:41:45,250 --> 00:41:47,750
and took it to Fox.
977
00:41:47,833 --> 00:41:51,125
[Mike Gruskoff] Alan Ladd, Jr.
was one of my close friends.
978
00:41:51,208 --> 00:41:53,833
He had come to Fox.
979
00:41:53,916 --> 00:41:55,625
Three days later, we had a deal.
980
00:41:56,666 --> 00:41:57,666
[dramatic music]
981
00:41:57,750 --> 00:42:00,083
[Ben Mankiewicz] If you're gonna
make a parody tribute film
982
00:42:00,166 --> 00:42:02,125
of James Whale's Frankenstein,
983
00:42:02,208 --> 00:42:04,291
you're gonna have to do that
in black and white
984
00:42:04,375 --> 00:42:05,416
if you're gonna do it right.
985
00:42:05,500 --> 00:42:08,291
Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder
understood that.
986
00:42:08,375 --> 00:42:09,708
Columbia executives,
987
00:42:09,791 --> 00:42:11,750
to their eternal regret,
988
00:42:11,833 --> 00:42:13,166
did not.
989
00:42:13,250 --> 00:42:15,750
-[thunder crashes]
-[dramatic music]
990
00:42:19,750 --> 00:42:21,416
[Gene Wilder]
Making Young Frankenstein
991
00:42:21,500 --> 00:42:23,500
was the happiest
I'd ever been on a film.
992
00:42:23,583 --> 00:42:24,958
[soft music]
993
00:42:25,041 --> 00:42:26,541
Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle,
994
00:42:26,625 --> 00:42:28,750
Marty Feldman, Teri Garr,
995
00:42:28,833 --> 00:42:31,000
Cloris Leachman, Kenny Mars,
996
00:42:31,083 --> 00:42:33,833
and Mel directing.
997
00:42:33,916 --> 00:42:37,041
It was like taking a small
breath of heaven each day.
998
00:42:39,166 --> 00:42:43,000
[Mike Gruskoff] Creatively,
I let them do their thing.
999
00:42:43,083 --> 00:42:46,375
Gene and Mel take it
to the next step.
1000
00:42:46,458 --> 00:42:48,125
They go beyond.
1001
00:42:48,208 --> 00:42:49,916
They have balls,
1002
00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:51,375
that's what they have.
1003
00:42:52,500 --> 00:42:55,000
[door handle clanging]
1004
00:42:58,250 --> 00:42:59,875
What knockers!
1005
00:42:59,958 --> 00:43:03,083
Oh, thank you, Doctor.
1006
00:43:03,166 --> 00:43:04,666
[soft, quirky music]
1007
00:43:04,750 --> 00:43:06,000
[Mike Gruskoff] Mel and Gene,
1008
00:43:06,083 --> 00:43:09,250
they're not afraid to go big.
1009
00:43:09,333 --> 00:43:11,750
They're not afraid of failure.
1010
00:43:11,833 --> 00:43:13,291
They'll take a chance.
1011
00:43:13,375 --> 00:43:14,916
The only thing that concerns me
1012
00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:17,416
is the preservation of life!
1013
00:43:19,291 --> 00:43:21,791
[Mel Brooks] I never had
to give Gene any direction.
1014
00:43:24,625 --> 00:43:25,750
And I didn't have to, really,
1015
00:43:25,833 --> 00:43:28,125
'cause he was such a good actor.
1016
00:43:28,208 --> 00:43:31,416
We shall ascend
into the heavens.
1017
00:43:31,500 --> 00:43:32,750
[thunder crashes]
1018
00:43:32,833 --> 00:43:36,125
We shall mock the earthquake.
1019
00:43:36,208 --> 00:43:38,708
[Mel Brooks] We had a code,
blue and orange.
1020
00:43:38,791 --> 00:43:42,125
When I said, "Gene, blue,"
meant, "Bring it up."
1021
00:43:43,333 --> 00:43:46,666
Give me more intensity,
more excitement.
1022
00:43:46,750 --> 00:43:48,333
When I said, "Orange,"
1023
00:43:48,416 --> 00:43:50,958
I want you to play over the top.
1024
00:43:51,041 --> 00:43:54,458
I'd say, "Gene, I need orange
here at the end of this."
1025
00:43:54,541 --> 00:43:55,875
"Got it."
1026
00:43:55,958 --> 00:43:57,708
Life, do you hear me?
1027
00:43:57,791 --> 00:43:58,750
[zapping]
1028
00:43:58,833 --> 00:44:03,958
Give my creation life!
1029
00:44:04,041 --> 00:44:05,791
[Mel Brooks] He could
hit a high note…
1030
00:44:05,875 --> 00:44:06,916
[thunder crashes]
1031
00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:09,041
…easily as high
as Maria Callas.
1032
00:44:09,125 --> 00:44:10,708
He--he could go there.
1033
00:44:10,791 --> 00:44:12,166
He was amazing.
1034
00:44:12,250 --> 00:44:13,708
[soft, quirky music]
1035
00:44:13,791 --> 00:44:15,458
[Alan Alda] I had
favorite moments of him,
1036
00:44:15,541 --> 00:44:18,166
as I do of most actors.
1037
00:44:18,250 --> 00:44:20,833
I admire so much
the big moments
1038
00:44:20,916 --> 00:44:22,750
when he still was believable.
1039
00:44:22,833 --> 00:44:26,916
It's alive!
1040
00:44:27,000 --> 00:44:28,916
And then there was
a quiet moment
1041
00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:31,083
in Young Frankenstein
1042
00:44:31,166 --> 00:44:33,791
when it was just as ludicrous,
1043
00:44:33,875 --> 00:44:36,875
but it was quiet and sincere.
1044
00:44:36,958 --> 00:44:40,541
He was questioning Igor
like a little boy.
1045
00:44:40,625 --> 00:44:42,458
Would you mind telling me…
1046
00:44:44,416 --> 00:44:48,208
whose brain I did put in?
1047
00:44:48,291 --> 00:44:49,583
And you won't be angry?
1048
00:44:49,666 --> 00:44:53,250
I will not be angry.
1049
00:44:53,916 --> 00:44:55,125
Abby someone.
1050
00:44:56,666 --> 00:44:57,791
Abby someone?
1051
00:44:59,041 --> 00:45:00,000
Abby who?
1052
00:45:00,083 --> 00:45:01,833
Abby Normal.
1053
00:45:04,541 --> 00:45:06,958
"Abby Normal."
1054
00:45:07,041 --> 00:45:09,416
I'm almost sure
that was the name.
1055
00:45:09,500 --> 00:45:11,666
[forced laughter]
1056
00:45:13,375 --> 00:45:18,750
Are you saying
that I put an abnormal brain
1057
00:45:18,833 --> 00:45:23,250
into a seven-and-a-half-
foot long,
1058
00:45:23,333 --> 00:45:27,416
54-inch-wide…
1059
00:45:27,500 --> 00:45:28,666
[gasps]
1060
00:45:28,750 --> 00:45:30,208
…gorilla?
1061
00:45:30,291 --> 00:45:32,333
He was so real about it
1062
00:45:32,416 --> 00:45:36,916
that it was just as absurd
as the big, showy moment,
1063
00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:38,541
but even more hilarious,
1064
00:45:38,625 --> 00:45:41,250
because he meant it,
he really meant it.
1065
00:45:41,333 --> 00:45:42,875
[flourish of harp]
1066
00:45:42,958 --> 00:45:45,291
We shall be friends.
1067
00:45:45,375 --> 00:45:47,291
[Michael Gruskoff]
It was Gene Wilder's idea.
1068
00:45:47,375 --> 00:45:49,750
He says, "Well, maybe
I can get Gene Hackman
1069
00:45:49,833 --> 00:45:51,625
to play the blind guy."
1070
00:45:51,708 --> 00:45:53,333
Because they were pals.
1071
00:45:53,416 --> 00:45:55,541
And he got Hackman,
1072
00:45:55,625 --> 00:45:58,333
who was so great.
1073
00:45:58,416 --> 00:45:59,458
Are you ready for your soup?
1074
00:45:59,541 --> 00:46:01,208
[grunting]
1075
00:46:01,291 --> 00:46:03,583
Oh, my friend, my friend.
1076
00:46:03,666 --> 00:46:05,958
You don't know how long
I've waited for the pleasure
1077
00:46:06,041 --> 00:46:07,500
of another human being.
1078
00:46:07,583 --> 00:46:09,083
And sometimes,
in our preoccupation…
1079
00:46:09,166 --> 00:46:13,500
-[exclamation]
-[soft chuckling]
1080
00:46:13,583 --> 00:46:16,708
And he was funny,
he was very funny, you know?
1081
00:46:18,083 --> 00:46:19,000
Oof!
1082
00:46:19,083 --> 00:46:21,750
[Gene Wilder] We never
improvised dialogue on the set.
1083
00:46:21,833 --> 00:46:23,708
Would you like to have
a roll in the hay?
1084
00:46:23,791 --> 00:46:25,250
[Gene Wilder]
Physical actions, yes,
1085
00:46:25,333 --> 00:46:26,250
but not dialogue.
1086
00:46:26,333 --> 00:46:29,750
♪ Roll, roll,
roll in the hay ♪♪
1087
00:46:29,833 --> 00:46:30,666
[camera assistant] Marker.
1088
00:46:30,750 --> 00:46:32,375
[Gene Wilder] We were
filming the scene
1089
00:46:32,458 --> 00:46:34,666
of Madeline Kahn's arrival
at the Frankenstein castle.
1090
00:46:34,750 --> 00:46:35,791
[Mel Brooks] Action!
1091
00:46:35,875 --> 00:46:37,541
[Gene Wilder] She was
wearing a fox stole
1092
00:46:37,625 --> 00:46:38,875
and a big turban on her head,
1093
00:46:38,958 --> 00:46:39,875
and then Marty,
1094
00:46:39,958 --> 00:46:41,458
in one of his
impulsive inspirations,
1095
00:46:41,541 --> 00:46:44,375
took a huge bite out
of the tail of the fox fur
1096
00:46:44,458 --> 00:46:46,583
that Madeline was wearing
around her neck.
1097
00:46:47,916 --> 00:46:50,000
But the tail
came off in his mouth.
1098
00:46:50,083 --> 00:46:51,250
[Frankenstein]
Stop that!
1099
00:46:51,333 --> 00:46:53,500
[Gene Wilder] And we
couldn't not laugh.
1100
00:46:53,583 --> 00:46:54,833
May I go in?
1101
00:46:55,833 --> 00:46:56,833
[Mel Brooks] Cut!
1102
00:46:56,916 --> 00:46:58,833
[laughter]
1103
00:46:58,916 --> 00:47:00,166
[Gene Wilder]
We all laughed,
1104
00:47:00,250 --> 00:47:03,000
and Marty was
so funny doing it.
1105
00:47:03,083 --> 00:47:06,500
Out of such lunacy,
great comedy is born.
1106
00:47:06,583 --> 00:47:08,500
[robust laughter]
1107
00:47:08,583 --> 00:47:11,250
We had to stop
a lot of times to…
1108
00:47:11,333 --> 00:47:12,500
That music!
1109
00:47:12,583 --> 00:47:14,375
[Michael Gruskoff] Because
everybody was laughing.
1110
00:47:14,458 --> 00:47:15,458
That quaint…
1111
00:47:15,541 --> 00:47:17,250
[laughter]
1112
00:47:17,333 --> 00:47:18,708
[Mel Brooks] All right!
1113
00:47:18,791 --> 00:47:20,458
[Michael Gruskoff] We had
to take breaks.
1114
00:47:20,541 --> 00:47:22,333
Follow me, please.
1115
00:47:22,416 --> 00:47:24,458
[laughter]
1116
00:47:24,541 --> 00:47:26,750
It cost me over $200.
1117
00:47:26,833 --> 00:47:28,833
I bought handkerchiefs,
1118
00:47:28,916 --> 00:47:31,750
about 150 handkerchiefs
for the crew and everybody.
1119
00:47:31,833 --> 00:47:34,375
[Frankenstein] Now, listen
to me very carefully.
1120
00:47:34,458 --> 00:47:37,458
Don't put the candle back.
1121
00:47:37,541 --> 00:47:39,750
I said, "When you feel
a laugh coming on…"
1122
00:47:39,833 --> 00:47:41,708
[laughs]
1123
00:47:41,791 --> 00:47:43,500
"…shove that handkerchief
in your mouth.
1124
00:47:44,666 --> 00:47:45,708
Stifle your laugh."
1125
00:47:45,791 --> 00:47:47,916
I think it may have been
the "What hump?"
1126
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:49,666
You know, I don't
mean to embarrass you,
1127
00:47:49,750 --> 00:47:51,750
but I'm a rather
brilliant surgeon.
1128
00:47:51,833 --> 00:47:54,291
Perhaps I could
help you with that hump?
1129
00:47:55,125 --> 00:47:56,333
What hump?
1130
00:47:56,416 --> 00:47:59,458
[Mel Brooks] He turned
to look at the crew
1131
00:47:59,541 --> 00:48:02,666
and I saw a sea
of white handkerchiefs.
1132
00:48:02,750 --> 00:48:06,625
I said, "I think
we got a hit here."
1133
00:48:06,708 --> 00:48:08,458
[Gene Wilder] In all
the time we spent together,
1134
00:48:08,541 --> 00:48:10,750
Mel and I had
only one argument.
1135
00:48:10,833 --> 00:48:12,833
It was when I showed him
a scene I had written
1136
00:48:12,916 --> 00:48:16,500
in which Dr. Frankenstein
and the monster sing and dance
1137
00:48:16,583 --> 00:48:19,208
to "Puttin' on the Ritz."
1138
00:48:19,291 --> 00:48:22,166
I said, "There's no
'Puttin' on the Ritz,'
1139
00:48:22,250 --> 00:48:24,750
we are not gonna do that.
1140
00:48:24,833 --> 00:48:27,666
Because we have been
very faithful
1141
00:48:27,750 --> 00:48:31,041
to James Whale
and to the horror films
1142
00:48:31,125 --> 00:48:32,416
of the '30s.
1143
00:48:32,500 --> 00:48:34,375
This makes it silly."
1144
00:48:34,458 --> 00:48:37,291
I said, "No, we're not doing it,
that's the end of it."
1145
00:48:37,375 --> 00:48:40,791
I was close to rage and tears.
1146
00:48:40,875 --> 00:48:42,333
[audience murmuring]
1147
00:48:42,416 --> 00:48:43,625
I argued logic
1148
00:48:43,708 --> 00:48:45,833
from Dr. Frankenstein's
point of view.
1149
00:48:45,916 --> 00:48:48,000
His need to win over
this stuffy audience
1150
00:48:48,083 --> 00:48:49,916
of scientists and their wives
1151
00:48:50,000 --> 00:48:53,875
that the monster could
be taught to do anything.
1152
00:48:53,958 --> 00:48:56,208
And right in mid-sentence,
Mel says,
1153
00:48:56,291 --> 00:48:57,541
"Okay, it's in."
1154
00:48:57,625 --> 00:48:59,833
[lively music playing]
1155
00:48:59,916 --> 00:49:02,208
"I wanted to see
how hard you'd fight for it."
1156
00:49:02,291 --> 00:49:03,708
And I knew if you
fought hard enough,
1157
00:49:03,791 --> 00:49:05,375
it was right."
1158
00:49:07,125 --> 00:49:08,291
[Mel Brooks]
We would start shooting,
1159
00:49:08,375 --> 00:49:12,416
and Gene put everything
he had into it to prove it.
1160
00:49:12,500 --> 00:49:15,041
♪ Come, let's mix where
Rockefellers walk with… ♪
1161
00:49:15,125 --> 00:49:19,250
[Mel Brooks] And Peter Boyle
was never better.
1162
00:49:19,333 --> 00:49:22,041
[monster howls "Puttin'
on the Ritz" incoherently]
1163
00:49:22,125 --> 00:49:24,208
[Mel Brooks]
After that was over, I said,
1164
00:49:24,291 --> 00:49:26,333
"Gene, accept my apology.
1165
00:49:26,416 --> 00:49:28,958
It's the best thing
in the movie.
1166
00:49:29,041 --> 00:49:31,541
It's the reason we made it."
1167
00:49:33,166 --> 00:49:34,958
[feet tapping rhythmically]
1168
00:49:35,041 --> 00:49:37,541
[audience applauds, cheers]
1169
00:49:39,250 --> 00:49:42,500
[tranquil music playing]
1170
00:49:42,500 --> 00:49:43,541
[Ben Mankiewicz]
When you think about
1171
00:49:43,625 --> 00:49:45,125
great cinematic collaborations--
1172
00:49:45,208 --> 00:49:47,708
I mean, whether you're
talking about Tracy and Hepburn
1173
00:49:47,791 --> 00:49:50,208
or William Powell and Myrna Loy,
1174
00:49:50,291 --> 00:49:53,500
or, uh, Steven Spielberg
and John Williams,
1175
00:49:53,583 --> 00:49:56,625
Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder
belong in that class.
1176
00:49:56,708 --> 00:49:59,083
They fed off each other
and that pushed them
1177
00:49:59,166 --> 00:50:01,166
to the heights
they both achieved.
1178
00:50:01,250 --> 00:50:05,166
[majestic music playing]
1179
00:50:05,250 --> 00:50:06,875
[Gene Wilder] On the last day
of filming,
1180
00:50:06,958 --> 00:50:08,291
during our lunch hour,
1181
00:50:08,375 --> 00:50:11,083
I was sitting in
the Frankenstein bedroom set,
1182
00:50:11,166 --> 00:50:13,625
staring at the fake fireplace.
1183
00:50:13,708 --> 00:50:16,125
Mel wandered in and saw me.
1184
00:50:16,208 --> 00:50:17,583
"What's the matter?
1185
00:50:17,666 --> 00:50:19,875
Why so sad?" he asked.
1186
00:50:19,958 --> 00:50:22,083
"I don't want
to leave Transylvania."
1187
00:50:22,166 --> 00:50:24,708
[majestic music playing]
1188
00:50:27,500 --> 00:50:30,000
[lively music playing]
1189
00:50:32,625 --> 00:50:34,041
[reel clicking]
1190
00:50:34,125 --> 00:50:36,708
When we were in the thick
of editing Young Frankenstein,
1191
00:50:36,791 --> 00:50:38,958
Mel turned to me and said,
1192
00:50:39,041 --> 00:50:40,041
"If you keep writing,
1193
00:50:40,125 --> 00:50:41,458
you're gonna want to direct
1194
00:50:41,541 --> 00:50:45,750
just so someone doesn't
screw up what you've written."
1195
00:50:45,833 --> 00:50:49,291
Two weeks later,
fate just struck again.
1196
00:50:49,375 --> 00:50:52,625
Alan Ladd, Jr. asked me
if I wanted to direct
1197
00:50:52,708 --> 00:50:54,583
Sherlock Holmes'
Smarter Brother,
1198
00:50:54,666 --> 00:50:56,791
my idea for
a romantic comedy
1199
00:50:56,875 --> 00:50:59,958
about a brother
of Sherlock Holmes.
1200
00:51:00,041 --> 00:51:01,166
[Mel Brooks] Gene said,
"There's something
1201
00:51:01,250 --> 00:51:04,500
I want to write and direct."
1202
00:51:04,583 --> 00:51:06,958
And Gene Wilder went on
to have a very nice career
1203
00:51:07,041 --> 00:51:09,916
as a writer-director.
1204
00:51:10,000 --> 00:51:11,458
[Gene Wilder] I had
a comedy scene
1205
00:51:11,541 --> 00:51:13,333
at the beginning
of filming Sherlock
1206
00:51:13,416 --> 00:51:15,916
that was one of my favorites.
1207
00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:20,375
I'm waiting to see
Lord Redcliff in his study.
1208
00:51:20,458 --> 00:51:22,416
There's a tempting
box of chocolates
1209
00:51:22,500 --> 00:51:26,208
sitting open on his desk
and melting in the sun,
1210
00:51:26,291 --> 00:51:29,416
so I decide to steal
just one tiny piece.
1211
00:51:30,458 --> 00:51:31,583
[box clatters]
1212
00:51:31,666 --> 00:51:35,041
[playful music playing]
1213
00:51:35,125 --> 00:51:36,541
The crew was
holding back laughter,
1214
00:51:36,625 --> 00:51:39,041
but all I was trying
to do as an actor
1215
00:51:39,125 --> 00:51:42,666
was to act as normally
as I possibly could.
1216
00:51:42,750 --> 00:51:45,541
It was the same lesson I'd
learned from Charlie Chaplin
1217
00:51:45,625 --> 00:51:47,416
when I saw The Circus.
1218
00:51:51,208 --> 00:51:54,708
If the physical thing
you're doing is funny,
1219
00:51:54,791 --> 00:51:57,916
you don't have
to act funny while doing it.
1220
00:51:58,000 --> 00:51:59,125
[chocolates clatter]
1221
00:51:59,208 --> 00:52:02,125
Just be real
and it will be funnier.
1222
00:52:02,208 --> 00:52:03,833
The acting lesson
from this film
1223
00:52:03,916 --> 00:52:05,416
seemed so simple,
1224
00:52:05,500 --> 00:52:07,916
yet it inspired me
for the rest of my career.
1225
00:52:09,541 --> 00:52:11,541
[languid music playing]
1226
00:52:11,625 --> 00:52:13,291
[Carol Kane] When I was 23,
1227
00:52:13,375 --> 00:52:16,666
I was miraculously
nominated for Best Actress
1228
00:52:16,750 --> 00:52:21,791
for a movie called
Hester Street.
1229
00:52:21,875 --> 00:52:26,500
The phone didn't ring
for a solid year after that.
1230
00:52:26,583 --> 00:52:29,958
And the first call
I got about work
1231
00:52:30,041 --> 00:52:34,333
was Gene calling about
The World's Greatest Lover.
1232
00:52:34,416 --> 00:52:38,458
I had never in my life
done a comedy.
1233
00:52:38,541 --> 00:52:43,833
Why would Gene Wilder be calling
for me to be in a comedy?
1234
00:52:43,916 --> 00:52:46,958
[Ben Mankiewicz] You get
some insight into Gene
1235
00:52:47,041 --> 00:52:48,833
that he casts Carol Kane.
1236
00:52:48,916 --> 00:52:50,708
This was not a comedy actress.
1237
00:52:50,791 --> 00:52:52,458
He had the sense--
he knew people.
1238
00:52:52,541 --> 00:52:55,250
I mean, Carol Kane comes off
this Oscar nomination
1239
00:52:55,333 --> 00:52:56,875
for a dramatic role,
and he thinks,
1240
00:52:56,958 --> 00:52:58,833
"No, funny--she's funny."
1241
00:52:58,916 --> 00:52:59,916
And now we know,
1242
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:02,625
now there's 40-plus
years of evidence
1243
00:53:02,708 --> 00:53:03,916
that Carol Kane is funny.
1244
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:07,208
But, you know,
Gene recognized it.
1245
00:53:07,291 --> 00:53:11,750
[Gene Wilder] It was about
a baker from Milwaukee in 1927
1246
00:53:11,833 --> 00:53:14,750
who wants to try out
for a big Hollywood contest
1247
00:53:14,833 --> 00:53:18,208
to find the next
Rudolph Valentino.
1248
00:53:18,291 --> 00:53:20,458
He takes his wife to Hollywood.
1249
00:53:21,916 --> 00:53:24,666
I will win that screen test,
1250
00:53:24,750 --> 00:53:27,250
not because I'm
the best actor in the world,
1251
00:53:27,333 --> 00:53:29,791
not because I'm
the sexiest man in the world,
1252
00:53:29,875 --> 00:53:32,375
not because I'm the most
handsome man in the world,
1253
00:53:32,458 --> 00:53:36,166
but because I am unique!
1254
00:53:37,916 --> 00:53:40,916
[male singers] ♪ You ought
to be in pictures ♪
1255
00:53:41,000 --> 00:53:44,083
♪ You're wonderful to see ♪
1256
00:53:44,166 --> 00:53:46,375
♪ You ought to be in pictures ♪
1257
00:53:46,458 --> 00:53:50,208
♪ Oh, what a hit
you would be ♪♪
1258
00:53:50,291 --> 00:53:52,666
[lively music playing]
1259
00:53:52,750 --> 00:53:55,250
For someone just beginning
1260
00:53:55,333 --> 00:53:59,583
as a director-writer-
producer-star,
1261
00:53:59,666 --> 00:54:06,250
Gene was very calm
and confident and happy.
1262
00:54:07,833 --> 00:54:12,166
[Alan Alda] When you write,
direct, and act in a movie,
1263
00:54:12,250 --> 00:54:15,666
there are three ways
they can kill you.
1264
00:54:15,750 --> 00:54:19,416
And if they wanna kill you,
they go for all three.
1265
00:54:19,500 --> 00:54:23,833
Gene was able to exert
his own artistic vision.
1266
00:54:23,916 --> 00:54:26,333
-I'm ready!
-[exclamation]
1267
00:54:26,416 --> 00:54:29,833
[vintage jazz music playing]
1268
00:54:29,916 --> 00:54:31,666
[Carol Kane]
The World's Greatest Lover
1269
00:54:31,750 --> 00:54:37,083
is a big love letter
to movies, Hollywood,
1270
00:54:37,166 --> 00:54:40,000
all his idols.
1271
00:54:40,083 --> 00:54:41,916
Chaplin.
1272
00:54:42,000 --> 00:54:43,083
Busby Berkeley.
1273
00:54:43,166 --> 00:54:44,416
♪ We're in the money ♪♪
1274
00:54:44,500 --> 00:54:45,625
[Carol Kane]
Laurel and Hardy
1275
00:54:45,708 --> 00:54:49,583
and these classic comedy bits.
1276
00:54:49,666 --> 00:54:53,375
The way Gene shot the movie,
1277
00:54:53,458 --> 00:54:56,916
extreme close-ups
frequently of the eyes,
1278
00:54:57,000 --> 00:55:00,083
to let the eyes do the talking,
1279
00:55:00,166 --> 00:55:02,625
as they did
in the silent-movie era.
1280
00:55:02,708 --> 00:55:04,500
[tango-style music playing]
1281
00:55:04,583 --> 00:55:08,708
[Ben Mankiewicz] He manages
to convey hurt and longing
1282
00:55:08,791 --> 00:55:11,250
and fear and anger
in those eyes
1283
00:55:11,333 --> 00:55:13,708
without speaking a line.
1284
00:55:13,791 --> 00:55:17,000
Gene Wilder would have been
a great silent actor.
1285
00:55:17,083 --> 00:55:19,625
No surprise that
he chose to make a film
1286
00:55:19,708 --> 00:55:23,333
that salutes silent Hollywood.
1287
00:55:23,416 --> 00:55:26,041
[Carol Kane] The lighting
and the costumes and the makeup
1288
00:55:26,125 --> 00:55:29,458
is so evocative of that time.
1289
00:55:29,541 --> 00:55:32,625
[lush, romantic music plays]
1290
00:55:32,708 --> 00:55:36,208
That obviously
appealed to Gene a lot.
1291
00:55:39,958 --> 00:55:43,000
I love Gene's choice
of acting roles.
1292
00:55:44,208 --> 00:55:45,750
It's totally eclectic.
1293
00:55:45,833 --> 00:55:48,250
He did what he wanted to do.
1294
00:55:48,333 --> 00:55:50,041
What spoke to him,
what he loved,
1295
00:55:50,125 --> 00:55:52,875
he just did it.
1296
00:55:52,958 --> 00:55:55,000
[Gene Wilder] It was called
The Frisco Kid.
1297
00:55:55,083 --> 00:55:56,166
[thud]
1298
00:55:56,250 --> 00:55:59,708
[speaking Yiddish]
1299
00:55:59,791 --> 00:56:01,875
[Gene Wilder] A film about
a Polish rabbi…
1300
00:56:01,958 --> 00:56:03,125
America.
1301
00:56:03,208 --> 00:56:04,625
[Gene Wilder] …who comes
to America
1302
00:56:04,708 --> 00:56:06,250
at the time of the gold rush…
1303
00:56:06,333 --> 00:56:07,208
-[grunt]
-Oy!
1304
00:56:07,291 --> 00:56:10,375
[Gene Wilder] …and becomes
best friends with a bank robber
1305
00:56:10,458 --> 00:56:12,958
and is captured by Indians.
1306
00:56:13,041 --> 00:56:15,125
Yes or no:
Can your god make rain?
1307
00:56:15,208 --> 00:56:16,708
He doesn't make rain!
1308
00:56:16,791 --> 00:56:19,791
[Gene Wilder] The rabbi
and the chief form a friendship
1309
00:56:19,875 --> 00:56:21,833
discussing the Jewish god.
1310
00:56:21,916 --> 00:56:24,208
…around blindly like
little mice in the darkness,
1311
00:56:24,291 --> 00:56:27,458
but He does not make rain!
1312
00:56:27,541 --> 00:56:29,000
[lightning crashes]
1313
00:56:29,083 --> 00:56:30,958
[indistinct chatter]
1314
00:56:31,041 --> 00:56:33,041
[dramatic music playing]
1315
00:56:33,125 --> 00:56:35,541
[rain pattering,
thunder rumbling]
1316
00:56:35,625 --> 00:56:39,666
Of course, sometimes,
just like that,
1317
00:56:39,750 --> 00:56:41,583
He'll change His mind.
1318
00:56:43,375 --> 00:56:47,333
[soft piano music playing]
1319
00:56:47,416 --> 00:56:49,083
[Gene Wilder] The Frisco Kid
came closer
1320
00:56:49,166 --> 00:56:52,916
to what I am in life
than anything else.
1321
00:56:55,250 --> 00:56:57,333
We were never
a particularly religious family
1322
00:56:57,416 --> 00:56:58,791
when I was growing up
1323
00:56:58,875 --> 00:57:01,291
in the sense of prayers
at home or rituals,
1324
00:57:01,375 --> 00:57:03,000
other than going
to my grandparents'
1325
00:57:03,083 --> 00:57:05,291
for a meal on Passover,
1326
00:57:05,375 --> 00:57:08,250
and going to the synagogue
on the High Holidays.
1327
00:57:10,541 --> 00:57:12,875
[Rochelle Pierce]
Gene's grandfather
1328
00:57:12,958 --> 00:57:15,333
was president
of his old synagogue,
1329
00:57:15,416 --> 00:57:19,291
which was an old,
little small Orthodox synagogue
1330
00:57:19,375 --> 00:57:21,416
in the old Jewish neighborhood.
1331
00:57:23,791 --> 00:57:26,666
We had strong feelings
about Judaism.
1332
00:57:28,083 --> 00:57:31,291
I would say Gene was spiritual.
1333
00:57:33,416 --> 00:57:34,583
There's my mother in me,
1334
00:57:34,666 --> 00:57:36,291
and there's my father in me.
1335
00:57:37,458 --> 00:57:39,083
There was a certain innocence
1336
00:57:39,166 --> 00:57:41,041
about the way I acted onscreen.
1337
00:57:41,125 --> 00:57:43,875
I must have inherited it
from my father.
1338
00:57:43,958 --> 00:57:45,250
My father was born in Russia
1339
00:57:45,333 --> 00:57:48,166
but came to Milwaukee
with his family when he was 11.
1340
00:57:48,250 --> 00:57:51,166
He wasn't dumb,
but he was very innocent.
1341
00:57:52,708 --> 00:57:55,208
[exclaiming in Yiddish]
1342
00:57:56,208 --> 00:57:58,708
[speaking Yiddish]
1343
00:58:08,625 --> 00:58:12,083
Dost thou speak English?
1344
00:58:14,416 --> 00:58:17,208
Dost thou
1345
00:58:17,291 --> 00:58:19,708
speak Eng--
1346
00:58:19,791 --> 00:58:21,791
[church bells tolling]
1347
00:58:21,875 --> 00:58:24,625
Oy--oy gevalt!
1348
00:58:24,708 --> 00:58:28,000
[indistinct murmuring]
1349
00:58:28,083 --> 00:58:31,916
[Gene Wilder] The wonderful
Robert Aldrich was directing,
1350
00:58:32,000 --> 00:58:35,500
and Mace Neufeld
was the producer,
1351
00:58:35,583 --> 00:58:38,666
but we still had
to find a co-star.
1352
00:58:38,750 --> 00:58:40,333
When we started to do the film,
1353
00:58:40,416 --> 00:58:43,291
we were gonna use John Wayne.
1354
00:58:43,375 --> 00:58:46,583
And he was all excited
about joining the project.
1355
00:58:46,666 --> 00:58:48,000
[Gene Wilder] I was so happy,
1356
00:58:48,083 --> 00:58:50,500
and one of the executives
got the bright idea
1357
00:58:50,583 --> 00:58:53,375
of going out
to Long Beach, California,
1358
00:58:53,458 --> 00:58:55,208
where John Wayne lived,
1359
00:58:55,291 --> 00:58:59,208
and tried to
knock him down $250,000.
1360
00:58:59,291 --> 00:59:01,333
And he said,
"Forget the whole thing."
1361
00:59:01,416 --> 00:59:03,708
He was out.
1362
00:59:03,708 --> 00:59:05,166
[Gene Wilder] I was asked
to look at the work
1363
00:59:05,250 --> 00:59:07,166
of an up-and-coming
young actor
1364
00:59:07,250 --> 00:59:09,541
by the name of Harrison Ford.
1365
00:59:09,625 --> 00:59:11,875
I thought Harrison was charming
1366
00:59:11,958 --> 00:59:14,791
and might possibly get
somewhere in the business.
1367
00:59:14,875 --> 00:59:16,708
What do you call this,
in Jewish?
1368
00:59:16,791 --> 00:59:19,625
A--a tuchus.
1369
00:59:19,708 --> 00:59:22,125
Well, you keep your eyes
on this too-kas
1370
00:59:22,208 --> 00:59:24,166
and don't take 'em off
till I tell ya.
1371
00:59:24,250 --> 00:59:26,000
Harrison was super popular,
1372
00:59:26,083 --> 00:59:28,500
and everybody was
crazy about him,
1373
00:59:28,583 --> 00:59:30,875
but Gene was different.
1374
00:59:30,958 --> 00:59:33,166
Gene Wilder was
one of my heroes.
1375
00:59:33,250 --> 00:59:36,333
He was smart,
he was funny, he was kind.
1376
00:59:36,416 --> 00:59:39,250
He made me feel very special.
1377
00:59:39,333 --> 00:59:40,958
I was 14 years old,
1378
00:59:41,041 --> 00:59:44,208
and my father said
that I was okay
1379
00:59:44,291 --> 00:59:48,291
to actually be in the movie.
1380
00:59:48,375 --> 00:59:49,875
So they made me up,
1381
00:59:49,958 --> 00:59:51,625
probably inappropriately,
1382
00:59:51,708 --> 00:59:55,625
and I was the Jewish Indian.
1383
00:59:55,708 --> 00:59:59,166
I remember feeling
very excited but very nervous
1384
00:59:59,250 --> 01:00:01,291
to be on the set.
1385
01:00:01,375 --> 01:00:02,458
Everybody dance!
1386
01:00:02,541 --> 01:00:04,333
[Nancy Neufeld Callaway]
So he's teaching the Indians
1387
01:00:04,416 --> 01:00:05,750
Jewish dancing.
1388
01:00:05,833 --> 01:00:07,375
[Avram] That's good
with the hands.
1389
01:00:07,458 --> 01:00:08,541
Watch that lady!
1390
01:00:08,625 --> 01:00:11,500
I think that lady's
a Jewish Indian.
1391
01:00:11,583 --> 01:00:13,708
[Nancy Neufeld Callaway]
Gene had taken peyote,
1392
01:00:13,791 --> 01:00:14,958
but he doesn't know that.
1393
01:00:15,041 --> 01:00:17,333
♪ Now we do a jump,
a little bit of jump ♪
1394
01:00:17,416 --> 01:00:19,041
[Nancy Neufeld Callaway] He is
feeling the effects
1395
01:00:19,125 --> 01:00:19,958
of the drug.
1396
01:00:20,041 --> 01:00:21,000
[Avram]
♪ One, two, three ♪
1397
01:00:21,083 --> 01:00:22,583
[drumming and vocalizing]
1398
01:00:22,666 --> 01:00:25,791
[Nancy Neufeld Callaway]
And he passes out.
1399
01:00:25,875 --> 01:00:27,375
And I look at him and I go…
1400
01:00:28,708 --> 01:00:30,916
So, that's my big role
in the movie.
1401
01:00:31,000 --> 01:00:32,791
[playful music playing]
1402
01:00:32,875 --> 01:00:36,458
[Mace Neufeld] Now we had
Harrison Ford and Gene Wilder,
1403
01:00:36,541 --> 01:00:38,958
and Gene Wilder carried
the comedy in the movie.
1404
01:00:39,041 --> 01:00:41,000
[Tommy] Don't wake me
in the mornin'.
1405
01:00:42,833 --> 01:00:46,666
I'll try to be
as quiet as possible!
1406
01:00:46,750 --> 01:00:49,583
One example of Gene's
connection to Judaism
1407
01:00:49,666 --> 01:00:52,875
is that Gene and Harrison Ford
1408
01:00:52,958 --> 01:00:55,083
are trying to get away
from the bad guys.
1409
01:00:55,166 --> 01:00:56,541
What the hell are you doin'?
1410
01:00:57,458 --> 01:00:59,375
I don't ride today.
1411
01:00:59,458 --> 01:01:01,333
[Nancy Neufeld Callaway]
And it's the Sabbath.
1412
01:01:01,416 --> 01:01:03,208
You can't ride on the Sabbath.
1413
01:01:03,291 --> 01:01:07,125
Gene says, "We have
to wait for the sun to set."
1414
01:01:07,208 --> 01:01:08,541
Not yet!
1415
01:01:09,791 --> 01:01:11,041
Now!
1416
01:01:12,541 --> 01:01:14,500
[dramatic music playing]
1417
01:01:14,583 --> 01:01:17,583
[Nancy Neufeld Callaway]
And as soon as the sun set…
1418
01:01:17,666 --> 01:01:19,041
-Now!
-[Nancy] …off they go.
1419
01:01:19,125 --> 01:01:20,166
Thank God.
1420
01:01:20,250 --> 01:01:22,625
Longest damned day of my life.
1421
01:01:24,708 --> 01:01:26,375
[Gene Wilder] I'll never
be as good in drama
1422
01:01:26,458 --> 01:01:27,833
as I am in comedy.
1423
01:01:27,916 --> 01:01:30,708
-Oy!
-[man shouts]
1424
01:01:30,791 --> 01:01:32,291
[Gene Wilder] But when
I'm acting,
1425
01:01:32,375 --> 01:01:33,916
I want to be really funny
1426
01:01:34,000 --> 01:01:36,583
and part vulnerable.
1427
01:01:36,666 --> 01:01:40,583
Hey, we are doing this
to keep warm, aren't we?
1428
01:01:40,666 --> 01:01:42,416
Uh-huh.
1429
01:01:42,500 --> 01:01:45,666
In that case, you can
put your arms around me.
1430
01:01:45,750 --> 01:01:47,750
[Gene Wilder] That's what
I like the best.
1431
01:01:47,833 --> 01:01:50,333
[majestic music playing]
1432
01:01:53,916 --> 01:01:55,208
I'm not a good actor;
1433
01:01:55,291 --> 01:01:57,666
I'm a good reactor.
1434
01:01:57,750 --> 01:01:58,833
Something happens.
1435
01:01:58,916 --> 01:02:02,291
That's why Richard and I
are so good together.
1436
01:02:02,375 --> 01:02:04,875
[jazzy music playing]
1437
01:02:08,333 --> 01:02:11,125
Richard Pryor and I
met in Calgary, Canada,
1438
01:02:11,208 --> 01:02:15,291
as we were both
checking in at the hotel.
1439
01:02:15,375 --> 01:02:18,125
The next morning,
we did our first short scene
1440
01:02:18,208 --> 01:02:21,125
in the film Silver Streak.
1441
01:02:21,208 --> 01:02:22,333
[gunshots]
1442
01:02:22,416 --> 01:02:24,958
There were police cars
and helicopters and guns
1443
01:02:25,041 --> 01:02:26,250
all around us.
1444
01:02:26,333 --> 01:02:28,125
Argh! Shit!
1445
01:02:28,208 --> 01:02:29,375
Take it easy, killer.
1446
01:02:29,458 --> 01:02:30,625
What are you doing here?
1447
01:02:30,708 --> 01:02:31,666
[bullet ricochets]
1448
01:02:31,750 --> 01:02:34,916
When Richard and I
did our first scene,
1449
01:02:35,000 --> 01:02:39,791
some magic happened,
what they call chemistry.
1450
01:02:39,875 --> 01:02:41,875
I would answer him,
back and forth, back and forth,
1451
01:02:41,958 --> 01:02:45,458
and we were on
such a similar wavelength.
1452
01:02:45,541 --> 01:02:47,916
No thinking,
just spontaneous reaction.
1453
01:02:48,000 --> 01:02:49,166
Who's in charge here?
1454
01:02:49,250 --> 01:02:50,416
Would you get down?
1455
01:02:50,500 --> 01:02:52,666
[bullet ricochets]
1456
01:02:54,250 --> 01:02:55,291
[Gene Wilder] That was
the start
1457
01:02:55,375 --> 01:02:58,750
of our improvisatory
relationship on film.
1458
01:03:00,791 --> 01:03:02,083
My dad couldn't read very well.
1459
01:03:02,166 --> 01:03:04,333
He was dyslexic a little bit.
1460
01:03:04,416 --> 01:03:08,916
So a lot of his education
came from the feel of something.
1461
01:03:09,000 --> 01:03:11,041
[Gene Wilder] Richard's way
always has an emotional
1462
01:03:11,125 --> 01:03:14,166
rather than intellectual base.
1463
01:03:14,250 --> 01:03:17,500
In this regard,
Richard was my teacher.
1464
01:03:22,833 --> 01:03:24,833
-What are you doing?
-I'm gettin' bad.
1465
01:03:24,916 --> 01:03:26,916
Better get bad, Jack,
'cause if you ain't bad,
1466
01:03:27,000 --> 01:03:28,833
you gonna get fucked.
1467
01:03:28,916 --> 01:03:30,541
You're bad,
they don't mess with ya.
1468
01:03:30,625 --> 01:03:32,375
[Gene Wilder] Words kept
coming out of my mouth
1469
01:03:32,458 --> 01:03:34,291
in response to things
that Richard was saying.
1470
01:03:34,375 --> 01:03:35,750
-Get down!
-Hey!
1471
01:03:35,833 --> 01:03:37,458
[Gene Wilder] Things that
weren't in the script.
1472
01:03:37,541 --> 01:03:39,500
You a little too bad, ain't ya?
1473
01:03:39,583 --> 01:03:41,041
My dad knew undeniably
1474
01:03:41,125 --> 01:03:43,375
there was a magic between them.
1475
01:03:43,458 --> 01:03:47,791
That's right, that's right,
we bad, uh-huh, that's right.
1476
01:03:47,875 --> 01:03:50,291
Together, it was like
explosive on the screen.
1477
01:03:50,375 --> 01:03:51,583
Hi-ya!
1478
01:03:51,666 --> 01:03:53,083
[Ben Mankiewicz] I don't
know what makes
1479
01:03:53,166 --> 01:03:56,000
a great comedy duo.
1480
01:03:56,083 --> 01:03:57,083
They both have to be funny,
1481
01:03:57,166 --> 01:03:58,625
but they have
to work off each other.
1482
01:03:58,708 --> 01:04:00,791
[playful music playing]
1483
01:04:00,875 --> 01:04:03,125
Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor,
1484
01:04:03,208 --> 01:04:04,708
they fuel each other.
1485
01:04:04,791 --> 01:04:08,791
And their improvs
made them both better.
1486
01:04:08,875 --> 01:04:10,833
[Gene Wilder] The director,
Sidney Poitier,
1487
01:04:10,916 --> 01:04:12,916
wanted the script
rewritten to accommodate
1488
01:04:13,000 --> 01:04:16,833
the particular talents
of his two stars.
1489
01:04:16,916 --> 01:04:20,166
Then he said,
"I want you both to fly."
1490
01:04:20,250 --> 01:04:22,458
Please! He's sick,
he's--he's havin' a fit.
1491
01:04:22,541 --> 01:04:24,041
See, he don't have
his tooth pills.
1492
01:04:24,125 --> 01:04:25,000
He's got--see?
1493
01:04:25,083 --> 01:04:26,541
And we did fly.
1494
01:04:26,625 --> 01:04:27,750
-Harry.
-[groans loudly]
1495
01:04:27,833 --> 01:04:29,041
Harry, for God's sake.
1496
01:04:29,125 --> 01:04:31,041
-Argh!
-You're gonna get us in trouble.
1497
01:04:31,125 --> 01:04:32,625
[Rain Pryor] They're
wild together.
1498
01:04:32,708 --> 01:04:33,916
Your crew is laughing.
1499
01:04:34,000 --> 01:04:35,333
Harry, here, come here.
1500
01:04:35,416 --> 01:04:38,666
They weren't afraid
to be silly,
1501
01:04:38,750 --> 01:04:40,125
and it comes out genius.
1502
01:04:40,208 --> 01:04:42,500
All right, you two.
1503
01:04:42,583 --> 01:04:44,916
Up and at 'em!
1504
01:04:45,000 --> 01:04:47,500
[groaning and grunting]
1505
01:04:51,958 --> 01:04:56,083
Argh! I can't feel
nothin' in my leg!
1506
01:04:56,166 --> 01:04:58,208
[Gene Wilder] Richard and I
were certainly silly together,
1507
01:04:58,291 --> 01:05:00,458
at least on film.
1508
01:05:00,541 --> 01:05:02,083
But as close
as we were on film,
1509
01:05:02,166 --> 01:05:04,625
it didn't carry over
to our private lives.
1510
01:05:04,708 --> 01:05:06,541
[Rain Pryor] When the camera
was off, that was it.
1511
01:05:06,625 --> 01:05:09,250
[bluesy organ music playing]
1512
01:05:09,333 --> 01:05:10,791
And that's kind of
how they were,
1513
01:05:10,875 --> 01:05:12,250
and I understand that.
1514
01:05:12,333 --> 01:05:14,291
I mean, they were
two polar opposites.
1515
01:05:14,375 --> 01:05:15,875
Gene, when you were
doing those movies
1516
01:05:15,958 --> 01:05:17,041
with Richard Pryor,
1517
01:05:17,125 --> 01:05:20,500
did his drug usage ever
get in the way of the film?
1518
01:05:20,583 --> 01:05:22,125
I got to know Richard
1519
01:05:22,208 --> 01:05:24,250
and I got to love him,
1520
01:05:24,333 --> 01:05:28,125
and he was going
through a difficult period.
1521
01:05:28,208 --> 01:05:31,458
But I never talked
to him about that.
1522
01:05:31,541 --> 01:05:33,625
[Rain Pryor] Whatever it was
that he was going through,
1523
01:05:33,708 --> 01:05:38,083
he quieted it with his
drugs and alcohols and women.
1524
01:05:38,166 --> 01:05:41,000
It was almost like
self-sabotaging,
1525
01:05:41,083 --> 01:05:43,666
you know, to not
show up on time to set.
1526
01:05:43,750 --> 01:05:45,916
[dramatic music playing]
1527
01:05:46,000 --> 01:05:48,708
But when they came together,
1528
01:05:48,791 --> 01:05:51,250
a black-and-white duo team,
1529
01:05:51,333 --> 01:05:54,083
creating this laughter together,
1530
01:05:54,166 --> 01:05:57,666
that, to me,
is what comedy is about.
1531
01:05:57,750 --> 01:05:59,750
You can't deny that's magic.
1532
01:06:01,416 --> 01:06:03,291
You're doing all right,
you're getting the hang of it.
1533
01:06:03,375 --> 01:06:04,958
[Gene Wilder] My next
movie project was
1534
01:06:05,041 --> 01:06:08,916
a comedy-mystery
called Hanky Panky,
1535
01:06:09,000 --> 01:06:10,916
with Sidney Poitier directing.
1536
01:06:11,000 --> 01:06:12,625
[upbeat music playing]
1537
01:06:12,708 --> 01:06:14,958
Lots of female stars
said they would do the movie,
1538
01:06:15,041 --> 01:06:17,708
but Sidney cast Gilda Radner.
1539
01:06:17,791 --> 01:06:19,458
[lively string music playing]
1540
01:06:19,541 --> 01:06:22,125
The day Gilda and I met,
1541
01:06:22,208 --> 01:06:24,375
I was in my makeup
and dressed in a tuxedo
1542
01:06:24,458 --> 01:06:27,375
when I walked up to her
to say hello.
1543
01:06:27,458 --> 01:06:29,208
Stay here, I'll be right back.
1544
01:06:29,291 --> 01:06:32,041
[Bobbie Wygant] Your co-star
in this is Gilda Radner.
1545
01:06:32,125 --> 01:06:34,291
Isn't she wonderful?
1546
01:06:34,375 --> 01:06:35,625
Why are you smiling?
1547
01:06:35,708 --> 01:06:38,000
'Cause you wanna know
what I think of her,
1548
01:06:38,083 --> 01:06:40,333
it'd be more
than wonderful, yes.
1549
01:06:42,375 --> 01:06:46,291
[Alan Zweibel] When Gilda went
to do the movie Hanky Panky,
1550
01:06:46,375 --> 01:06:49,916
she was having difficulty
in the marriage that she was in.
1551
01:06:50,000 --> 01:06:51,375
[serene music playing]
1552
01:06:51,458 --> 01:06:53,708
So when she told me
that she's becoming
1553
01:06:53,791 --> 01:06:56,875
very friendly with Gene Wilder,
1554
01:06:56,958 --> 01:07:00,791
very friendly,
I'm going, "All right."
1555
01:07:00,875 --> 01:07:02,583
That was a euphemism for,
1556
01:07:02,666 --> 01:07:05,291
"I'm gonna end up
with Gene Wilder."
1557
01:07:08,083 --> 01:07:11,666
[beguiling music playing]
1558
01:07:11,750 --> 01:07:15,166
[Robin Zweibel] He had
a mesmerizing stare.
1559
01:07:16,875 --> 01:07:19,083
And those eyes,
those blue--
1560
01:07:19,166 --> 01:07:21,916
I mean, I could see why
Gilda fell in love with him.
1561
01:07:22,000 --> 01:07:25,541
Gilda was like 14-ish
when her dad died.
1562
01:07:27,125 --> 01:07:28,750
Gene was one-stop shopping.
1563
01:07:28,833 --> 01:07:31,708
He was older,
1564
01:07:31,791 --> 01:07:35,416
so there was the dad thing.
1565
01:07:35,500 --> 01:07:39,125
He already had his own career.
1566
01:07:39,208 --> 01:07:41,625
And she was grateful for it.
1567
01:07:44,041 --> 01:07:45,666
[Gene Wilder] Gilda was
the most generous
1568
01:07:45,750 --> 01:07:47,666
and compassionate
and original person
1569
01:07:47,750 --> 01:07:49,458
I had ever met.
1570
01:07:49,541 --> 01:07:51,333
It was wonderful
to be with Gilda,
1571
01:07:51,416 --> 01:07:53,166
most of the time.
1572
01:07:53,250 --> 01:07:57,291
She was so strong-willed
and yet so fragile.
1573
01:07:57,375 --> 01:07:59,500
When Gilda met Gene,
1574
01:07:59,583 --> 01:08:01,750
she had a world of problems.
1575
01:08:01,833 --> 01:08:03,291
She drank too much.
1576
01:08:03,375 --> 01:08:05,708
She was a bulimic.
1577
01:08:05,791 --> 01:08:09,000
And Gene sent her
to a battery of doctors
1578
01:08:09,083 --> 01:08:12,666
to redo her,
to fix her,
1579
01:08:12,750 --> 01:08:14,875
and rehabilitates her,
to a degree.
1580
01:08:14,958 --> 01:08:17,458
[rousing music playing]
1581
01:08:19,875 --> 01:08:21,625
[Gene Wilder] We were
living in Los Angeles,
1582
01:08:21,708 --> 01:08:25,208
having just finished filming
The Woman in Red.
1583
01:08:25,291 --> 01:08:29,125
Seeing Gilda looking strong
and healthy and so happy,
1584
01:08:29,208 --> 01:08:33,958
I thought, "Maybe things
between us can work."
1585
01:08:34,041 --> 01:08:35,583
[Mel Brooks] If I found
a restaurant
1586
01:08:35,666 --> 01:08:37,083
that was interesting,
1587
01:08:37,166 --> 01:08:39,708
I'd always call him
and say, "Let's go here."
1588
01:08:39,791 --> 01:08:41,625
And he'd take Gilda,
1589
01:08:41,708 --> 01:08:42,666
who loved my wife, Anne,
1590
01:08:42,750 --> 01:08:46,000
and Anne loved Gilda,
so it was perfect.
1591
01:08:46,083 --> 01:08:49,166
We were best friends,
it was wonderful.
1592
01:08:49,250 --> 01:08:51,416
[Gene Wilder] Gilda
was different.
1593
01:08:51,500 --> 01:08:53,250
She said, "I'm not
a perfect woman
1594
01:08:53,333 --> 01:08:55,125
that you've been searching
for all your life.
1595
01:08:55,208 --> 01:08:57,875
I'm just little,
imperfect Gilda.
1596
01:08:57,958 --> 01:09:01,583
And if that's what you want,
a real love,
1597
01:09:01,666 --> 01:09:05,291
I'm your best bet."
1598
01:09:05,375 --> 01:09:09,333
We were married
on September 18th, 1984.
1599
01:09:09,416 --> 01:09:11,916
[whimsical music playing]
1600
01:09:12,000 --> 01:09:14,333
She was 38 years old.
1601
01:09:14,416 --> 01:09:16,166
Now she wanted a baby.
1602
01:09:16,250 --> 01:09:18,500
Desperately, of course.
1603
01:09:20,583 --> 01:09:23,916
Just when it stops
before you go away again.
1604
01:09:24,000 --> 01:09:26,416
Meanwhile,
I was making a new movie,
1605
01:09:26,500 --> 01:09:28,666
Haunted Honeymoon.
1606
01:09:28,750 --> 01:09:32,708
It's always much easier
to kiss someone in a movie
1607
01:09:32,791 --> 01:09:35,166
that you kiss all the time.
1608
01:09:35,250 --> 01:09:37,791
'Cause it's familiar territory!
1609
01:09:39,333 --> 01:09:42,541
[Robin Zweibel] Gilda found out
that she was pregnant
1610
01:09:42,625 --> 01:09:45,500
and was thrilled beyond belief.
1611
01:09:45,583 --> 01:09:48,458
She went in for an exam
1612
01:09:48,541 --> 01:09:51,625
and found out it was
an ectopic pregnancy,
1613
01:09:51,708 --> 01:09:54,333
and it was devastating.
1614
01:09:54,416 --> 01:09:57,875
Everything was devastating.
1615
01:09:57,958 --> 01:10:00,666
A couple months
after the surgery,
1616
01:10:00,750 --> 01:10:07,500
that's when they realized
that she had ovarian cancer.
1617
01:10:07,583 --> 01:10:09,583
[Gene Wilder] Gilda grabbed
my face in her hands
1618
01:10:09,666 --> 01:10:11,000
and sobbed.
1619
01:10:11,083 --> 01:10:13,708
"No more bad news,
no more bad news.
1620
01:10:13,791 --> 01:10:16,125
I don't want
any more bad news."
1621
01:10:16,208 --> 01:10:18,708
[somber music playing]
1622
01:10:22,458 --> 01:10:24,916
There's something mythological
1623
01:10:25,000 --> 01:10:27,500
about somebody going
through all of this,
1624
01:10:27,583 --> 01:10:30,750
finding the love
of their lives,
1625
01:10:30,833 --> 01:10:34,208
and then, God saying, "Ha.
1626
01:10:34,291 --> 01:10:37,666
You're not gonna enjoy this."
1627
01:10:37,750 --> 01:10:40,125
[Robin Zweibel] She was on
such a beautiful path
1628
01:10:40,208 --> 01:10:42,083
and beautiful life.
1629
01:10:42,166 --> 01:10:43,708
Everything that
she ever dreamt of
1630
01:10:43,791 --> 01:10:44,916
was happening,
1631
01:10:45,000 --> 01:10:47,083
and then,
this was like a bomb
1632
01:10:47,166 --> 01:10:49,125
that fell in her lap.
1633
01:10:49,208 --> 01:10:50,500
[shutter clicks]
1634
01:10:50,583 --> 01:10:53,000
[Gene Wilder] Between her
chemotherapy treatments,
1635
01:10:53,083 --> 01:10:54,583
Gilda would come home
and try to lead
1636
01:10:54,666 --> 01:10:56,458
as normal a life as possible,
1637
01:10:56,541 --> 01:10:58,791
but the first few days
were always exhausting
1638
01:10:58,875 --> 01:11:02,791
because she was
so hyped-up from steroids.
1639
01:11:02,875 --> 01:11:05,166
[Alan Zweibel] I remember,
we were out once,
1640
01:11:05,250 --> 01:11:06,291
I said, "How you doing?"
1641
01:11:06,375 --> 01:11:08,250
And she said,
"I'm doing the best I can,
1642
01:11:08,333 --> 01:11:10,000
but, poor Gene.
1643
01:11:10,083 --> 01:11:12,625
You have no idea what
I'm putting that guy through."
1644
01:11:14,083 --> 01:11:16,583
It was unfortunate he had
to be put to that test,
1645
01:11:16,666 --> 01:11:19,333
but he was terrific.
1646
01:11:19,416 --> 01:11:21,416
She made herself
very public when she was sick.
1647
01:11:21,500 --> 01:11:23,958
She was on the cover
of Life magazine.
1648
01:11:24,041 --> 01:11:25,583
She did a thousand interviews.
1649
01:11:25,666 --> 01:11:27,208
She went on Letterman
1650
01:11:27,291 --> 01:11:29,666
and on a show
I co-created called
1651
01:11:29,750 --> 01:11:31,375
It's Garry Shandling's Show.
1652
01:11:31,458 --> 01:11:34,208
Gene was very supportive
of her coming on.
1653
01:11:35,666 --> 01:11:38,250
When she got cancer,
1654
01:11:38,333 --> 01:11:41,208
I never thought
that she would die from it.
1655
01:11:41,291 --> 01:11:42,875
I thought she'd lick it.
1656
01:11:44,458 --> 01:11:47,833
I was stupid, 'cause
everyone else seemed to know
1657
01:11:47,916 --> 01:11:49,416
but I didn't.
1658
01:11:49,500 --> 01:11:52,000
[tranquil music playing]
1659
01:11:55,708 --> 01:11:58,375
She was 43 years old
when she died.
1660
01:11:58,458 --> 01:12:00,000
[bird chirping]
1661
01:12:00,083 --> 01:12:04,125
I buried her in front
of a tall white ash tree
1662
01:12:04,208 --> 01:12:06,833
three miles from
her home in Connecticut.
1663
01:12:08,583 --> 01:12:10,166
I used to worry
all my early life
1664
01:12:10,250 --> 01:12:13,333
about being good enough
to please God.
1665
01:12:13,416 --> 01:12:16,000
Gilda didn't think
about those things.
1666
01:12:16,083 --> 01:12:18,583
She was just naturally good.
1667
01:12:18,666 --> 01:12:21,375
I don't want to be
a better person than Gilda.
1668
01:12:21,458 --> 01:12:23,250
She was just human,
1669
01:12:23,333 --> 01:12:26,291
and that's all I want to be,
just human.
1670
01:12:26,375 --> 01:12:28,875
[pensive music playing]
1671
01:12:34,166 --> 01:12:36,000
In our bedroom
in Connecticut,
1672
01:12:36,083 --> 01:12:39,291
for the sake of
my psychological health,
1673
01:12:39,375 --> 01:12:43,958
I was rewriting a comedy
for me and Richard Pryor.
1674
01:12:44,041 --> 01:12:46,041
It sounds oxymoronic,
1675
01:12:46,125 --> 01:12:49,291
but absurdity was
a familiar guest now.
1676
01:12:49,375 --> 01:12:53,666
[serene music playing]
1677
01:12:53,750 --> 01:12:54,666
I had done research
1678
01:12:54,750 --> 01:12:56,750
at the Braille Institute
in Los Angeles
1679
01:12:56,833 --> 01:13:01,166
which gave me confidence
in writing Richard's part.
1680
01:13:01,250 --> 01:13:04,291
I needed to know about people
who were profoundly deaf,
1681
01:13:04,375 --> 01:13:06,958
which was the case with
the character I was to play.
1682
01:13:07,041 --> 01:13:09,333
[sprightly music playing]
1683
01:13:09,416 --> 01:13:11,125
So I went to see this lady
1684
01:13:11,208 --> 01:13:13,416
at the New York League
for the Hard of Hearing.
1685
01:13:13,500 --> 01:13:16,666
They told me
her name was "Ms. Webb."
1686
01:13:16,750 --> 01:13:19,166
I said, "Oh my God, my luck,
1687
01:13:19,250 --> 01:13:21,666
some New England old biddy
is gonna say,
1688
01:13:21,750 --> 01:13:23,583
'You're making fun
of the blind and the deaf!'"
1689
01:13:23,666 --> 01:13:25,416
So I just thought,
1690
01:13:25,500 --> 01:13:28,166
I'll meet him
just like a regular person.
1691
01:13:28,250 --> 01:13:30,625
And he wasn't a regular person.
1692
01:13:30,708 --> 01:13:32,125
He was gorgeous!
1693
01:13:32,208 --> 01:13:33,833
[laughs]
1694
01:13:33,916 --> 01:13:35,875
[bright music playing]
1695
01:13:35,958 --> 01:13:40,291
He was very interested
in getting his character right.
1696
01:13:41,541 --> 01:13:43,000
He came to class and he saw
1697
01:13:43,083 --> 01:13:45,083
how people learned
how to lip-read.
1698
01:13:45,166 --> 01:13:46,041
Bath.
1699
01:13:46,125 --> 01:13:47,916
And he'd ask them a question,
1700
01:13:48,000 --> 01:13:50,750
like, "Does everybody say,
'What are you, fuckin' deaf?'"
1701
01:13:50,833 --> 01:13:52,916
And they'd say, "All the time."
1702
01:13:53,000 --> 01:13:54,833
[horn blaring]
1703
01:13:54,916 --> 01:13:56,833
And that line is in the movie.
1704
01:13:56,916 --> 01:13:59,416
[driver] What are you,
fuckin' deaf? Move!
1705
01:13:59,500 --> 01:14:00,583
[woman] Get out of the way!
1706
01:14:00,666 --> 01:14:02,416
[Gene Wilder] And then
I would take little plugs
1707
01:14:02,500 --> 01:14:03,958
and put them in my ears
so I could walk
1708
01:14:04,041 --> 01:14:05,958
through the streets of New York,
and it cut out
1709
01:14:06,041 --> 01:14:08,125
about 65 percent of sound.
1710
01:14:08,208 --> 01:14:11,291
-Ya dumb idiot!
-You're a dumb idiot!
1711
01:14:11,375 --> 01:14:12,916
You talkin' to me?
1712
01:14:13,000 --> 01:14:14,416
[Rain Pryor] See No Evil,
Hear No Evil
1713
01:14:14,500 --> 01:14:15,666
was a big deal for Daddy
1714
01:14:15,750 --> 01:14:19,708
because it was
two and half years into
1715
01:14:19,791 --> 01:14:23,291
his multiple sclerosis
diagnosis.
1716
01:14:23,375 --> 01:14:25,625
He needed something
for him to show
1717
01:14:25,708 --> 01:14:29,291
he could still do what he does.
1718
01:14:29,375 --> 01:14:30,875
Dad was definitely
very authentic,
1719
01:14:30,958 --> 01:14:33,083
because he was going
through all those things.
1720
01:14:33,166 --> 01:14:34,916
He was having trouble.
1721
01:14:35,000 --> 01:14:37,625
He--he was that blind man…
1722
01:14:37,708 --> 01:14:38,916
I'm blind.
1723
01:14:39,000 --> 01:14:40,583
[Rain Pryor] …who lost
his eyesight.
1724
01:14:40,666 --> 01:14:42,083
You're blind?
1725
01:14:42,166 --> 01:14:44,125
Yes, I'm blind.
Now can I have the job?
1726
01:14:44,208 --> 01:14:49,500
So, everything was authentic
for him in that moment.
1727
01:14:49,583 --> 01:14:51,583
[Richard Pryor] And we
were very conscious
1728
01:14:51,666 --> 01:14:53,083
of the fact
that we were doing
1729
01:14:53,166 --> 01:14:56,250
a film about people
with a disability.
1730
01:14:57,666 --> 01:15:00,708
We worked very diligently
1731
01:15:00,791 --> 01:15:03,583
at not offending people.
1732
01:15:03,666 --> 01:15:06,583
I had no idea, I'm sorry.
1733
01:15:06,666 --> 01:15:09,500
[Wally] Now you know.
Can I get the job?
1734
01:15:10,583 --> 01:15:12,291
You're really blind?
1735
01:15:12,375 --> 01:15:13,541
Yes. I'm really blind, man!
1736
01:15:13,625 --> 01:15:15,250
What are you, fuckin' deaf?
1737
01:15:15,333 --> 01:15:18,375
Yes! I'm fucking deaf!
1738
01:15:18,458 --> 01:15:19,750
They both were so vulnerable,
1739
01:15:19,833 --> 01:15:22,833
and I think they both wore
their hearts on their sleeve,
1740
01:15:22,916 --> 01:15:25,500
and that's what we see
coming across, you know,
1741
01:15:25,583 --> 01:15:28,458
on the camera,
is this real love.
1742
01:15:28,541 --> 01:15:32,208
I got to be on set
and watch the process
1743
01:15:32,291 --> 01:15:34,708
of them work together,
1744
01:15:34,791 --> 01:15:38,583
and the kindness
that I saw Gene display
1745
01:15:38,666 --> 01:15:42,750
towards my dad, who was
struggling sometimes physically.
1746
01:15:42,833 --> 01:15:44,083
We have steps coming up, Wally.
1747
01:15:44,166 --> 01:15:45,291
Three steps, and--
1748
01:15:45,375 --> 01:15:48,958
[Rain Pryor] I witnessed
my dad having trouble walking,
1749
01:15:49,041 --> 01:15:50,750
holding on,
and remembering lines
1750
01:15:50,833 --> 01:15:52,791
because of the MS.
1751
01:15:52,875 --> 01:15:56,416
And I loved that,
in a non-obvious way,
1752
01:15:56,500 --> 01:16:00,041
Gene was there for him
to be able to be unsteady
1753
01:16:00,125 --> 01:16:03,208
but not come off
unsteady to us.
1754
01:16:03,291 --> 01:16:06,333
-That's teamwork.
-…go!
1755
01:16:06,416 --> 01:16:07,916
[Gene Wilder] Of all
the pleasurable times
1756
01:16:08,041 --> 01:16:10,166
that Richard and I had
on previous films--
1757
01:16:10,250 --> 01:16:12,000
and there were
some wonderful times,
1758
01:16:12,083 --> 01:16:14,083
despite the difficulties--
1759
01:16:14,166 --> 01:16:16,541
the experience on
See No Evil, Hear No Evil
1760
01:16:16,625 --> 01:16:17,750
was the happiest.
1761
01:16:17,833 --> 01:16:19,666
-What are you doing?
-[Gene Wilder] Richard was sane
1762
01:16:19,750 --> 01:16:23,583
and clearheaded
and filled with good humor.
1763
01:16:23,666 --> 01:16:25,541
I have a lot of love for you.
1764
01:16:25,625 --> 01:16:26,875
[Dave] Thank you.
1765
01:16:26,958 --> 01:16:29,125
[gentle thud]
1766
01:16:29,208 --> 01:16:31,250
Ha! Ha-ha!
1767
01:16:31,333 --> 01:16:33,250
People looked forward
to these "buddy" films.
1768
01:16:33,333 --> 01:16:35,291
[soft music playing]
1769
01:16:35,375 --> 01:16:37,875
The formula wasn't
just in the writing;
1770
01:16:37,958 --> 01:16:40,458
the formula was
the two people.
1771
01:16:41,625 --> 01:16:42,500
Here they were,
1772
01:16:42,583 --> 01:16:45,375
from different sides
of racial lines,
1773
01:16:45,458 --> 01:16:49,916
being able to come together
and make us laugh.
1774
01:16:50,000 --> 01:16:53,500
And that's an amazing legacy.
1775
01:16:56,541 --> 01:16:59,041
[stirring music playing]
1776
01:17:00,541 --> 01:17:03,041
[Gene Wilder] In September
of 1989,
1777
01:17:03,125 --> 01:17:04,333
I got a call from
1778
01:17:04,416 --> 01:17:06,250
the New York League
for the Hard of Hearing
1779
01:17:06,333 --> 01:17:09,291
saying that Ms. Webb
wanted to speak to me.
1780
01:17:09,375 --> 01:17:12,208
I called him and said
that I had grant money…
1781
01:17:13,625 --> 01:17:15,208
…to make a videotape
1782
01:17:15,291 --> 01:17:16,625
for people to learn
to speech-read
1783
01:17:16,708 --> 01:17:19,500
so that we could
put them in libraries.
1784
01:17:19,583 --> 01:17:21,583
And he said,
"I'd help you with that."
1785
01:17:22,791 --> 01:17:24,166
[Gene Wilder] We
arranged to meet
1786
01:17:24,250 --> 01:17:26,708
at my favorite Italian
restaurant in Manhattan.
1787
01:17:26,791 --> 01:17:28,916
She set a tape recorder
between us,
1788
01:17:29,000 --> 01:17:30,208
and while we ate,
1789
01:17:30,291 --> 01:17:34,250
Karen posed common problems
for the hearing-impaired.
1790
01:17:34,333 --> 01:17:36,708
The second time we met,
at the same restaurant,
1791
01:17:36,791 --> 01:17:39,166
we worked on improving
the actual language
1792
01:17:39,250 --> 01:17:42,125
that the characters
in each sketch would use.
1793
01:17:42,208 --> 01:17:44,583
The third week, I said,
1794
01:17:44,666 --> 01:17:46,958
"Leave the tape recorder
at home."
1795
01:17:47,041 --> 01:17:48,666
[audience laughter]
1796
01:17:48,750 --> 01:17:50,875
We had our first actual date
1797
01:17:50,958 --> 01:17:54,208
on a beautiful fall evening
in the same restaurant
1798
01:17:54,291 --> 01:17:58,875
at the same corner table.
1799
01:17:58,958 --> 01:18:02,250
[Karen Wilder] He was unique
in that he truly listened.
1800
01:18:02,333 --> 01:18:05,333
He was just
a different kind of person
1801
01:18:05,416 --> 01:18:06,666
than I'd ever met.
1802
01:18:06,750 --> 01:18:08,083
[shutter snaps]
1803
01:18:08,166 --> 01:18:09,833
[Gene Wilder] I'd hold
Karen's hand.
1804
01:18:09,916 --> 01:18:13,541
To have found someone
at this stage in my life…
1805
01:18:13,625 --> 01:18:15,833
I was in love.
1806
01:18:15,916 --> 01:18:19,041
Now I'll go back
to watercolor painting
1807
01:18:19,125 --> 01:18:22,833
and maybe to acting,
if I get another job,
1808
01:18:22,916 --> 01:18:25,791
and--and I'm gonna get married.
1809
01:18:26,916 --> 01:18:28,083
Are--Is this an announcement?
1810
01:18:28,166 --> 01:18:29,958
Can we--can we--I mean,
is this the first time
1811
01:18:30,041 --> 01:18:31,083
you've mentioned it?
1812
01:18:31,166 --> 01:18:32,791
-Yes, yeah.
-[Dick Cavett] You kiddin' me?
1813
01:18:32,875 --> 01:18:34,500
I was wondering
whether to ask her, and I--
1814
01:18:34,583 --> 01:18:35,583
Looking at you, I decided,
1815
01:18:35,666 --> 01:18:37,541
"I'm going to ask
that girl to marry me."
1816
01:18:37,625 --> 01:18:39,166
[laughter]
1817
01:18:39,250 --> 01:18:41,166
[soft, sprightly music playing]
1818
01:18:41,250 --> 01:18:43,208
On September 8th, 1991,
1819
01:18:43,291 --> 01:18:45,333
Karen and I were
married in the backyard
1820
01:18:45,416 --> 01:18:48,833
of the home in Connecticut
that Gilda had left me.
1821
01:18:48,916 --> 01:18:52,041
Fate brought us together
at this exact point
1822
01:18:52,125 --> 01:18:54,458
in both of our lives.
1823
01:18:54,541 --> 01:18:56,666
If I hadn't been
in See No Evil, Hear No Evil,
1824
01:18:56,750 --> 01:18:59,416
I would never
have met "Ms. Webb,"
1825
01:18:59,500 --> 01:19:01,791
and now I'm married to her.
1826
01:19:03,875 --> 01:19:06,375
[Karen Wilder] Gene was
wonderful.
1827
01:19:06,458 --> 01:19:13,375
He was the best husband
I think anybody could ask for.
1828
01:19:13,458 --> 01:19:18,958
To love and be loved
is the best gift in the world.
1829
01:19:19,041 --> 01:19:20,625
And we had that.
1830
01:19:20,708 --> 01:19:23,208
[pensive music playing]
1831
01:19:24,750 --> 01:19:27,166
We did watercolors together.
1832
01:19:28,333 --> 01:19:30,458
And we played tennis together.
1833
01:19:31,333 --> 01:19:33,000
And we walked together,
1834
01:19:33,083 --> 01:19:36,291
we played golf together.
1835
01:19:36,375 --> 01:19:39,000
He was the world's
greatest lover,
1836
01:19:39,083 --> 01:19:42,125
and he was my Frisco Kid.
1837
01:19:42,208 --> 01:19:44,166
He truly cared about me.
1838
01:19:44,250 --> 01:19:47,666
He loved my family,
even my grandchildren.
1839
01:19:47,750 --> 01:19:50,208
And everybody felt that love.
1840
01:19:50,291 --> 01:19:53,833
[gibberish, laughter]
1841
01:19:53,916 --> 01:19:55,541
[Gene Wilder] We took
tap-dancing lessons
1842
01:19:55,625 --> 01:19:56,875
once a week.
1843
01:19:56,958 --> 01:19:59,875
Karen found
a wonderful teacher,
1844
01:19:59,958 --> 01:20:02,000
and here's the amazing thing:
1845
01:20:02,083 --> 01:20:03,541
It felt as exciting as it did
1846
01:20:03,625 --> 01:20:06,541
when we had
our first actual date
1847
01:20:06,625 --> 01:20:09,208
when she was
still a stranger to me.
1848
01:20:09,291 --> 01:20:13,375
With Karen,
I do believe in fate.
1849
01:20:13,458 --> 01:20:14,708
[uplifting music playing]
1850
01:20:14,791 --> 01:20:17,333
[Conan O'Brien] You've
been through so much.
1851
01:20:17,416 --> 01:20:20,541
You've had incredible
career success.
1852
01:20:20,625 --> 01:20:22,750
You've had tragedy in your life.
1853
01:20:22,833 --> 01:20:24,458
You seem like you're
in a really good place now,
1854
01:20:24,541 --> 01:20:26,875
you're happy, and that made
me feel really, you know--
1855
01:20:26,958 --> 01:20:28,541
that made me feel good,
'cause I just--
1856
01:20:28,625 --> 01:20:30,125
I want you to be happy,
so that was nice.
1857
01:20:30,208 --> 01:20:31,750
That's true, right?
You feel good.
1858
01:20:31,833 --> 01:20:33,791
I'm happier than
I've ever been in my life.
1859
01:20:33,875 --> 01:20:36,125
-That's fantastic. Well…
-[audience applause]
1860
01:20:36,208 --> 01:20:37,583
That makes…
1861
01:20:37,666 --> 01:20:39,833
[Karen Wilder] When he had
television interviews,
1862
01:20:39,916 --> 01:20:41,083
I went with him.
1863
01:20:41,166 --> 01:20:42,750
I went with him everywhere.
1864
01:20:42,833 --> 01:20:44,625
I went to the movie set.
1865
01:20:44,708 --> 01:20:46,958
And I would watch him act.
1866
01:20:47,041 --> 01:20:48,125
[thwack]
1867
01:20:48,208 --> 01:20:50,125
[audience laughter]
1868
01:20:50,208 --> 01:20:51,416
I'm sorry, Mr. Truman.
1869
01:20:51,500 --> 01:20:53,583
-Does my pounding disturb you?
-No, sir.
1870
01:20:53,666 --> 01:20:55,416
It just--just
caught me by surprise.
1871
01:20:55,500 --> 01:20:57,708
Oh, okay, well,
I'll try to be more considerate
1872
01:20:57,791 --> 01:20:58,791
in the future!
1873
01:20:58,875 --> 01:21:01,666
[Eric McCormack] We were
blessed with Gene
1874
01:21:01,750 --> 01:21:03,708
coming on Will & Grace.
1875
01:21:03,791 --> 01:21:05,333
[thumping, kicking]
1876
01:21:05,416 --> 01:21:07,791
-We were just floored.
-[door slams]
1877
01:21:07,875 --> 01:21:09,750
I like to think
that he recognized
1878
01:21:09,833 --> 01:21:12,958
something in the show that--
1879
01:21:13,041 --> 01:21:16,583
that harkened back
to all the things he brought.
1880
01:21:16,666 --> 01:21:19,333
He was so kind and gentle.
1881
01:21:19,416 --> 01:21:20,833
And I just wanted
to make him laugh.
1882
01:21:20,916 --> 01:21:22,666
Say, "I'm Stein."
1883
01:21:22,750 --> 01:21:23,875
I'm Stein.
1884
01:21:23,958 --> 01:21:26,708
-Louder! "I'm Stein!"
-Louder! "I'm Stein!"
1885
01:21:26,791 --> 01:21:29,458
I surprised him
with something in a take
1886
01:21:29,541 --> 01:21:30,541
that I'm very proud of.
1887
01:21:30,625 --> 01:21:35,041
[Will] Your name
is Frankenstein!
1888
01:21:35,125 --> 01:21:36,416
[Eric McCormack] It was
just so lovely.
1889
01:21:36,500 --> 01:21:38,375
It's one of
my favorite memories.
1890
01:21:38,458 --> 01:21:40,083
[Gene and audience laughing]
1891
01:21:40,166 --> 01:21:42,208
There was a gentleness
to the show,
1892
01:21:42,291 --> 01:21:44,125
and there was
a sensitivity to the show,
1893
01:21:44,208 --> 01:21:46,500
and there was an insane
wackiness to the show.
1894
01:21:46,583 --> 01:21:47,833
Occupied!
1895
01:21:47,916 --> 01:21:50,541
[Eric McCormack] And he got
to do all of those things.
1896
01:21:50,625 --> 01:21:53,041
-[all] Hear, hear!
-[glasses clinking]
1897
01:21:53,125 --> 01:21:55,666
[Eric McCormack] It was
almost like a victory lap.
1898
01:21:55,750 --> 01:21:58,916
[soft music playing]
1899
01:21:59,000 --> 01:22:00,416
I don't want to have to prove
1900
01:22:00,500 --> 01:22:02,958
that I'm a good actor anymore.
1901
01:22:04,166 --> 01:22:06,208
I started writing a novel.
1902
01:22:06,291 --> 01:22:08,791
[uplifting music playing]
1903
01:22:08,875 --> 01:22:13,958
Right now, I would rather
write fiction than act.
1904
01:22:14,041 --> 01:22:16,541
[Alan Alda] Gene was
an extremely talented person
1905
01:22:16,625 --> 01:22:19,125
in many areas.
1906
01:22:19,208 --> 01:22:22,208
He was a very,
very good painter,
1907
01:22:22,291 --> 01:22:24,500
mainly watercolors,
1908
01:22:24,583 --> 01:22:27,041
and he studied hard,
he took lessons,
1909
01:22:27,125 --> 01:22:30,041
he kept trying to get
better and better.
1910
01:22:36,375 --> 01:22:39,000
[audience laughter]
1911
01:22:39,083 --> 01:22:40,416
Will you just shut your mouth?
1912
01:22:40,500 --> 01:22:42,291
-I'm having a heart attack.
-Oh, nonsense!
1913
01:22:42,375 --> 01:22:45,333
[Carol Kane] I got to do
some plays with Gene
1914
01:22:45,416 --> 01:22:49,375
at the Westport Playhouse,
and that was fun,
1915
01:22:49,458 --> 01:22:52,541
fun to be on stage with him.
1916
01:22:52,625 --> 01:22:56,583
Both Gene and I come
from a background of theater,
1917
01:22:56,666 --> 01:22:59,416
and he was a very creative guy
1918
01:22:59,500 --> 01:23:03,458
and a big appreciator
of other people's creativity.
1919
01:23:03,541 --> 01:23:06,083
[audience applause]
1920
01:23:07,750 --> 01:23:09,666
[melancholic music playing]
1921
01:23:09,750 --> 01:23:12,416
[Karen Wilder] The first signs
something was wrong
1922
01:23:12,500 --> 01:23:15,458
were when I noticed
Gene would forget things
1923
01:23:15,541 --> 01:23:20,833
that were really always
easy for him to remember.
1924
01:23:20,916 --> 01:23:27,333
But when-when we did
the one in-in jail--
1925
01:23:27,416 --> 01:23:29,333
[moderator] Stir Crazy.
1926
01:23:29,416 --> 01:23:32,958
Yeah. It was Stir Crazy,
wasn't it?
1927
01:23:33,041 --> 01:23:35,000
[Karen Wilder] He didn't
remember the name
1928
01:23:35,083 --> 01:23:36,916
of the movie Young Frankenstein.
1929
01:23:38,541 --> 01:23:41,583
He would've never,
ever forgot that,
1930
01:23:41,666 --> 01:23:45,500
because that was
his favorite movie.
1931
01:23:45,583 --> 01:23:49,125
He then started
to forget many things,
1932
01:23:49,208 --> 01:23:52,333
and I asked him
if he'd noticed
1933
01:23:52,416 --> 01:23:53,958
and if he'd go
for an evaluation,
1934
01:23:54,041 --> 01:23:57,916
and he said,
"If it gets worse."
1935
01:23:58,000 --> 01:24:00,291
A lot of people have
mild cognitive impairment
1936
01:24:00,375 --> 01:24:02,166
and it doesn't progress,
1937
01:24:02,250 --> 01:24:06,791
and I suppose I hoped
that was what it was.
1938
01:24:06,875 --> 01:24:11,125
I found a doctor who did
the comprehensive test
1939
01:24:11,208 --> 01:24:15,000
for cognitive impairment
in Connecticut.
1940
01:24:15,083 --> 01:24:17,916
Gene was amazed
that he couldn't draw a clock
1941
01:24:18,000 --> 01:24:20,625
and make it 10:30.
1942
01:24:20,708 --> 01:24:23,541
And he couldn't do it.
1943
01:24:23,625 --> 01:24:25,291
He wasn't upset,
1944
01:24:25,375 --> 01:24:27,958
he just couldn't figure out why.
1945
01:24:29,916 --> 01:24:33,416
But I knew then that
something was very wrong.
1946
01:24:33,500 --> 01:24:36,125
[pensive music playing]
1947
01:24:36,208 --> 01:24:40,208
Our friend suggested
we go see Dr. Michael Rafii
1948
01:24:40,291 --> 01:24:44,083
in San Diego,
where we've spent the winters.
1949
01:24:44,166 --> 01:24:47,000
I first met Gene
in January of 2014,
1950
01:24:47,083 --> 01:24:49,125
where he was 80 years old.
1951
01:24:50,750 --> 01:24:53,666
Based on the history,
the examination,
1952
01:24:53,750 --> 01:24:56,750
memory testing,
MRI of the brain,
1953
01:24:56,833 --> 01:24:59,166
as well as a very
specialized kind of scan
1954
01:24:59,250 --> 01:25:01,416
called an amyloid PET scan,
1955
01:25:01,500 --> 01:25:05,416
was confirmatory
for his diagnosis.
1956
01:25:05,500 --> 01:25:07,375
Alzheimer's disease dementia.
1957
01:25:08,791 --> 01:25:10,583
[Karen Wilder] I said, "Oh, no."
1958
01:25:10,666 --> 01:25:12,791
And Gene said, "Oh, no."
1959
01:25:15,083 --> 01:25:17,875
[melancholic music playing]
1960
01:25:17,958 --> 01:25:23,333
He never really accepted
that he had Alzheimer's,
1961
01:25:23,416 --> 01:25:26,666
and maybe by the time
we found out that's what it was,
1962
01:25:26,750 --> 01:25:31,333
his hippocampus
didn't let him remember.
1963
01:25:31,416 --> 01:25:35,208
So I'm not sure
that he ever knew.
1964
01:25:37,208 --> 01:25:41,750
When I'd see him
slip away further from me,
1965
01:25:41,833 --> 01:25:44,583
I was sick to my stomach,
1966
01:25:44,666 --> 01:25:46,125
but I had to keep smiling
1967
01:25:46,208 --> 01:25:48,833
and tell him
that everything was okay.
1968
01:25:48,916 --> 01:25:51,541
That was the hardest
part for me.
1969
01:25:52,875 --> 01:25:54,666
Gene certainly had memory loss
1970
01:25:54,750 --> 01:25:57,375
that progressively
worsened over time
1971
01:25:57,458 --> 01:26:00,083
and also included
some other thinking skills
1972
01:26:00,166 --> 01:26:02,083
that were affected,
including language.
1973
01:26:02,166 --> 01:26:03,625
[cell phone rings]
1974
01:26:03,708 --> 01:26:05,000
[Mel Brooks] I called him a lot,
1975
01:26:05,083 --> 01:26:07,625
thinking maybe if I gave him
enough references,
1976
01:26:07,708 --> 01:26:09,583
I could get him out of it.
1977
01:26:09,666 --> 01:26:12,083
Insanity, in my part.
1978
01:26:12,166 --> 01:26:15,458
He was in the throes
of that terrible disease.
1979
01:26:15,541 --> 01:26:19,791
We could never talk too long
after he got it.
1980
01:26:19,875 --> 01:26:24,125
It was so sad,
it made me cry a lot, you know.
1981
01:26:24,208 --> 01:26:27,291
We still went out to dinner,
1982
01:26:27,375 --> 01:26:30,083
and he made it
to his nephew's wedding.
1983
01:26:30,166 --> 01:26:31,833
[guests clap, sing]
1984
01:26:31,916 --> 01:26:33,208
He could hardly walk.
1985
01:26:33,291 --> 01:26:34,625
He danced down the aisle
1986
01:26:34,708 --> 01:26:36,208
and made it
through the wedding.
1987
01:26:36,291 --> 01:26:38,250
[guests clap, sing]
1988
01:26:39,791 --> 01:26:41,791
[Harry Connick, Jr.] He was
always in our prayers,
1989
01:26:41,875 --> 01:26:43,458
and it's a sad thing
to see somebody
1990
01:26:43,541 --> 01:26:46,083
that you love so much,
you know, suffer like that.
1991
01:26:46,166 --> 01:26:47,458
To Karen and anybody,
you know,
1992
01:26:47,541 --> 01:26:49,166
who was involved
with him intimately,
1993
01:26:49,250 --> 01:26:52,916
it's hard--it's hard
to see that.
1994
01:26:53,000 --> 01:26:54,708
[Karen Wilder] People think
Alzheimer's is
1995
01:26:54,791 --> 01:26:55,916
only a memory disease,
1996
01:26:56,000 --> 01:26:59,666
but what attacks your brain
attacks your body.
1997
01:26:59,750 --> 01:27:03,416
Couldn't put on his shoes,
couldn't tie his tie.
1998
01:27:03,500 --> 01:27:05,375
One time, he fell,
1999
01:27:05,458 --> 01:27:07,500
and there were three of us,
2000
01:27:07,583 --> 01:27:09,875
and we couldn't
get him up on the bed.
2001
01:27:09,958 --> 01:27:11,750
And finally,
we ended up laughing.
2002
01:27:11,833 --> 01:27:13,791
We have pictures
of all of us laughing.
2003
01:27:13,875 --> 01:27:16,583
Took us couple of hours.
2004
01:27:19,250 --> 01:27:21,333
He was dying, and Gene
looked at me and says,
2005
01:27:21,416 --> 01:27:23,541
"Is that what's happening?"
2006
01:27:24,416 --> 01:27:26,500
"Yeah," I said. "Yes."
2007
01:27:26,583 --> 01:27:29,041
[somber music playing]
2008
01:27:29,125 --> 01:27:31,083
He hadn't walked alone,
2009
01:27:31,166 --> 01:27:35,583
and it was just a few days
before he died,
2010
01:27:35,666 --> 01:27:36,541
and I looked up,
2011
01:27:36,625 --> 01:27:40,083
and he was walking
across the kitchen.
2012
01:27:40,166 --> 01:27:41,166
[laughs]
2013
01:27:41,250 --> 01:27:45,583
And--and then he said,
"I want to go swimming."
2014
01:27:48,500 --> 01:27:50,583
He dove into the pool
like he used to.
2015
01:27:50,666 --> 01:27:53,333
I saw his little tush
in the air,
2016
01:27:53,416 --> 01:27:55,791
and I was awestruck.
2017
01:27:55,875 --> 01:28:00,000
And he took two strokes,
he stood up,
2018
01:28:00,083 --> 01:28:01,541
shook his head
the way he always did
2019
01:28:01,625 --> 01:28:03,500
to get the water
out of his ear, and said,
2020
01:28:03,583 --> 01:28:05,250
"That's good."
2021
01:28:06,375 --> 01:28:07,416
Went back to bed,
2022
01:28:07,500 --> 01:28:09,583
and I think he just
wanted to get in the pool
2023
01:28:09,666 --> 01:28:12,125
one more time.
2024
01:28:12,208 --> 01:28:15,541
We always had music playing
in the house.
2025
01:28:15,625 --> 01:28:18,791
We used to listen
to Ella Fitzgerald.
2026
01:28:18,875 --> 01:28:21,291
The music was playing
in the background.
2027
01:28:21,375 --> 01:28:23,041
["Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
music playing]
2028
01:28:23,125 --> 01:28:27,583
[Ella Fitzgerald] ♪ Somewhere
over the rainbow ♪
2029
01:28:27,666 --> 01:28:29,375
[Karen Wilder] Ella Fitzgerald
was singing
2030
01:28:29,458 --> 01:28:31,083
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
2031
01:28:31,166 --> 01:28:32,500
[Ella Fitzgerald]
♪ Way up high ♪♪
2032
01:28:32,583 --> 01:28:34,333
I was lying next to him,
2033
01:28:34,416 --> 01:28:37,208
and he sat up in bed
and he said…
2034
01:28:38,208 --> 01:28:41,583
"I trust you."
2035
01:28:41,666 --> 01:28:45,166
Then he said, "I love you."
2036
01:28:45,250 --> 01:28:47,750
["Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
music playing]
2037
01:28:49,750 --> 01:28:52,083
That's the last thing he said.
2038
01:28:56,666 --> 01:28:58,166
[James Corden] There was
some really sad news
2039
01:28:58,250 --> 01:28:59,958
about the passing
of Gene Wilder.
2040
01:29:00,041 --> 01:29:02,458
We're learning more about
the death of Gene Wilder.
2041
01:29:02,541 --> 01:29:05,375
One of the most legendary
comedic talents of our time…
2042
01:29:05,458 --> 01:29:08,875
…has died due to complications
from Alzheimer's disease.
2043
01:29:08,958 --> 01:29:12,166
The reactions pouring in
from coast to coast.
2044
01:29:12,250 --> 01:29:17,416
[Mel Brooks] I was inconsolable
for a couple of weeks.
2045
01:29:17,500 --> 01:29:22,208
When he lived his life,
he lived it loud and eloquently.
2046
01:29:22,291 --> 01:29:25,833
He was an outstanding actor,
2047
01:29:25,916 --> 01:29:28,875
and also, an outstanding person.
2048
01:29:28,958 --> 01:29:30,875
You are my best friend!
2049
01:29:30,958 --> 01:29:33,541
[tender music playing]
2050
01:29:33,625 --> 01:29:37,125
[Ben Mankiewicz] I believe
Leo Bloom exists.
2051
01:29:37,208 --> 01:29:40,416
I believe the Waco Kid exists.
2052
01:29:40,500 --> 01:29:43,125
I believe
Dr. Frankenstein exists.
2053
01:29:43,208 --> 01:29:44,625
That's insane.
2054
01:29:44,708 --> 01:29:48,166
Gene makes you think
that that guy is out there,
2055
01:29:48,250 --> 01:29:50,500
trying his hardest,
2056
01:29:50,583 --> 01:29:52,291
despite all these obstacles,
2057
01:29:52,375 --> 01:29:54,750
to navigate
this impossible world.
2058
01:29:54,833 --> 01:29:57,333
He embodied these characters,
2059
01:29:57,416 --> 01:30:00,041
and we felt their humanity.
2060
01:30:03,958 --> 01:30:07,500
This is a wonderful man.
2061
01:30:07,583 --> 01:30:09,458
He made me what I am today.
2062
01:30:09,541 --> 01:30:12,666
[Mel Brooks] I miss
his enjoying my humor.
2063
01:30:12,750 --> 01:30:15,250
I could make him laugh
2064
01:30:15,333 --> 01:30:17,291
where he would
sometimes grab his belly,
2065
01:30:17,375 --> 01:30:18,208
hit the ground,
2066
01:30:18,291 --> 01:30:21,166
and roll around
on the ground and laugh.
2067
01:30:21,250 --> 01:30:24,791
That's the real payment
in being a comic.
2068
01:30:24,875 --> 01:30:28,250
And, boy, he paid,
he was delicious.
2069
01:30:28,333 --> 01:30:30,541
[pensive music playing]
2070
01:30:30,625 --> 01:30:33,625
[Gene Wilder] Acting seems
so much easier than life,
2071
01:30:33,708 --> 01:30:35,666
and when I'm taking my bow,
2072
01:30:35,750 --> 01:30:38,666
I have the belief that I've
earned my feeling of grace,
2073
01:30:38,750 --> 01:30:43,291
as if God were saying,
"You did something worthwhile."
2074
01:30:43,375 --> 01:30:45,875
[soft music playing]
2075
01:30:50,875 --> 01:30:53,375
[exuberant music playing]
2076
01:31:39,125 --> 01:31:41,625
[jaunty music playing]
2077
01:32:19,250 --> 01:32:21,750
[exuberant music playing]