Gene Wilder

Jerome Silberman, later known as Gene Wilder, grew up in a Jewish family; his father was a Russian immigrant and his mother was American-born. As a child, Wilder was encouraged to make his ailing mother laugh, an experience he later connected to his instinct for comedy. He studied theater and communication at the University of Iowa, then trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in England. After serving in the U.S. Army as a medic, he worked in New York theater and studied acting with Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof.

Wilder made his Broadway debut in 1961 in The Complaisant Lover and soon appeared in Mother Courage and Her Children with Anne Bancroft. Mel Brooks saw him in that production and cast him as the nervous accountant Leo Bloom in The Producers (1967), a role that earned Wilder an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. He then played the title role in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), bringing a mixture of warmth and menace to Roald Dahl's candy maker.

Wilder reunited with Brooks for Blazing Saddles (1974), playing the Waco Kid, and for Young Frankenstein (1974), in which he starred as Dr. Frederick Frankenstein and co-wrote the screenplay with Brooks. He also directed films including The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975) and The Woman in Red (1984). His screen partnership with Richard Pryor produced Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), and See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989).

In 1984 Wilder married comedian Gilda Radner. She died of ovarian cancer in 1989, and Wilder helped establish Gilda's Club, a support network for cancer patients and their families. He married Karen Boyer in 1991. Wilder largely retired from films after Another You (1991), though he later won an Emmy for a guest role on Will & Grace in 2003. He wrote the memoir Kiss Me Like a Stranger (2005) and several novels. He died in 2016 of complications from Alzheimer's disease; his family disclosed that he had kept the diagnosis private.

Gene Wilder was born on June 11, 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. In Cardology (Destiny Cards), June 11, 1933 corresponds to the Six of Diamonds, making the Six of Diamonds his Birth Card.

In numerology, the name adds another layer to the birth-date profile. The letters of a person’s name are used to explore inner motivation, personality, expression, and the qualities they bring into relationships and everyday life. Explore how his original name Jerome Silberman influences his life and personality.