In 1970, when originally offered the lead role inĀ Willy Wonka & the Chocolate FactoryĀ by directorĀ Mel Stuart, the greatĀ Gene WilderĀ accepted on one condition. āWhen I make my first entrance,ā he explained, āIād like to come out of the door carrying a cane and then walk toward the crowd with a limp. After the crowd sees Willy Wonka is a cripple, they all whisper to themselves and then become deathly quiet. As I walk toward them, my cane sinks into one of the cobblestones Iām walking on and stands straight up, by itself; but I keep on walking, until I realize that I no longer have my cane. I start to fall forward, and just before I hit the ground, I do a beautiful forward somersault and bounce back up, to great applause.ā Asked why, Wilder said, āBecause from that time on, no one will know if Iām lying or telling the truth.ā
RIP Gene Wilder
