Seems like this year has been one long memorial for one person or other. Today it's Gene Wilder. If you had asked me how old he was, I wouldn't have thought 83. Somehow, he has always been timeless for me. I liked him a great deal and always thought of him as a gentle man. I have no idea what he was like as a private citizen. I only knew him from his acting and a hazy recollection of an interview with him several years after Gildna Radner had passed away. He is Willy Wonka to me with his singing "Pure Imagination" and his top hat. His entrance in the movie is one of my favorite things he's done.



The other bit of his that sticks in my head is the Puttin' on the Ritz song and dance from Young Frankestein.



Thank you, Mr. Wilder, for all the laughter you've given me. I wish you peace.