Comic Legend Gene Wilder Dead at 83

getty_genewilder_082916

Gene Wilder in 1987; George Rose/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Gene Wilder, the comic actor and writer famous for movies like The Producers, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, died Monday at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. He was 83.

Wilder’s death was confirmed in a statement to ABC News by his nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, who said the cause of death was “Alzheimer’s Disease with which he co-existed for the last three years,” adding, “The choice to keep this private was his choice.”

The statement continues: “The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn’t vanity, but more so that the countless young children that would smile or call out to him ‘there’s Willy Wonka,’ would not have to be then exposed to an adult referencing illness or trouble and causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion. He simply couldn’t bear the idea of one less smile in the world.”

Wilder also had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989.

Wilder was one of Mel Brooks’ favorite leading men, appearing in Young Frankenstein, which he co-wrote with Brooks, The Producers and Blazing Saddles, but he also found box office success teamed with Richard Pryor for a series of films including Silver Streak and Stir Crazy.  Wilder was nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Producers, and for co-writing Young Frankenstein with Brooks.

Wilder’s most iconic role, though, is arguably that of Willy Wonka, the chocolate factory owner who searches for a child to take over his business in 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  While not a huge hit upon its initial release, it’s since become a classic. 

According to Variety, Wilder’s most successful roles featured him playing characters with “a signature mixture of hysteria and sweetness.”

“[Mel Brooks] always thought that I was a perfect victim, I was a sheep and the wolves could come and get me,” Wilder once told ABC News Radio.  “I’ve changed a little bit since then, but he was right about that time, when I was doing The Producers.  By Young Frankenstein, I wasn’t the sheep anymore.  A little bit, but not much.”

Wilder married Saturday Night Live star and comic actress Gilda Radner in 1982.  She was his third wife. They co-starred in two films, The Woman in Red and Haunted Honeymoon. After Radner died in 1989 from ovarian cancer, a devastated Wilder worked very little afterward.  He co-founded Gilda’s Club, an organization that offers support for cancer patients, their families and friends.

In the ’90s, Wilder appeared in feature films, a failed TV series, and wrote and starred in mystery movies for A&E.  He won an Emmy for his final acting role: a guest stint in Will and Grace from 2002 to 2003.

Wilder was also an author, publishing two novels, two novellas and a collection of stories.

He’s survived by his fourth wife, Karen, and his nephew.

Copyright © 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.