This Letter Gene Wilder Wrote To The Director Of ‘Willy Wonka’ To Give His Costume Input Is Just Superb

In his formative years, Gene Wilder starred as a number of renowned film characters, but none more recognizable than that of Willy Wonka, the fiddling, fuddling candy peddler in Mel Stuart’s cinematic adaptation of Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.’

Unfortunately, today the actor passed away at the age of 83, leaving behind a legacy of poignant – and at times, quirky – moments, both in and out of character. Wilder had a habit of making his opinion widely known, and as you can imagine, as someone who played the most off-the-wall candyman in history, sometimes the actor’s thoughts were just as eccentric as that of Wonka.

Perhaps the prime example of Wilder’s real-life Wonka-ness is this letter the acting great sent to Mel Stuart ahead of shooting for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, long before it would become an instant children’s (and soon after cult) classic.

Wilder had some “tweaks” to his costume, so to say. And he couldn’t have brought them to Stuart’s attention in a more eloquent fashion.

Here’s a copy of the actual letter Wilder penned to Mel Stuart, and as they say, the rest is history…

RIP Gene Wilder, always one to share his mind, and one of the great character actors of his time.

[H/T @Pandamoanimum]