Actor Gene Wilder, best known for his roles in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and various Mel Brooks comedies has died this evening at the age of 83.
The actor had been living with Alzheimer’s disease and according to his nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman, he died from complications of the illness.
Wilder was also diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1989.
The star of comedy classics such as Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, he was a master of playing the panicked characters that Mel Brooks created.
In 1971 he stepped into the role of Willy Wonka, a movie which became a firm children's favourite over the years.
He was twice nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Producers and for co-writing Young Frankenstein.
He survived by his wife Karen, whom he married back in 1991, and by his nephew.
