On every episode we choose a celebrity who died between 1 and 10 years ago. We then go through a series of structured categories. We start by rating the first line of their NYT obituary on a scale of 1–10. We then look at their life stats, we speculate on their inner lives, and we ultimately answer the question "Would I want that life?" Each category helps weigh the desirability of a given life. Our approach is that of an empathetic biography. Our dead celebrities cross many categories of fame, including film, TV, sports, music, politics, literature, and more. Our goal is to make serious topics fun.
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episode 55: Pure Imagination (Gene Wilder)
He was an accomplished stage actor as well as a screenwriter, a novelist and the director of four movies in which he starred. He made his movie debut in 1967 in the celebrated crime drama, “Bonnie and Clyde.” He had haunted blue eyes and an empathy born of his own history of psychic distress. His rule for comedy was simple: Don’t try to make it funny; try to make it real. “I’m an actor, not a clown,” he said more than once. In 1971, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance as the wizardly title character in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”. This episode’s dead celebrity is Gene Wilder.
Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Sign up for our newsletter at famousandgravy.com for news and updates on the show. Also, enjoy our mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com
If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 44 “Inner Soprano” (James Gandolfini) and Episode 35 “Likable Villain” (Alan Rickman)
Transcript of this episode
New York Times Obituary for Gene Wilder
Famous & Gravy official website
Famous & Gravy on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
Pure Imagination scene in ‘Willy Wonka’ sung by Gene Wilder
‘Will and Grace’ blooper scene with Gene Wilder
‘A Life Lived’ episode on Gene Wilder hosted by Stephanie Okupniak
Dead or Alive Quiz Game
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