Willy Wonka Star Gene Wilder Dead at 83

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Gene Wilder, best known for starring in movies such as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Blazing Saddles, has died at the age of 83, the Associated Press reports. According to his nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, Wilder died from complications of Alzheimer's disease.

The two-time Oscar nominee, who was born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, also appeared in numerous films with Richard Pryor. The duo starred in Silver Streak (1976), Stir Crazy (1980), See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989) and Another You (1991).

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In 1984 Wilder married famed Saturday Night Live star Gilda Radner, and after her death in 1989, he created the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Center in Los Angeles and co-founded Gilda's Club, a cancer-awareness and-support group.

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Wilder is survived by his fourth wife, Karen Boyer, and his nephew, Walker-Pearlman.