This series, FWP or Famous Wisconsin People, will acknowledge the accomplishments of some well-known (and maybe not so well-known) individuals from our state.
Gene Wilder was born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He became interested in acting at age 8, when his mother was ill and the doctor told him to try to make his mom laugh. His parents thought his full potential was not being realized in Milwaukee, so they sent him to a boarding school in Hollywood, but he eventually returned to Wisconsin and went on to graduate from Washington High School in 1951.
Wilder is a graduate of the University of Iowa and from there, went on to study theatre in England and Queens, NY. After being drafted into the army and serving two years, he returned to studying acting. Wilder changed his name at age 26 from Jerome Silberman to Gene Wilder because of his admiration for Thomas Wolfe’s character Eugene Gant and writer Thorton Wilder.
Wilder’s first film role was as Eugene Grizzard in the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. He has played many roles in theatre and in film, but is probably best known for playing Willy Wonka in the 1971 movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Dr. Frankenstein in 1974’s Young Frankenstein and Skip Donahue in 1980’s Stir Crazy.
Wilder has been married four times, one of those marriages was to the late Gilda Radner. He current is married and lives in Stamford, Connecticut.
You are searching for a small container placed in honor of Gene Wilder’s accomplishments.
Please follow parking signs. Do not enter from and keep off of private property and/or business property in the area. Parking may be limited in the evenings that there are baseball games, so plan accordingly. Park is open dawn til 10 pm. As always, treat the parks with respect. Be aware of muggles and replace cache so that it is not visible to others. Permission to place this cache was given by Brian Russart; Permit #179. Thanks!
Congratulations to Hugh Foundit for FTF.
This cache was placed by a member of:
