Gene Wilder (1933-2016) Tribute List

Gene Wilder died on August 29 at the age of 83 from complications from Alzheimer's Disease. Wilder was an actor, director and comedian who participated in the creation of some of the funniest and most beloved movies of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including The Producers, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Blazing Saddles, Stir Crazy, Silver Streak, Young Frankenstein and The Frisco Kid. Wilder was hilariously unusual on screen, never doing quite what was expected, yet it was very easy for audiences to relate to him and root for him. Here are eleven quotes from the films of Gene Wilder.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. epiphany
    a divine manifestation
    Woody [Woody Allen] makes a movie as if he were lighting 10,000 safety matches to illuminate a city. Each one is a little epiphany: topical, ethnic or political.
  2. bombastic
    ostentatiously lofty in style
    (On Zero Mostel) You may have heard stories about how bombastic, aggressive, and dictatorial Zero might be. It didn't happen with me. He always took care of me. I loved him. He looked after me as if I were a baby sparrow.
  3. dictatorial
    characteristic of an absolute ruler or absolute rule
    (On Zero Mostel) You may have heard stories about how bombastic, aggressive, and dictatorial Zero might be. It didn't happen with me. He always took care of me. I loved him. He looked after me as if I were a baby sparrow.
  4. deplete
    use up, as resources or materials
    Hysterical attacks have a way of severely depleting one's blood sugar
    - The Producers
  5. desolate
    providing no shelter or sustenance
    Oh, well, then you know all about it and what a terrible country it is. Nothing but desolate wastes and fierce beasts. And the poor little Oompa Loompas were so small and helpless, they would get gobbled up right and left. A Wangdoodle would eat ten of them for breakfast and think nothing of it.
    - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
  6. vestment
    a gown worn by the clergy
    Little surprises around every corner, but nothing dangerous. So don't be alarmed. As soon as your outer vestments are at hand, we'll begin.
    - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
  7. enrapture
    hold spellbound
    Delighted to meet you, sir. Overjoyed, enraptured, entranced. Are we ready? Yes, good.
    - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
  8. entrance
    attract; cause to be enamored
    Delighted to meet you, sir. Overjoyed, enraptured, entranced. Are we ready? Yes, good.
    - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
  9. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
    . A few short weeks ago, coming from a background, believe me, as conservative and traditionally grounded in scientific fact as any of you, I began an experiment in, incredulous as it may sound, the reanimation of dead tissue.
    - Young Frankenstein
  10. titter
    laugh nervously
    [on Mel Brooks] We are not interested in polite titters, we want the audience rolling on the floor and falling about. Mel works on his feet -- it's a hit and miss, hit and miss, hit and miss. Then in the editing he will take out the misses.
  11. irony
    incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs
    I never used to believe in fate. I used to think you make your own life and then you call it fate. That's why I call it irony.
Created on Mon Aug 29 16:02:18 EDT 2016 (updated Mon Aug 29 16:57:19 EDT 2016)

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