Within minutes of Gene Wilder’s death being announced on Sunday (29 August) evening, tributes began pouring in on Twitter.
The actor won the hearts of many film fans during his huge career, and will be best remembered for his star turn as the eccentric chocolatier in ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’.
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One of the first to pay tribute was Gene’s frequent collaborator Mel Brooks, who tweeted his sadness at the news:
Other celebrities to share their condolences include Stephen Fry and Russell Crowe:
The sad news of Gene’s death was confirmed by his family on Sunday.
The comedic actor had previously been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 1999, although he had been in remission since the following year.