Original Cast Members of ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory’ Reveal That the River Wasn’t Made of Chocolate

Six original cast members of the 1971 musical fantasy film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory including Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt), Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregarde), Paris Themmen (Mike Teavee), Michael Bollner (Augustus Gloop) Rusty Goffe, (Oompa Loompa) and Peter Ostrum (Charlie Bucket) reunited on the “Today show, to talk about their experience working on the film. Unfortunately, at least one cast member revealed that the chocolate river wasn’t really made out of chocolate.

It was 44 years ago that “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” premiered in theaters, and the fantasy film has delighted generations of moviegoers ever since. Six of the original cast members recently reunited in Orlando, and NBC’S Joe Fryer sat down with them as they reminisced.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.