Gene Wilder Insisted That His Acrobatic Grand Entrance Be Included in ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’

In an elucidating clip from the short 2009 documentary Gene Wilder – Ironies and Life by KGSM MediaCache, the late actor talked about how he was ready to walk away from his iconic role in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory if they didn’t allow him to perform his acrobatic grand entrance.

I don’t know if you know this but I wouldn’t have done it in the film if they didn’t let me come out walking with a cane and then getting my cane stuck into a cobblestone and then doing a forward somersault and then bouncing up…I said because from that point on no one will know whether I’m telling the truth or lying. And I meant it too. 

Willie Wonka’s Grand Entrance From the 1971 Film in HD

Wilder Spoke About His Other Films

Wilder Talked About Gilda Radner, The Love of His Life

The 2009 Gene Wilder Interview In Its Entirety

Gene Wilder interviewed at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. 17 December 2009