After four long years, the Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival (LAJFF) returned on May 18th with a star-studded opening night at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, highlighted by an appearance by the legendary Mel Brooks.
While there’s no doubt that all 1,000 people in the sold-out theater were ecstatic to see the 96-year-old showbusiness legend, the night wasn’t about Brooks. The documentary “Remembering Gene Wilder” was making its world premiere, and who better to introduce it than his best friend and collaborator for over 50 years, Mel Brooks.
“It’s such a pleasure to be here. And at my age, it’s a pleasure to be anywhere.”
– Mel Brooks
Brooks was introduced by LAJFF director Hilary Helstein before the screening; after a standing ovation, Brooks, wearing a red tie, white shirt and dark suit, emerged from stage right. “I heard you,” he told the crowd with a smile, gesturing for them to sit down. “It’s such a pleasure to be here. And at my age, it’s a pleasure to be anywhere. Gene was an exceptional person. He was a very dear friend. He is the only actor that I ever met that waited in a scene with another actor — waited to understand the other actor and respond … Gene listened to the other actor. He was very humble and sweet and down with it.”
Brooks then read a letter from Wilder to the late choreographer and director Jerome Robbins. Robbins directed Wilder (along with Brooks’ future wife Anne Bancroft) in the 1963 Broadway production of Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children”:
“Dear Jerry,
“When we worked together, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. But I’m more grateful to you now than I ever could have conceived I could be. I’ll tell you why: One, if you hadn’t miscast me in ‘Mother Courage,’ I wouldn’t have met Anne Bancroft. Two, if I hadn’t met Anne Bancroft, I wouldn’t have met Mel Brooks. Three, if I hadn’t met Mel Brooks, I would probably be a patient in some neuropsychiatric hospital looking through the bars of a physical therapy widow and making wallets.”
Brooks continued, “I think what you’re going to see tonight, you won’t forget. It’s beautiful and it tells the story of a very special human being who, as far as I’m concerned, is a talent who will be around forever. So thank you for coming.”
The Journal took an informal survey of the boldface names in attendance about their favorite Gene Wilder film.
Julie Nimoy, producer of the documentary (and daughter of actor Leonard Nimoy), said “Young Frankenstein.”
Barry Pearl, who played Doody in the 1978 film version of “Grease,” said both “Young Frankenstein” and “Blazing Saddles.” Actress Amy Yasbeck Ritter said the same before reflecting on what struck her most about Wilder as a performer. “Just the sweetness of his face, of his countenance in repose, and then all of the different degrees,” Yasbeck Ritter told the Journal. “Somehow, he could make his face do all the stages of grief and then go back to comedy. A physical comedian isn’t always falling down the stairs or hanging from clock towers, sometimes it’s just the littlest thing in the face or the eyes.” Comedian Elon Gold, after doing an impersonation of Wilder, called him one of the funniest yellers of all time.
Those who grew up watching 1971’s “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” were excited to see two of Wilder’s co-stars from the film, Dr. Peter Ostrum (who played Charlie Bucket) and Paris Themmen (who played Mike Teevee) who paid tribute to Wilder. “Right away you could tell, this was going to be a good experience to be with him,” Ostrum told the Journal about filming “Wonka” in Munich. “He was going to be my co-star for the next four months.” Themmen shared a memory with the Journal where as an adult, he approached Wilder at a charity event. Wilder looked at him, now all grown up, and said, “oh you were a brat” before signing a poster for his former co-star.
“If you can’t laugh, you can’t live. I think Gene’s motto was somewhat that, and also to be loved. And to love someone else is the greatest gift.”
– Karen Wilder
Karen Wilder, who was married to Gene from 1991 until his death from Alzheimer’s Disease in 2016, spoke to the Journal about traveling around the world with her late husband for book tours and fan events and what struck her most. “Every ethnicity, every age group came,” she told the Journal. “And it was such a wonderful experience. It didn’t matter how old, it didn’t matter what your religion or politics were, they loved his movies and he made them laugh. Everybody talked about the joy he brought. People like Bill Moyer said (when he had his heart attack), everyone should laugh, so he watched ‘Young Frankenstein!’ It helped. If you can’t laugh, you can’t live. I think Gene’s motto was somewhat that, and also to be loved. And to love someone else is the greatest gift.”
Karen Wilder shared that after his passing, some of her late husband’s ashes were spread at his former home in Connecticut, some spread in Rancho Valencia, and some are always with her in a locket she wears around her neck every day.
“He was a wonderful human being, he was a shining light for a lot of people,” Karen Wilder said.
After the screening, the Journal spoke with LAJFF director Helstein for reflections on the evening.
“It was really sad for the past four years where we were all locked up and cooped up, and the only thing that kept us going was film and television,” Helstein said. “Film has changed in a lot of ways, but tonight there were over a thousand people in there. Being back in theaters, it’s all about being connected.”
Plans for the 19th iteration of the LAJFF in 2024 are already underway.
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