read by the author
My first reaction to listening to the audiobook version of
this autobiography, which Gene Wilder narrated himself, was, “Ah, that voice—that’s
the gentlest voice in the world. I love that voice.”
My second reaction was, “Man, Gene Wilder was really screwed
up.”
It’s a truism that a lot of comedians and comedic actors are
pretty screwed up. The line between a desire to please others and make them
laugh, and an enjoyment of fame and attention—and a *need* for all of that, as
a stand-in for love or a way of staving off deep, crippling anxiety—can be a
fine one. In Gene Wilder’s case I think he spent most of his adult life on the
sane side of that line. But he achieved that only after a lot of therapy.
We get to hear about the events of his childhood and young
adulthood that shaped him as a person and contributed to his artistic and
comedic sensibilities. Mr. Wilder was very open about who he was and how he
responded to things, so we really get a sense of his life journey. For example,
he was, if not scarred for life, at least greatly set back and discouraged, by
an early encounter with the opposite sex, and while he definitely seems rather
bitter about the other person involved, he doesn’t hold back about his own
reaction, either.
We get to hear about his training as an actor, his
friendships and romantic relationships, and his films--though the one thing I
found a little disappointing about this book was that he doesn’t go into as
much detail as I’d like about the making of most of his films. The only one he
spends much time on is Young Frankenstein; I’d have loved to have heard much
more about the personalities and the general experience involved with, say, The
Frisco Kid and Blazing Saddles. Still, what he did include was more than I
already knew. I loved, for example, hearing his impression of the young
Harrison Ford.
And we get to hear, of course, about Gilda Radner. They had
a deep love and a tumultuous relationship and he doesn’t spare himself or her
in his descriptions. And we get to learn about the woman he married and was
with until he died, Karen Webb.
This autobiography is full of beautiful little nuggets about
the life of a very gifted man who had a lot of issues. Highly recommended to
anyone who is a fan of his work.
