Gene Wilder
Who doesn’t adore sweets and chocolate? Yes, we do! When Gene Wilder was at his best in the 1960s, he was known for his nostalgic candy man role as Willy Wonka in the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. He was also a successful screenwriter, director, producer, singer-songwriter, author, and actor who built a reputation for himself in a multitude of disciplines.
All of Wilder’s triumphs, however, began with a tiny step in the late 1950s when he was drafted to serve in the United States Army as a paramedic at a psychiatric hospital in the state of Pennsylvania. That minor move was his choice to lighten his emotions while also enrolling in acting classes at the same time. Blazing Saddles, in which he later partnered with Mel Brooks, was one of his most notable acting breakthroughs.