Wilder passed away in 2016. Not long after his death, a secret came to light that he had carried with him for years.
We may all know him as Gene Wilder, but the famous actor wasn’t born with that name. Instead, he was welcomed to the world on June 11, 1933, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and named Jerome Silberman. His father, William, was an immigrant from Russia. His mother, Jeanne, was of Polish descent.
Gene Wilder – early life
As Gene grew up, his mother was often ill. More specifically, she had complications from rheumatic heart disease.
Naturally, children and their parents will argue from time to time about different things. When Gene turned eight, though, a doctor told him not to.
“Don’t ever argue with your mother, you might kill her. Try to make her laugh,” the doctor famously said.
Perhaps this was also what sparked what would become a very successful career. Wilder decided to try and make his mother laugh as much as he could, putting on different accents and characters.
His mother laughed often at her son’s performances – and in a 2015 NPR interview, Gene credited Jeanne with helping him start his career.
“When your mother gives you confidence about anything that you do, you carry that confidence with you,” Wilder said. “She made me believe that I could make someone laugh.”
Gene went on to join the California military. However, it was never his calling. Instead, the aspiring actor with big dreams returned to Milwaukee and started performing in the local theaters. He debuted in Romeo and Juliet as Balthasar, before graduating from high school and studying at the University of Iowa.
Eventually, Gene decided he wanted to explore more concerning theater. Therefore, as many before him – and after, for that matter – he decided to move to the UK, where he studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
Why Gene Wilder changed his name
After two years of military service – Gene had been drafted into the US Army – he moved to New York City. The big dream was still to work as an actor, but achieving that in New York requires plenty of patience. Gene took on several jobs to support himself, including being a fencing teacher (he had studied fencing in Bristol) and driving a limousine.
At age 26, he was accepted into the Actor’s Studio. That was when he felt he needed a better name, as the aspiring actor wanted to appear both intellectual and well-read. In college, he read Look Homeward, Angel, and took Gene after the character Eugene Grant. His new surname, Wilder, Gene, took from Thornton Wilder, author of Our Town.
Obviously, it was a great name, and the move paid off. In 1967, at age 33 and after several years working in off-Broadway plays, Wilder made his film debut in Bonnie and Clyde.