‘Willy Wonka’ Star Shares Touching Gene Wilder Story

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory celebrated its 50th anniversary recently, inspiring many of the film’s stars to share their fond memories of working with the late, great Gene Wilder. The comedic actor starred as the title character in the classic musical and became cemented in pop culture due to his choices in the role. Julie Dawn Cole, who played Veruca Salt, recalled how Wilder made sure the older actors on the set looked after her after discovering her parents were not with her in Germany. Wilder died in August 2016 at 83.

Cole told Insider she was the only child actor on the set who did not have a member of her family with her. Instead, she only had a “registered chaperone.” When Wilder learned this, he told his co-stars Roy Kinnear and Jack Albertson they needed to look out for her. “Look, boys, she’s on her own here. We’ve got to look out for her,” Cole recalled telling the actors. Kinnear played Veruca’s father, Mr. Salt, while Albertson played Charlie’s Grandpa Joe.

“And they did, they all kind of took care of me,” Cole, 63, said. “So that was Gene. He was very much looking around at what was going on and taking care of everybody else. Very, very kind man.” Cole also described Widler as a “warm, kind person” with “piercing blue eyes.”

German actor Michael Bollner, who played Augustus Gloop, had his own Wilder story to share with Insider. He recalled helping Wilder speak with German journalists, even though Bollner did not know English well and the Wisconsin-born Wilder wasn’t familiar with German. “Gene doesn’t speak German, and I don’t speak English very well. The newspaper girl doesn’t speak English at all,” Bollner said. “Gene was very gentle and very nice to all of us and he tried to make the best out of it.”

Paramount Pictures released Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on June 30, 1971, and it remains one of the best-loved musicals of its era. The film was based on Roald Dahl‘s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and directed by Mel Stuart. The film is now distributed by Warner Bros., which recently released it on 4K Ultra HD for its 50th anniversary.

Tim Burton adapted the novel again in 2005 as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, featuring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. The studio is now working on a prequel, simply titled Wonka. In May, Deadline reported that Timothee Chalamet will play the eccentric candy company owner. Paul King will write and direct the script, co-written by Simon Farnaby. David Heyman is producing. Perhaps the movie will explain how Wonka successfully enslaved an entire race of people to work in his candy factory.