The great Willy Wonka quote that sums up the allure of Gene Wilder

Grief stricken fans of the actor Gene Wilder have taken to social media in an effusion of shared sadness and nostalgia since his death was announced on Monday night.

The generations who can't imagine anyone else as the Roald Dahl character Willy Wonka have settled on a quote that sums up the man's life.

Wilder's sense of humour, treading the line between comedy and tragedy, will be sorely missed. For many, his eccentric persona on screen and in public appearances, demonstrated that being different was more than acceptable, it was great.

His memorable and sarcastic delivery of lines in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) has in recent years given Wilder internet mortality:

Perhaps the reason this role stuck out more than Wilder's other triumphs in The Producers (1967) and Blazing Saddles (1974), was because Wilder's personality, made it seem to audiences that, in another life, he could very easily have been a philanthropic chocolatier with an unconventional approach to teaching children a lesson in good manners.

As such it is fitting that this quote from the film, has been used by fans to sum up Wilder's magnetism:

A little nonesense, now and then, is relished by the wisest men

The line has been used by many in their expressions of sorrow.

RIP Gene Wilder.

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