Gene Wilder Death Anniversary: Inspirational Quotes To Remember 'Willy Wonka' Actor

Saturday marks the 4^th death anniversary of legendary Hollywood actor Gene Wilder, who died due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.

He was born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee on June 11, 1933. He took the stage name Gene Wilder at the age of 26. He debuted with the movie "Bonnie and Clyde" in 1967 and went on to star in classics such as "Young Frankenstein," "Blazing Saddles," "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" and "Stir Crazy."

Here are some inspirational quotes by the icon on his death anniversary, courtesy of Goodreads and AZ quotes.

• "If the physical thing you're doing is funny, you don't have to act funny while doing it. ... Just be real and it will be funnier."
• "Climbing hills was never one of my great ambitions. Perhaps I was just lazy, but I admit — now that I've been climbing a hill every other day — that it's very difficult to think about the stresses in your life while you're trying to avoid falling backwards when a goat with large horns is chasing you because you came too close to the little patch of grass he was planning to eat for breakfast."
• "Time is a precious thing. Never waste it."
• "I trust if your life is right, the right things will happen at the right time. If the chords are in harmony inside, I think other things will happen in the same way. That sounded highfalutin' to me once, but I believe it now."
• "Success is a terrible thing and a wonderful thing. If you can enjoy it, it's wonderful. If it starts eating away at you, and they're waiting for more from me, or what can I do to top this, then you're in trouble. Just do what you love. That's all I want to do."
• "A lot of comic actors derive their main force from childish behavior. Most great comics are doing such silly things; you'd say, 'That's what a child would do.'"
• "I never thought of it as God. I didn't know what to call it. I don't believe in devils, but demons I do because everyone at one time or another has some kind of a demon, even if you call it by another name, that drives them."