Career: Wilder made his professional debut in 1961 in an off-Broadway production of Roots, and continued to work to great acclaim on stage until 1966 when he appeared on TV in Death of a Salesman. A year later he made his first film, Bonnie and Clyde. In 1968 The Producers made him a star, and cemented his working relationship with writer-director Mel Brooks. Other major hits include the 1971 adaptation of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and his four films with Richard Pryor, including Stir Crazy. He also wrote, directed and starred in The Woman in Red and Haunted Honeymoon. He published an autobiography in 2005, and followed this up with the novels My French Whore in 2007, The Woman Who Wouldn't in 2008, What Is This Thing Called Love in 2010 and Something to Remember You By in 2013. He died on August 29, 2016 from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 83.