Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art

Gene Wilder was one of the great comic actors who defined the 1970's and 1980's in movies. From his early work with Woody Allen to the rich group of movies he made with Mel Brooks to his partnership on screen with Richard Pryor, Wilder's performances are still discussed and celebrated today. Kiss Me Like A Stranger is an intimate glimpse of the man behind the image on the screen.

In this book, Wilder talks about everything from his experiences in psychoanalysis to why he got into acting (and later comedy-his first goal was to be a Shakespearean actor) to how a Midwestern childhood with a sick mother changed him. He writes about the creative process on stage and on screen, and divulges moments from life on the sets of the some of the most iconic movies of our time. He also opens up about his love affairs and marriages, including his marriage to comedian Gilda Radner. But the core of Kiss Me Like A Stranger is an actor's search for truth and a thoughtful analysis of why the choices he made-some of them so serendipitous they were practically accidental-changed the course of his life.

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Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art

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Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art

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Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312337070
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/07/2006
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.61(d)

About the Author

Gene Wilder (1933-2016) began acting when he was thirteen and writing for the screen in the early 1970s. After a small role in "Bonnie and Clyde" pulled him away from a career onstage, he was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for his role as Leo Bloom in "The Producers", which led to "Blazing Saddles" and then to another Academy nomination, this time for writing "Young Frankenstein". Wilder appeared in twenty-five feature films and a number of stage productions. His first book, about his own life, was Kiss Me Like A Stranger. It was followed by the novels My French Whore, The Woman Who Wouldn’t, and Something to Remember You By and a book of stories, What Is This Thing Called Love?.

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With the passing of Gene Wilder yesterday, at the age of 83, we’ve lost one of our culture’s constants, one of those beloved presences we never considered losing. Wilder was such a part of our collective consciousness it was a shock to hear he’d passed. For many of us, Wilder will always be just as he was in the […]

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https://twitter.com/AngTanongKoSayo/status/771702204759543808 You kidding me with that? This week saw the passing of a great actor and, lesser known to some, a very talented writer of novels and one strikingly good memoir. “I like writing books. I can come out, have a glass of tea, give my wife a kiss, go back in and write some more.” […]

a gracious, endearing book” —The New York Times
“I always knew Gene Wilder was a remarkable person, but I didn't realize how remarkable until I read this brave, riveting book.” —Charles Grodin, actor
“...an honest, affecting look at his life. Strong, tender and revealing” —Kirkus
“A wonderful addition to the entertainment memoir Gene pool.” —Library Journal
“A witty memoir. It's also a reflective and well-written meditation on the life of someone who has more on his mind than the next big part or belly laugh.” —Los Angeles Times
“It's impossible to not feel deep affection for Gene Wilder.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Come for inside dish on his funniest movies, stay for touching stories about Mel Brooks, Gilda Radner and others. A classy memoir.” —Newsweek

From the Publisher

An actor's life, as told in flashback. Gene Wilder is familiar to the American public as the mad scientist in Young Frankenstein and the kooky Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Not so familiar is Jerry Silberman: that is, Gene Wilder himself in his pre-acting days. This "autobiography" is really more about Silberman than Wilder, who uses a rather unusual device to tell Jerry's story: his visits to psychiatrist Margie Waller become a filter for his memories of life as Jerry Silberman. The young Jerry is an introspective boy with a gift for comedy who can make his mother laugh-she has a heart condition, and Jerry tries to relieve any stress that might aggravate it. His early reminiscences seem focused equally on acting and on encounters with the opposite sex, although there's a bizarre little ramble about his compulsion to pray, which is humorous in a pathos-filled way. The acting memories make sense-Wilder entertainingly relates how his early acting experiences formed a foundation for his successful acting career. Surprisingly enough, his tales of sexual liaisons with young women are not played for broad humor but are told in a rather matter-of-fact, straightforward style, with tiny nuggets of humor buried deep. These opening pages set the tone for the rest, where the focus remains on acting and relationships, all told in the same matter-of-fact style, with subtle snippets of humor sprinkled throughout. It's not an autobiography in the usual sense of the word, but it does give the reader an understanding of Jerry Silberman's deliberate transformation into Gene Wilder. Wilder is quite candid about his life, not flinching at all when it comes to sharing intimate details.Especially poignant is the section on his romance with Gilda Radner, the comic actress who became his wife and was to die of cancer (It's Always Something, 1989). Wilder evidently wrote the book himself, and did well; it's an honest, affecting look at his life. Strong, tender, and revealing. Agent: Andrew Hersh/Crystal Sky

Kirkus Reviews

Gene Wilder, star of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, THE PRODUCERS, and WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, takes an uncompromisingly honest, painfully eloquent look at his life. Wilder doesn’t sugarcoat his experiences, nor does he linger unnecessarily on its harsher realities. Each of his remembrances rings with truth and clarity. This is not a behind-the-scenes exposé of nastiness--as so many star autobiographies are. This is a reflection on a life lived by a boy named Jerry Silberman who, after many miserable, even excruciating, experiences, deliberately transformed himself into the star the world knows as Gene Wilder. In his own distinctive voice, Wilder takes the listener into his creative processes, neuroses, personal failures, and successes. Poignant, moving, often humorous, this is a little gem of a book. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award 2006 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

AUG/SEP 05 - AudioFile

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