Tribute - Gene Wilder

Our Defective Inspector pauses to pay tribute to Gene Wilder, who died on Monday aged 83...

2016 has been torturous for most, so many great people passing on has made me a little numb at times. But when I heard Gene Wilder was no longer around I felt… less of a person. Not to say I knew the man, I’d never be so lucky, but I was someone who got to watch Wilder looking back and not forward. By the time I was a man he’d all but hung up his hat and waved goodbye to the showbiz spotlight and turned to a writing. So I was brought up on old videos which were considered downright dated by the time I got my hands on them. Despite that… I loved it.

I watched See No Evil, Hear No Evil simply because it was released near my Birthday, I watched Blazing Saddles under recommendations of secondary school friends, I giggled at Young Frankenstein because a University chum insisted I give it a go. It’s so rare that someone could make such an impression that my entire life is dotted with retroactive recommendations to watch movies that are way before my time. More than likely his face will be plastered across the internet while people hum tunes of pure imagination. In a strange way, I am glad it’s happened this way. It means there will be people walking in my footsteps, looking back and appreciating something we never knew we had.

So I hope people after me do the same, go back retroactively regardless of how many times you’ve already done it. Enjoy the insanity of using your manhood as a weapon, never ask which way you are going and always ask the question, “Are we awake?”

Image from wikipedia