Kiss Me Like A Stranger My Search for Love and Art

by Wilder, Gene

• ISBN13: 9780312337070
• ISBN10: 0312337078
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-07
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Summary

Gene Wilder is one of the great comic actors who defined the 1970s and 1980s 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, Wilders 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 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 actors search for truth and a realization of why the choices he madesome of them so serendipitous they were practically accidentalchanged the course of his life.

Author Biography

Gene Wilder has been acting since he was thirteen.  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 lives in Connecticut with his wife, Karen.

Table of Contents

PROLOGUE	1	(64)
1. FIRST MOVEMENT	3	(4)
2. CAN A FEW WORDS CHANGE YOUR LIFE?	7	(12)
3. "TAKE ME."	19	(8)
4. THE "DEMON" ARRIVES.	27	(6)
5. MY HEART IS NOT IN THE HIGHLANDS.	33	(4)
6. A YANK AT THE OLD VIC	37	(4)
7. SHADES OF GRAY	41	(7)
8. DON JUAN IN NEW YORK	48	(5)
9. THE WORST OF TIMES, THE BEST OF TIMES	53	(12)
10. MOTHER COURAGE	65	(8)
11. A TASTE OF FREEDOM	73	(6)
12. THE KING IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE KING!	79	(4)
13. "FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST. THANK MARGIE WALLIS, I'M FREE AT LAST."	83	(12)
14. "SORRY I CAUGHT YOU WITH THE OLD LADY."	95	(6)
15. SECOND MOVEMENT: SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER	101	(8)
16. BLACK IS MY FAVORITE COLOR.	109	(10)
17. "I HAVE A REASON-I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS."	119	(8)
18. NEW YORK, NEW YORK	127	(12)
19. THE BIRTH OF A MONSTER	139	(8)
20. LE PETIT PRINCE	147	(10)
21. SHERLOCK HOLMES HAS A JEWISH BROTHER.	157	(6)
22. CRISIS IN BLACK AND WHITE	163	(8)
23. LEO BLOOM HAS HIS PICTURE TAKEN.	171	(12)
24. SIDNEY POITIER AND I GO STIR-CRAZY.	183	(4)
25. HANKY-PANKY WITH ROSEANNE ROSEANNADANNA	187	(20)
26. I DON'T BELIEVE IN FATE.	207	(6)
27. THIRD MOVEMENT	213	(10)
28. COMEDIENNE-BALLERINA 1946-1989	223	(8)
29. IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING.	231	(14)
30. STOLEN KISSES	245	(4)
EPILOGUE	249	(2)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS	251	(2)
INDEX	253