Through much of his adult life, Wilder had visits with a therapist called Margie, and several chapters of the book are framed as stories that he is telling her in treatment. He wrote mostly in chronological order but sometimes a memory was triggered that had to be covered first. He suffered the death of his mother at a fairly early age, and some sexual and physical abuse at a military school; these are explained in a matter-of-fact way but clearly had lasting repercussions. He had insecurities being intimate with women in his teens and twenties, and later he had multiple marriages fail. As a young man he was troubled by an overwhelming urge to pray for forgiveness several times a day, for a sin he wasn't aware he'd committed. He named this affliction his "Demon," and eventually he worked past his feelings of guilt with Margie's help.
He was born as Jerome Silberman and chose the stage name Gene as a tribute to his mother Jeanne, though he didn't consciously realize the similarity until Margie pointed it out. The surname Wilder came from playwright Thornton Wilder. The young Jerry Silberman became interested in acting when he saw his older sister Corinne in a play and was trained by the same teacher; enjoying himself, he continued to study the craft. His first screen role came about when the director had seen him on Broadway, and after a few TV movies, he snagged a small part in Bonnie and Clyde. Mel Brooks talked to Wilder about the role of Leo Bloom in The Producers years before it actually got made. He made his directing debut with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother and of course worked with Brooks again in Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. You may or may not know that the first scene featuring Willy Wonka, in which the chocolate pioneer fakes a fall, was Wilder's idea and he wouldn't have done the movie without it.
During the making of Blazing Saddles, Wilder met Richard Pryor who co-wrote the film and was originally set to star, though was replaced by Cleavon Little in the lead. Wilder and Pryor went on to collaborate on several more outstanding comedies such as Stir Crazy, Silver Streak, and See No Evil, Hear no Evil. Wilder greatly enjoyed the chemistry he had with Pryor on-screen, but admitted to finding him difficult in real life, Pryor's drug use making him erratic.
Outside of his film work, in this book Wilder was very candid about his personal life. He was married to a woman named Mary Mercier for five years before they divorced. Then there was Mary Jo (known as Jo) who had a daughter named Katie from a previous marriage, whom Wilder adopted. Unfortunately Gene and Katie became estranged after he and Jo separated. The most famous of Wilder's spouses was SNL's Gilda Radner, whom he met on a movie called Hanky Panky. Wilder was by her side when she suffered depression and bulimia, and when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and underwent chemo treatments. This section of the book is absolutely heartbreaking. The cancer support group known as Gilda's Club was partly founded by Wilder, who himself went through a bout of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which subsided.
It was after Radner's death that Wilder married Karen Boyer, whom he met when she coached him on how to act deaf in See no Evil, Hear no Evil. This was at a time in his life when he never thought he'd find love again, and he was still married to Karen at the time of his death from Alzheimer's.
Just like in his films, Wilder found a balance between humor and pathos in this book. His roles were mostly comic but with an undertone of darkness. In his writing he clearly expressed his regrets as well as the pride he took in his work and provides lighthearted anecdotes right alongside the tragic moments. He left a worthwhile legacy and will be missed by moviegoers worldwide.
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