• Gene Wilder in Conversation with Wendy Wasserstein at the 92nd Street Y

  • By: Gene Wilder
  • Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (84 ratings)

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Gene Wilder in Conversation with Wendy Wasserstein at the 92nd Street Y  By  cover art

Gene Wilder in Conversation with Wendy Wasserstein at the 92nd Street Y

By: Gene Wilder
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Editorial reviews

Following the release of his acclaimed memoir, Kiss Me Like a Stranger, Gene Wilder sat down for this revealing interview with playwright Wendy Wasserstein. Here, Wilder looks at the struggles behind the laughter, candidly discussing his battles with neuroses, illness, and bereavement. Indeed, Wilder the comedian and Wilder the depressive are two sides of the same coin: His earliest comedic experiments followed his mother’s heart attack, at which point a doctor told the eight-year-old Wilder, "try to make her laugh". Wilder’s discussion of his relationship with Gilda Radner, her death from ovarian cancer, and his own battle with lymphoma, take on added poignancy: Wasserstein, much more animated here than the stoically reflective Wilder, was mere months from her own untimely demise due to lymphoma.

Publisher's summary

Gene Wilder, one of the great comic actors of our time, discusses the art of acting, the search for love, the experience of marrying Gilda Radner, and other personal events that have shaped who he is today. Wendy Wasserstein is a playwright and winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony award for best play for The Heidi Chronicles.

This event took place on March 22, 2005.

Want more? Listen to titles from Gene Wilder.

Also, check out Wendy Wasserstein's Heidi Chronicles.

©2005 92 nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association (P)2005 92 nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association

What listeners say about Gene Wilder in Conversation with Wendy Wasserstein at the 92nd Street Y

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • M
  • 11-18-06

Wilder at His Best !!

Being an advid fan of just about anything Gene Wilder says should potentially disqualify me as a critic with any objectivity. However, quite the contrary. Having listened to everything I possibly can actually puts me in a very good position to make comparisons and I can honestly state this conversation with Wendy Wasserstein is pure gold! Wendy's questions are the perfect catalyst to bring out the quintessential GW. His wit and style takes you through much of his life from the brilliant karma he and Richard Pryor stumbled upon in Silver Streak to the intensely wonderful love he shared with Gilda Radnor. You laugh and cry and feel good doing both. You simply do not want it to end.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • DM
  • 04-29-17

read the book!

this was a nice follow-up to the book and told lot of the same stories. Although I did enjoy the surprising questions from time to time, the interviewers laugh was sometimes distracting.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • L
  • 01-22-20

Great interview

I enjoy listening to this. If you like Gene Wilder, then you will really will like this too.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

Excellent information about acting and life by means of a pre-recorded live audience interview. I found Gene to be charming, funny and wise. I am very glad I purchased this. If you are studying acting, you will find helpful tidbits of information in this audiobook.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wow...

Difficult to get through. Just listened to a fantastic interview of Wilder on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and then tried this.
Wasserstein's intro was cringeworthy (e.g. - incapable of calling her guest anything but both names "Gene Wilder.". Her interview did not improve on this. Love Gene. Won't ever listen to Wendy again.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Nice Eavesdropping

I've heard Gene Wilder interviewed before; so his low key, somewhat serious manner didn't surprise me. As a matter of fact, I enjoy it. I adore and have revisited so many of Gene Wilder's performances, and I find his natural speaking voice soothing.

It was nice to listen in on this conversation. Wilder and Wasserstein seemed to be actual friends, and there was genuine affection in some of her questions. No, she wasn't a professional voice actor or interviewer; but I liked that.

Some wonderful behind the scenes and, also, personal, stories here. Some funny, some serious. I thoroughly enjoyed it all. This is one I'll listen to again.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great interview by a beloved actor

The whole interview was very good they gave insights I didn't know exist and added more depth to him

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Candor from a Comic Actor

Gene Wilder has been a beloved actor in movies I've been exposed to in childhood and later. To hear him speak with candor about his weakness for Gilda, his joys working with Mel Brooks, and his discernment of where his true talent lies was a joy.

If you buy this, don't buy the other one with the same picture: the only difference is a minor detail and the presenting intro.

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