Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Hell-raisers: The Boys season 3 shakes up prestige TV with superhero debauchery

      Hell-raisers: The Boys season 3 shakes up prestige TV with superhero debauchery

      Just because they're Emmy nominated doesn't mean The Boys are pulling their punches. Here, the team dives into what might be "the most insane season of TV ever filmed." Read More
    • Your guide to 2022's biggest tours

      Your guide to 2022's biggest tours

      From Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Weeknd, here are all the artists who can't wait to get on the road again. Read More
    • Ready for takeoff! We drank 3 rounds with the hotshot cast of Top Gun: Maverick

      Ready for takeoff! We drank 3 rounds with the hotshot cast of Top Gun: Maverick

      The actors playing the next generation of pilots in the action sequel felt the need for lots of cocktails. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Gallery
  3. Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner in Their Own Words

Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner in Their Own Words

By Madeline Boardman Updated August 29, 2016 at 09:38 PM EDT
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Gene Wilder died at the age of 83 on Aug. 28, 2016, 26 years after the death of his then-wife, Gilda Radner. The two late stars were married for five years in the 1980s, leading a beloved love story until Radner's death from ovarian cancer in 1989. Wilder remarried Karen Boyer, whom he called the "love of [his] life," two years later, and was with her until his death. Read words from Wilder and Radner on one another, ahead.

 

1 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
Credit: Bill Polo/AP

"I had been a workaholic. I'd taken on job after another for ten years. But just looking at Gene made me want to stop... made me want to cook... made me want to start a garden... to have a family and settle down." — Gilda Radner in It's Always Something

 

2 of 9

3 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
Credit: AP Photo/Agence France Press

"When Gilda arrived, I thought she looked radiant. She was calm, cheerful, sensitive." — Gene Wilder in Kiss Me Like A Stranger: My Search for Love and Art

 

3 of 9

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

"I had one brave contribution to make to Gilda. I was so incredibly dumb, it was hard to believe, because I thought she was going to pull through until three weeks before she died. Two-and-three-quarters years, I thought that she would make it. And I would say that to her, and she said, 'Really?' And I said, I'll find -- 'Right now, I'll exchange life spans with you.' The irony is that I meant it." — Gene Wilder to Larry King in 2002

 

4 of 9

Advertisement

5 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene

'Hanky Panky,' 1982
Credit: Everett Collection

"I ordered stationery that said 'Gilda Wilder' and 'Mr. and Mrs. G. Wilder.' I was uneasy for a while trying to figure out when to be Gilda Radner, the TV star, when to be Gilda Wilder, a brand-new person, when to be Mrs. Gene Wilder, the wife of the international movie star, and when to be Mrs. G. Wilder, just another blushing bride. I decided I could be them all. — Gilda Radner in It's Always Something

 

5 of 9

6 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene

'Haunted Honeymoon,' 1986
Credit: Everett Collection

"I had been a fan of Gene Wilder's for many years, but the first time I saw him in person, my heart fluttered — I was hooked. It felt like my life went from black and white to Technicolor. Gene was funny and athletic and handsome, and he smelled good. I was bitten with love." — Gilda Radner in It's Always Something

 

6 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
Credit: Everett Collection

"She learned the stuff of life that would help you to lead a happy life, except, unfortunately, she didn't live long enough to enjoy it... The truth is, it was fun. It was fun. It was the best years of my life, truly." — Gene Wilder to Connie Chung in 1990.

 

7 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
Credit: Kypros/Getty Images

"The essence of her, her spirit free from pain, the Gilda that's free from pain, that Gilda is with me. In that sense, I'm happier now than when I saw her writhing in pain." — Gene Wilder to Connie Chung in 1990.

 

8 of 9

Advertisement

9 of 9

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene

Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
Credit: Ron Galella/WireImage

"I'm lucky I'm with a man who isn't superficial. I think he was really put to the test. But he loves and cares about what's inside me — who I am, rather than if I have hair." — Gilda Radner to Glamour magazine in 1989.

 

9 of 9

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Madeline Boardman

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 9 Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
    2 of 9 Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
    3 of 9 Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
    4 of 9 Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
    5 of 9 Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
    6 of 9 Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
    7 of 9 Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
    8 of 9 Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene
    9 of 9 Gilda and Gene on Gilda and Gene

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner in Their Own Words
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.