Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner in Their Own Words

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.

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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.

“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.

“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.