Aaron Tracy

And he overall had a terrible taste in his mouth from Hollywood.

The only experience he ever liked in Hollywood, the two experiences were with Hitchcock and then writing the first James Bond film that he wrote.

Let's pause for a second to dive a little deeper into the Chaco River.

Several movie stars have played Willy Wonka over the decades, including Timothee Chalamet, Johnny Depp, and even Neil Patrick Harris in a strange video parody you can find online.

Not to mention all the stage actors who performed the role on Broadway and in various theater productions around the world.

But for me, and I think for most people, the defining portrayal of Dahl's most memorable, most elusive character is by Gene Wilder in the 1971 film.

Yeah, it's a nutty performance.

As I mentioned to David, Roald Dahl hated it.

Dahl's friend and biographer, Donald Sturek, says, quote, I think he felt Wonka was very British eccentric.

Gene Wilder was rather too soft and didn't have a sufficient edge.

His voice is very light, and he's got that rather cherubic sweet face.

I think Roald felt there was something wrong with Wonka's soul in the movie.

It just wasn't how he imagined the lines being spoken, according to Sturek.

To be fair to Dahl, Gene Wilder does take some crazy swings in that movie.

If you've seen it, and since you're still listening to this show nine episodes in, I bet you have, you know what I'm talking about.

Wilder's entire performance is just kind of nuts in a really glorious way.

Terrifying one second, bursting into song for no reason the next, sadistic, cruel, and incredibly creepy later on, and then ends as kind of a teddy bear.

It's just all over the place in a way that feels really interesting and unexpected.

The director, Mel Stewart, says about Wilder, quote, In fact, it's such a unique performance that there's been a persistent rumor for half a century that Gene Wilder improvised the whole thing when he arrived on set.

And of course, that's not true.