Gene Wilder listening to one of his favorite songs, a rendition of "Over the Rainbow" sung by Ella Fitzgerald. Gene Wilder Jerome Silberman (June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016), known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, singer-songwriter and author. Wilder began his career on stage, and made his screen debut in an episode of the TV series "The Play of the Week" in 1961. Although his first film role was portraying a hostage in the 1967 motion picture "Bonnie and Clyde", Wilder's first major role was as Leopold Bloom in the 1967 film "The Producers" for
Curt Silberman Curt Silberman Curt C. Silberman (May 23, 1908 – September 9, 2002) was a German-Jewish and American attorney, community leader, and member of Jewish organizations in both Germany and the United States. Born Kurt Leo Silbermann in Würzburg, Germany, he and his wife Else fled due the rampant antisemitism of the Nazi era and settled in New Jersey. His legal career in the United States focused on restitution work for the victims of the Nazi government. Silberman was active in many Jewish organizations. He was a co-founder of the Leo Baeck Institute, and for a period of time, the head