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
Serge Silberman The money gained from the movie enabled Silberman to provide funding for Akira Kurosawa's ambitious 1985 film "Ran", which at the time of its making was the most expensive Japanese film ever. Silberman was awarded an honorary César Award in 1988. He died in Paris in 2003 at the age of 86. Serge Silberman Serge Silberman (1 May 1917 – 22 July 2003) was a French film producer. Silberman was born in Łódź, then a part of the Regency Kingdom of Poland in a Jewish family. During World War II Silberman survived Nazi concentration camps and eventually settled in Paris.