Gene Wilder dies: Gilda Radner anecdote proves the actor was one of the kindest in Hollywood

The actor brought as many smiles to those he knew off screen as he did in his films

Comedic actor Gene Wilder passed away on Sunday night (28 August) at the age of 83 leaving behind a list of credits that can make you smile just by looking at it.

Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory are just three of the films that continue to bring joy to families across the world to this very day.

Going by the tributes that have poured out since Wilder's passing was announced by his nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman, it seems the actor himself brought as many smiles to those he knew personally off screen as he did in front of the camera.

An excerpt unearthed by Uproxx from the memoir of Saturday Night Live veteran Gilda Radner, whom Wilder married after the two worked together on Hanky Panky (1982), proves this.

In her memoir It's Always Something, Radner - who died of ovarian cancer in 1989 - describes a moment featured in Lynne Sharon Schwartz book Disturbances in the Field.

In the story, the female protagonist recalls how, when she was a little girl she regularly visited her parents' beach house. The character goes on to explain how she and her sister would often have difficulty locating their parents because "there were always lots of people there, and everybody had umbrellas that looked alike." Because of this, her "father began to tie a pair of tennis shoes on one of the spokes of their umbrella so when the two little girls look over, they could see right away where their parents were."

Radner then explains how, following her diagnosis, this moment correlated to her life.

“I remember riding in the backseat of my father’s car and thinking I was really safe… If my parents were home, I was safe, and things didn’t happen - cancer, bus accidents, plane crashes or wars. As long as my parents were home, everything was all right… In the hospital, I remembered that book, thinking inside, 'Please, someone protect me from this cancer. Make me feel safe again.' The night before my first chemotherapy, I was lying in bed and Gene walked in the doorway of my hospital room. He was carrying a little pink umbrella with shoes tied to it.”

Radner remained married to Wilder until her death in 1989.

US chatshow host James Corden revealed the touching way Wilder turned down the chance to appear on The Late Late Show.