Wilder, whose best work included collaborations with director-writer Mel Brooks and actor-comedian Richard Pryor, died at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, his family said in a statement.

Wilder’s nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, said the actor had chosen to keep his illness secret so that children who knew him as Willy Wonka would not equate the whimsical character with an adult disease.

Wilder’s barely contained hysteria made him a go-to lead for Brooks, who cast him in Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and The Producers in the 1960s and ’70s.

“Gene Wilder – one of the truly great talents of our time. He blessed every film we did with his magic & he blessed me with his friendship,” Brooks said on Twitter.

Besides his classic collaborations with Brooks, Wilder paired memorably with comedian Richard Pryor in hits Silver Streak and Stir Crazy.

Wilder also was active in promoting ovarian cancer awareness and treatment after his wife, Saturday Night Live comedian Gilda Radner, whom he married in 1984, died of the disease in 1989.

Born Jerome Silberman to Russian immigrants in Milwaukee, Wilder studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre in Bristol, England, and then studied method acting at the Actors Studio.

A leading role in a play that also starred Anne Bancroft, who was dating her future husband Brooks, led to Wilder becoming a top member of Brooks’ stock company of crazies, some of whom branched out with Wilder into other film ventures.

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Wilder’s first movie role was a small part as a terrified undertaker who was abducted by Bonnie and Clyde in Arthur Penn’s 1967 film of the same name.

Wilder was a last-minute fill-in as the Waco Kid in Brooks’ Blazing Saddles in 1974, and with Brooks wrote the screenplay for Young Frankenstein, released later that year, also to big box office returns.

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Wilder’s title role in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory earned him a Golden Globe nomination in 1971, and he was nominated again in that category in 1976 for Silver Streak.

He was admitted to hospital in 1999 with non-Hodgkin lymphoma but was said to be in complete remission in 2005.

Wilder lived in Stamford in a house built in 1734 that he had shared with Radner, writing and painting watercolours with his wife Karen Boyer, whom he married in 1991.

Tributes from peers and admirers have poured in for the actor:

“Goodbye, Gene Wilder. You were one of the great screen comedians. Original and surprising every time.” – Steve Martin on Twitter

“#GeneWilder Au revoir to a gifted actor whose films I suggest you re-visit if you want to be thoroughly entertained.” – Carl Reiner on Twitter

“Gene Wilder was a giant of comedy. His legacy of films is inspiring. A true genius.” – Billy Crystal on Twitter

“Gene Wilder was one of the funniest and sweetest energies ever to take a human form. If there’s a heaven he has a Golden Ticket.” – Actor Jim Carrey on Twitter

“RIP to the legend Gene Wilder, keep it classy.” – Comedian Will Ferrell on Twitter

“A moment of silence for the master of the comedic pause. Gene Wilder: funny doing something & funny doing nothing.” – Director Edgar Wright on Twitter

“‘Good Day Sir!’ RIP Gene Wilder”- Comedian Ricky Gervais on Twitter

“Thank you Gene Wilder for all that you’ve given us. You’ll be missed.” – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Twitter

“R.I.P. Gene Wilder. Please hug Gilda for me.” – Producer and writer Alan Zweibel on Facebook

“A man who lit up the world with his joy and genius. I can’t say what it meant to act with him and get to know his heart.” – Actress Debra Messing on Twitter

“Gene Wilder touched my life, my heart and my funny bone with his unique and genius work. May he rest with peace and joy.” – Actor Jason Alexander on Twitter

“I saw Blazing Saddles 7 times at the cinema with my school friends. George St. Cows outside. Gene Wilder you were a genius.” – Actor Russell Crowe on Twitter

“Bless you for all these years of laughter and love, such warmth and humanity. Thank you, thank you, thank you #GeneWilder” – Film Critic Leonard Maltin on Twitter

“GENE WILDER, the face of childhood joy for many a generation, has passed. Farewell, sweet genius. Gilda awaits you.” – Director Kevin Smith on Twitter

“Gene Wilder acted at a different frequency than any other. He was always a moment away from tenderness or hysteria. What an original.” – Actor Alan Tudyk on Twitter

“Thank you Gene Wilder for the wonderful, the weird, the pure imagination. One of my greatest heroes.” – Singer Josh Groban on Twitter

“Gene Wilder as one of my earliest heroes. Blazing Saddles, Willy Wonka, are CLINICS on comic acting. Sad to hear of his passing.” -Actor Rob Lowe on Twitter

“The genius, the talent, the actor, the original, the artist, the storyteller, the creative, the iconic, the great, great, great Gene Wilder.” – Actress Uzo Aduba on Twitter

-RAW/AP