June 3, 1971 –
Paramount Pictures‘ musical, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, directed by Mel Stuart (and written by Roald Dahl, based on his novel), starring Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Roy Kinnear, Denise Nickerson, Leonard Stone, Julie Dawn Cole, Paris Themmen, and Dodo Denney, opened in the US, on this date.
After reading the script, Gene Wilder said he would take the role of Willy Wonka under one condition: that he would be allowed to limp and then suddenly somersault in the scene when he first meets the children. When director Mel Stuart asked why, Wilder replied that having Wonka do this meant that “from that time on, no one will know if I’m lying or telling the truth.” Stuart asked, “If I say no, you won’t do the picture?” Wilder said, “I’m afraid that’s the truth.”
The Haus of Dcaligari 