gene wilder
kiss me like a stranger
MY SEARCH FOR LOVE AND ART
To Karen,
without whom I would be
floating like a cork in the ocean
Contents
CHAPTER 2. CAN A FEW WORDS CHANGE YOUR LIFE?
CHAPTER 4. THE “DEMON” ARRIVES
CHAPTER 5. MY HEART IS NOT IN THE HIGHLANDS
CHAPTER 6. A YANK AT THE OLD VIC
CHAPTER 8. DON JUAN IN NEW YORK
CHAPTER 9. THE WORST OF TIMES, THE BEST OF TIMES
CHAPTER 11. A TASTE OF FREEDOM
CHAPTER 12. THE KING IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE KING!
CHAPTER 13. “FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST. THANK MARGIE WALLIS, I’M FREE AT LAST”
CHAPTER 14. “SORRY I CAUGHT YOU WITH THE OLD LADY”
CHAPTER 15. SECOND MOVEMENT: SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER
CHAPTER 16. BLACK IS MY FAVORITE COLOR
CHAPTER 17. “I HAVE A REASON – I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS”
CHAPTER 18. NEW YORK, NEW YORK
CHAPTER 19. THE BIRTH OF A MONSTER
CHAPTER 21. SHERLOCK HOLMES HAS A JEWISH BROTHER
CHAPTER 22. CRISIS IN BLACK AND WHITE
CHAPTER 23. LEO BLOOM HAS HIS PICTURE TAKEN
CHAPTER 24. SIDNEY POITIER AND I GO STIR-CRAZY
CHAPTER 25. HANKY-PANKY WITH ROSEANNE ROSEANNADANNA
CHAPTER 26. I DON’T BELIEVE IN FATE
CHAPTER 28. COMEDIENNE – BALLERINA 1946–1989
CHAPTER 29. IT’S ALWAYS SOMETHING
Suppose you’re walking out of the Plaza Hotel in New York City on a warm spring day. You breathe in the lovely fresh air as you step outside and walk down the red-carpeted stairs, saying a quick, “Hi, again!” to the uniformed doorman.
You want to go directly across the street to Bergdorf’s Men’s Shop on Fifth Avenue, but the Plaza fountain is directly in your path, with people from all walks of life sitting on the ledge of the fountain, eating sandwiches in what’s left of their lunch hour, talking to their friends from the office, maybe flirting with some new acquaintance and whispering arrangements for a love tryst that night. Perhaps some are taking a short sunbath on this first beautiful day of the year or even sneaking in a quick snooze as they lean their backs against the famous fountain where Zelda Fitzgerald once jumped in fully clothed.
You can get to the shop on Fifth Avenue by walking around the fountain on the path to your left, or by taking the path to your right. I believe that whichever choice you make could change your life. I’m sure everyone has had these mysterious brushes with irony, perhaps referring to them years later as “almost fate.” Here are a few of mine.