At the age of 83, actor and comedian Gene Wilder has passed away due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlsman said Wilder died late Sunday at his home in Stamford, Connecticut.

Gene Wilder’s acting career began in the 1960’s, but became known for his prominent roles in Mel Brooks’ comedies. Wilder became widely known for his role in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, where he played the eccentric chocolatier in the title role. However Wilder’s breakthrough came in 1963, when he starred alongside Anne Bancroft in a Broadway production of Bertolt Brech’s play, Mother Courage and Her Children.

Wilder also starred in classic films such as The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. Wilder frequently collaborated with writer and director Mel Brooks. Wilder was a specialist at playing panicked characters caught up in schemes that only a madman such as Brooks could devise. Wilder was liberated by the spontaneity of Brooks’s direction and the pair enjoyed an extremely successful partnership.

Wilder also collaborated with stand-up comedian Richard Pryor frequently. The comic duo was seen in a wide range of films together, including Silver Streak and Stir Crazy.

Wilder scored an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor in 1969 for The Producers. He was also nominated with Brooks for an Oscar for best adapted screenplay in 1975 for Young Frankenstein.

Wilder’s career tapered off in the late 1990s because he started to express a distaste for the limelight. However Wilder was on TV’s Will and Grace from 2002-2003 in which he won an Emmy for his guest role.

In 2005 he published a very personal account of his life, Kiss Me Like a Stranger: My Search for Love and Art. Wilder then began to publish novels, including My French Whore, The Woman Who Wouldn’t and Something to Remember You By: A Perilous Romance in 2013.

Tributes for Wilder came within minutes of the news emerging. Brooks tweeted: “One of the truly great talents of our time. He blessed every film we did with his magic and he blessed me with his friendship.”