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Blazing Saddles-legend and original Willy Wonka, Gene Wilder, passed away while listening to Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
His family announced yesterday that Wilder had died aged 83 earlier in the month from complications linked to Alzheimer's disease.
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In a statement released by nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman, the actor died "holding out hands with the same tenderness and love he exhibited as long as I can remember.
"As our hands clutched and he performed one last breath, the music speaker which was set to random, began to blare out one of his favourites: Ella Fitzgerald.
He continued: "There is a picture of he and Ella meeting at a London Bistro some years ago that are among each our cherished possessions. She was singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow as he was taken away."
Wilder in 1977. Credit: Rex
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The statement concluded with one is his most memorable lines in Willy Wonka from 1971: "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams," it read.
While principally known for bringing Roald Dahl's character invention to life on the big screen, Wilder also starred in classic like The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Stir Crazy and See No Evil, Hear No Evil.
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