Happy Birthday, Gene Wilder

To celebrate the birthdays of Gene Wilder (80 today) and Johnny Depp (50 this week), Yahoo! staged a little Wonk-off, pitting Wilder's and Depp's portrayals of Willy Wonka against one another.

Of course, Gene Wilder comes out on top.  Mostly because Depp's is so damn weird. But also because Wilder's Wonka is so awesome -- hard to figure out, but with a good heart.

The Wonk-off reminded me that Gene Wilder is a Lymphoma survivor -- he's been in remission for years thanks to a stem cell transplant.

I wrote about Wilder in Lympho Bob about a month after I was diagnosed. He was one of those people whose story gave me hope. (Unfortunately, the link from the blog post, to a video for an interview with Wilder, doesn't work anymore.)

And in addition to being a survivor himself, Wilder has long been a cancer advocate, helping to found Gilda's Club, in honor of his wife Gilda Radner.

So, in honor of his birthday, some videos of Gene Wilder that actually work. That first video interview made me feel a little better five years ago. These videos make me feel good all the time.