In March 2007, Ms. magazine founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin interviewed comic legend Gene Wilder, whose debut novel My French Whore was released that month, at the 92nd Street Y for our Funny People series. Read a recap of the evening here, and even better, listen to the full program above. Highlights include the interesting story that he agreed to play the part of Willy Wonka only on the condition that he get to introduce the character in a certain way: appearing before the townspeople for the first time, Wonka hobbles out with a cane, pretends to stumble, and goes into an acrobatic forward somersault. He explained that the change was critical in setting up the character, because “from that point on, you don’t know whether I’m lying or telling the truth.”

You can also download the MP3. [27 MB]
[Right-click and select "Save Target As:" or equivalent to download.]

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