AKIPRESS.COM - US actor Gene Wilder, remembered by many for his lead role in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, has died at the age of 83, his family has confirmed, BBC reports.

The comic actor also starred in classic films such as The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.

Wilder frequently collaborated with writer and director Mel Brooks as well as stand-up comedian Richard Pryor.

The actor died on Sunday in Stamford, Connecticut, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease, his family said.

"It is almost unbearable for us to contemplate our life without him," his nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said.

Wilder first made waves on Broadway before transitioning to the silver screen for a brief role as a kidnapped undertaker in Bonnie and Clyde (1967).