Gene Wilder's comedic timing was beyond compare

Gene Wilder is gone, and he will be sorely missed. He was an icon. As a fan, I always admired the air of whimsy and gentle weirdness he brought to his roles. The obvious example will forever be his defining performance in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, where he plays a kind, if gleefully unhinged, candy baron. But you saw it throughout his oeuvre, from his Mel Brooks days down to his work with Richard Pryor.
A central part of those performances, as wonderfully idiosyncratic as they are