The Carolyn Jackson Collection, no. 19 - Interview with Gene Wilder

Duration: 0:06:36

Year Published: 1976

Format: 16mm

Sound: sound

Description: Austin television personality Carolyn Jackson interviews Gene Wilder at the release of his latest film, Silver Streak. Wilder discusses his comedic talent, claiming that it is monumentally difficult to make people laugh, and that he has worked at it since he was very young. He explains that he was encouraged to pursue comedy by his ability to make his ailing mother laugh. Jackson asks Wilder about the various stunts in the film and Wilder describes those he performed, those that required a stunt double, and the ones that frightened him most. Wilder mentions the actors he admires - Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, and Tyrone Power - and how his part in Silver Streak is reminiscent of the type of role Cary Grant might play. Carolyn Jackson was on the air in Austin as a daytime lifestyle show host during the late 1960s and 1970s. She began her broadcast career when she joined KTBC in 1968 as the host of Women’s World, which was later renamed The Carolyn Jackson Show. In the late 1970s, Jackson moved the show to KTVV (now NBC affiliate KXAN.) These excerpts represent a small sample of Jackson’s work. The bulk of her collection is made up of interviews with Texas personalities or from Hollywood film release press junkets, but the collection also includes feature stories, outtakes, and behind the scenes clips.