Following the announcement that Gene Wilder died earlier this month of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, James Corden paid tribute to the actor during the opening monologue of The Late Late Show.
The host began Monday night’s episode by telling the story of the time he met Wilder, recalling that he came to a play Corden was in soon after moving to New York and sat backstage with him afterward. “If anyone else came backstage, they’d stay for five, six, 10 minutes tops — he sat in my room for half an hour,” he said. “We sat on this couch, and I’ll never forget it as long as I live. The thing I remember — I was thinking about it today — was all he really wanted to talk about was how my wife and son were adjusting in New York, and were we happy, and was it fun? It was amazing.”
Corden then revealed that he had tried to persuade Wilder to appear on the first episode of The Late Late Show — which included a Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory bit — but that he had refused him with an email that embodied everything Wilder was as a person.
Dearest James,
I don’t do or go where you are hoping, but I’ll be looking for you.
With my love,
Gene
“In the history of people saying no to things, it couldn’t have been nicer,” Corden said. “Even the way he said no was so poetic. Even his emails sounded somehow like Willy Wonka.”
Watch the full clip below.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Melinda French Gates Is Going It Alone
- What to Do if You Can’t Afford Your Medications
- How to Buy Groceries Without Breaking the Bank
- Sienna Miller Is the Reason to Watch Horizon
- Why So Many Bitcoin Mining Companies Are Pivoting to AI
- The 15 Best Movies to Watch on a Plane
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Megan McCluskey at [email protected]