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Wilder remembered at the Aquarium
By Mark Shanahan
Globe Staff

It’s not one of the Gene Wilder movies everyone talks about — like, say, “Blazing Saddles,’’ “Young Frankenstein,’’ “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,’’ and “Silver Streak’’ — but the folks at the New England Aquarium nonetheless have a special fondness for the 1982 comedy “Hanky Panky.’’ That’s because Wilder, who died this week at the age of 83, spent a few nights filming there, doing chase scenes that included stunt jumps between the Aquarium’s indoor ramps. (In his 2005 memoir, “Kiss Me Like a Stranger,’’ Wilder said shooting “Hanky Panky’’ in Boston was special because he fell in love with his costar, Gilda Radner.) Believe it or not, there are people working at the Aquarium today who were working when Wilder filmed there. One of them is Dan Laughlin, assistant curator for fishes, who told us the actor was “genuinely warm, affable, and very accommodating despite a busy shooting schedule.’’