Gene Wilder dead: Mel Brooks tells the brilliant story of how he first met the Young Frankenstein actor

"He said, 'Why are they laughing at me?’ I said, ‘Look in the mirror. Blame it on God.’"

Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder shared a wonderful relationship, both on-screen and off, the pair working on such iconic films as The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein.

Promoting his special show at Radio City Music Hall on Jimmy Fallon, the conversation soon moved onto the late Wilder and an upcoming book on the making of Young Frankenstein, the host asking about their first meeting.

“I met him when my late wife Anne Bancroft was doing Mother Courage,” the director told Fallon. “Gene was in it, he was the chaplain.”

“He kept saying, ‘Why are they laughing?’ Because the chaplain is a great part, it’s sad and funny, it’s touching and it can be amusing. So he said, ‘They’re always laughing at me? Why are they laughing at me?’ I said, ‘Look in the mirror. Blame it on God.’”

Thus, one of the greatest comedic duos of the 20th contrary was born. Brooks’ also spoke about the creation of Young Frankenstein, detailing how Wilder came up with the idea and how they went about casting.

On James Corden’s The Late Late Show, the host paid tribute to the late Wilder, sharing a wonderful anecdote about the time Wilder rejected his advances to appear on the program.