Tiscali Celebrity

Veteran funnyman GENE WILDER has revealed the inspiration for his beloved YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN character FRAU BLUCHER came from letters written to the father of psychoanalysis, SIGMUND FREUD.

The actor/writer created the cult comedy, which is now a hit stage musical, with Mel Brooks and he has rarely spoken about how he came up with the eccentric characters.

But, in a new interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Wilder reveals the beloved Cloris Leachman character came from a book about Freud.

Wilder, who played Dr. Frankenstein in the film, explains, "I chose the name (Blucher) because I wanted an authentic German name.

"I took out some of the books I had of the letters to and from Sigmund Freud. I saw someone named Blucher had written to him, and I said, 'Well, that's the name.'

"Later on, I heard from about two or three sources, who said 'blucher' refers to a horse going to a factory and being turned to glue. I just thought it was a funny name." (KL/WNWC/LR)

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