Willy Wonka and Hitler

It's kind of fun to use IMDb to investigate the casts of classic movies and to see what else the cast did. I did this for "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". The actor that played Charlie didn't do much else -- he's now a veterinarian. Gene Wilder we don't need to discuss. Several of the cast were obviously accomplished character actors: Jack Albertson, Roy Kinnear, even Julie Dawn Cole (greedy Veruca Salt), who had a long career on British TV. More fun: Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregarde, the blueberry girl) was on The Electric Company and Dark Shadows.

But my favorite unexpected connection is Gunter Meisner, who played Slugworth. Meisner appeared as Der Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, in several productions, perhaps most notably The Winds of War in 1983. From a character in a classic kid's movie to portraying one of the most evil human beings in history: that's range.