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I was lucky enough to know Gene Wilder. That’s not to boast but to affirm a tired old cliché: to know him was to love him. He was surprisingly reserved, but once comfortable with you, he readily displayed that trademark twinkle. His keen wit and intelligence made him excellent company, and unlike some actors, he listened as intently as he spoke.

In the 1930s, when so many women in America were still relegated to the kitchen and nursery, one actress in Hollywood became a star playing independent women who worked for a living, competing with men in a man’s world. Her name was Jean Arthur.

Buster became part of his parents’ act when he was just three, and the routine he did with his father made full use of the the tiny young boy’s uncanny flexibility. It involved young Buster goading his Dad to the point where the older man would knock the kid around the stage, or even throw him off it. A luggage handle was sown into young Buster’s costume to make it easier to toss him. The act was often billed as “The Little Boy Who Can’t Be Damaged.”

It’s a familiar story: a hugely talented performer — actor, comedian, musician- rockets to fame and discovers that their on-stage life is the only time they feel totally happy, totally free.

There are certain stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age who over time fade from our collective consciousness like an old photograph. Ann Sheridan is a divine case in point. Only the most serious movie buff is likely to remember her or appreciate her contribution to film, which was considerable.

Any list of the twentieth century’s finest actors is incomplete without Alec Guinness. Yet it’s a name some might overlook because there was never anything remotely showy — or even particularly magnetic — about him.

In 1956, Grace Kelly ascended from Hollywood royalty to the real thing. Henceforth, she’d be called Her Serene Highness, Princess Grace Of Monaco. Her story was right out of a fairy tale, only without the “happily ever after” part.

Any serious, discriminating film fan should know the work of Elia Kazan, a brilliant director of stage and screen who helped transform acting — and the movies themselves — in the mid-twentieth century.

“Citizen Kane” is probably the one film that’s been so glorifed over the years that many people roll their eyes at its very mention.  After all, just who under 40 hasn’t seen it? Even if you haven’t, you’re not likely to admit it.