What occurred to Charlie from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Manufacturing facility?

Peter Ostrum was born in Dallas, Texas in 1957, however spent a lot of his childhood in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in Cleveland that he started performing professionally, showing in youngsters’s theater productions on the Cleveland Play Home. The story goes that expertise scouts at Paramount within the Seventies had been scouring youngsters’s theaters for potential actors to play the 5 central youngsters in a movie adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel, “Charlie and the chocolate manufacturing facility.

Ostrum, 12, was invited to pose for some Polaroids and was recorded studying passages from Dahl’s e-book right into a tape recorder. He additionally sang “My Nation ‘Tis of Thee” as proof of his singing talents. The footage and recordings had been then flown to New York and proven to the movie’s producers. Ostrum was excellent and beat out many, many different children for the function of Charlie Bucket. His stage expertise gave him a bonus. “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (retitled to spotlight the zany chocolatier performed by Gene Wilder) was filmed in Germany within the late Seventies and launched in the USA on June 30, 1971.

“Willy Wonka” acquired important acclaim. Roger Ebert gave it four starsevaluating it favorably to the “Wizard of Oz”. Nevertheless, it was not a smash hit on the cinema and truly fell into obscurity for a few years. It wasn’t till Paramount’s distribution rights expired and Warner Bros. purchased the movie within the Eighties because it grew to become extra in style. WB aired “Willy Wonka” extensively on tv and, when the VHS market exploded, distributed the movie extensively. A brand new era found it and it grew to become a preferred cult.

Regardless that it counts as an achievement, 12-year-old Peter Ostrum in all probability wasn’t pleased that his movie failed on the field workplace. Ostrum has given numerous interviews about his days on “Willy Wonka.” and the way his profession ended whereas he was nonetheless in highschool.

In an interview with NPR in 2000Ostrum stated engaged on “Willy Wonka” was like being an change pupil, since he needed to proceed his research whereas dwelling in Germany for about three months. He was even capable of witness the primary building work on the Olympic Park, constructed for the subsequent Olympic Video games in 1972. He saved one of many clapperboards from the movie as a memento. General, filming “Willy Wonka” was an excellent time. Within the 2023 documentary “Remembering Gene Wilder,” Ostrum talked about how a lot enjoyable working with Wilder was, as he took the difficulty to speak to the kid actors and deal with them like skilled colleagues.

Earlier than its launch, “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” looked like a potential hit for Paramount (a strange thought, considering how strange the film was). Ostrum carried the movie so effectively that Paramount’s David L. Wolper provided him a three-picture deal, considering he had discovered a bankable new youngster star. Ostrum, nevertheless, refused the supply. Even at his age, he understood that contracts locked actors into sure tasks and most well-liked the thought of ​​selecting which movies he labored on and when. Ostrum, quite the opposite, returned to high school to check.

Ostrum continued to audition for stage roles, however he by no means appeared to have any success. “Willy Wonka” was type of a bomb, so it didn’t do a lot for his profession. By the point Ostrum was round 17 and no different main alternatives introduced themselves, he retired from performing. Ostrum disliked being within the highlight, refused many interviews and shunned “Willy Wonka”, preferring to speak about different issues. For years, he even advised those that it wasn’t him in “Willy Wonka,” however his brother. Within the NPR interview, Ostrum admitted that he even saved his function a secret from his spouse. It wasn’t till he was about to fulfill his spouse’s mom for the primary time that he introduced it up. He wanted a normal job.

After Ostrum retired from performing, he pursued a brand new ardour: veterinary medication. Ostrum’s household purchased a horse when he was nonetheless a teen and the younger man was very impressed by the veterinarian who got here to take care of the animal. After highschool, Ostrum took a 12 months off and moved to Pennsylvania to use for a job on the Delaware Equine Heart, which concerned grooming horses. Ostrum was at a crossroads; he may return to California and pursue his performing profession as a younger grownup, or he may go to high school and turn into a veterinarian. He determined to do the latter. In 1984, he earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine from Cornell.

Dr. Ostrum spent most of his medical profession treating cows and horses on the Countryside Veterinary Clinic in New York. Now 67 years outdated, Ostrum has been retired for a 12 months. He has lengthy cared about animals and lives his true ardour. He has two youngsters along with his spouse, Loretta.

Over time, Dr. Ostrum has often acknowledged his presence in “Willy Wonka within the Chocolate Manufacturing facility.” In 2013, him and some of his “Wonka” co-stars appeared as a choose on an episode of “High Chef: Simply Desserts”. He has spoken on a number of DVD editions of “Willy Wonka,” making his face extra seen now that the movie has turn into a cult phenomenon. He generally leverages his fame into profitable promotional presents; he as soon as helped Dunkin’ Donuts with a promotion involving free prepare passes in Massachusetts.

It appears Dr. Ostrum at all times lived the life he needed. And people occasional $10 royalty checks will at all times remind him of that film he made when he was 12.