The Candy Man Can: These Stunning Chocolate Tributes Pay Homage To The Late Gene Wilder

Gene Wilder, funnyman and iconic actor best known for his role as the original Willy Wonka, died yesterday at age 83 of complications from Alzheimer's at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. Tributes of the late great star are already popping up, and unsurprisingly, some of them are edible.

A Welsh artist released an unbelievable stop-motion video of a portrait of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, being painted entirely from chocolate: a fitting (and sweet) tribute.

"No words are needed here, the world has lost another of it's [sic] greats...watch as the Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory star is created using nothing but chocolate," Nathan Wyburn wrote in the description of his video that was released yesterday shortly after the comedic actor's death was announced.

Wyburn is known for his artwork made out of foods such as chocolate, pasta, and pizza — a talent he made use of as a finalist on Britain's Got Talent.  The resulting portrait, as you can see below, is stunningly lifelike, and Wyburn said he worked on the creation for almost four straight hours.

In a strange coincidence, the Australian baking competition reality TV show, Zumbo's Just Dessert, will be airing an episode tonight featuring a floating Willy Wonka hat replica made entirely out of chocolate. The episode was taped before Wilder died. The host of the show, Adriano Zumbo, has a tattoo of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka on his forearm.