The Woman Who Played Veruca Salt Wrote a Book About Playing Veruca Salt, and It Sounds Pretty Great

This week in Mark Frauenfelder Finds the Best Shit, he’s tracked down a memoir written by Julie Dawn Cole, the actress who played the Girl Who Had it All But Never Even Knew It, Veruca Salt, in the ~~good~~ original Willy Wonka.

The book, published in July of 2011, is called I Want it Now! A Memoir of Life on the Set of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

, and it has great reviews on Amazon. Best of all, if you have a Kindle (or a way to read Kindle stuff, which isn’t that hard, Google is your friend), it’s free!

The description sounds excellent:

Julie Dawn Cole has written an enchanting and richly illustrated memoir that offers a rare look behind the stage curtain to this ageless film. Splendidly illustrated with personal letters, never-seen-before photographs and documents; her mesmerizing story chronicles the entire production experience and tells of the remarkable journey of how she became known worldwide as a really bad egg. Filled with countless funny and touching memories, her story takes readers behind-the-scenes of Willy Wonka and the resulting coming of age journey that brought the cast together again after nearly a quarter century. I Want it Now takes readers beyond the world of pure imagination and behind the scenes to this universally cherished motion picture. A true-to-life Charlie Bucket tale, Julie’s story is unforgettable…

I’ll take it!

One tidbit that’s shared in the comments: Cole says that Gene Wilder was “kind” and “well-liked”. That makes me happy because he seems wonderful, and I’m in love with his romance with Gilda Radner. I hope one of you dear, talented Jezebel readers will do the heavy lifting research and then write a movie about them. Do not worry, it’ll be worth your while, I will purchase at least three tickets to opening night.

Oh, also, the kid who played Charlie grew up to be a large animal vet and spends his time saving horses and basically being exactly the person you’d want Charlie Bucket to grow into.