Peter Gardner Ostrum ( ; born November 1, 1957) is an American retired veterinarian and former child actor, whose only film role was as Charlie Bucket in the 1971 motion picture ''

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1971 American musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart from a screenplay by Roald Dahl, based on his 1964 novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''. It stars Gene Wilder as chocol ...

''. Ostrum was 12 years old when selected by talent agents for ''Willy Wonka''. Though he enjoyed the experience of shooting the film, he opted not to sign a three-film contract when it was over. After eschewing a career in film and theater, he was reluctant to speak about his one starring role. In 1990, he began an annual tradition of speaking to schoolchildren about the film, and he became a subject of interest again when the 2005 film ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' was released to theaters. Ostrum became interested in his family's horses when he returned from shooting ''Willy Wonka'' and was particularly influenced by the veterinarian who tended to them. Ostrum received a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine The New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University is a statutory college of veterinary medicine at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Founded in 1894, it is the first statutory college of the State University of New Yo ...

in 1984 and retired by late 2023. , he lived in Glenfield, New York with his wife Loretta (), having raised two children.

Personal life

Peter Gardner Ostrum was born in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

on November 1, 1957, to Dean Gardner Ostrum (1922–2014) and Sarepta Mabel (; 1922–2021). He is the youngest of four children. Ostrum was living in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

at age twelve—a city of which he was described as a native by

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

, and later attended North Hunterdon Regional High School in

Hunterdon County, New Jersey Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 census, the county was the state's 4th-least populous county, Ostrum married Loretta M. Lepkowski in . They have two children, Helenka and Leif, with the latter following his father onto the stage as the leading actor in several South Lewis Central School musicals. Ostrum and his wife lived in Glenfield, New York, as recently as 2021.

''Willy Wonka''

Ostrum was in the sixth grade and performing at the

Cleveland Play House Cleveland Play House (CPH) is a professional regional theater company located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1915 and built its own noted theater complex in 1927. Currently the company performs at the Allen Theatre in Playhouse Square ...

children's theater Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA), also youth theatre, theatre for children, and children's theatre is a branch of theatre arts that encompasses all forms of theatre that are attended by or created for younger audiences. It blankets many differe ...

, when he was noticed by

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...

s who were searching nationwide for an actor to portray Charlie Bucket in ''

''. The agents took Polaroid photos of Ostrum and recorded him reading from the original novel, then returned to New York. Two months later, Ostrum was called to New York for a

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. It is typically a secondary or later stage in the audition process. The performer is generally given a scene, or sel ...

where he sang "

My Country, 'Tis of Thee "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", also known as "America", is an American patriotic song whose lyrics were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The song served as one of the ''de facto'' national anthems of the United States (along with songs like " Hai ...

", and a month after that, he was contacted and given ten days to prepare to leave for filming. Ostrum left for

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

on August 10, 1970. In 2000, Ostrum recalled that shooting ''Willy Wonka'' in Munich was "sort of like being an exchange student for five months". Fond memories of his five months in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

included watching the construction of

Olympiapark The Olympiapark (English: Olympic Park) in Munich, Germany, is an Olympic Park which was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics. Located in the Oberwiesenfeld neighborhood of Munich, the Park continues to serve as a venue for cultural, socia ...

, for the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, and working with

Gene Wilder Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman; June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He was mainly known for his comedic roles, including his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Fa ...

and

Jack Albertson Harold "Jack" Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981) was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in vaudeville. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor, which ranks him among a rare stature of 24 ...

. As Ostrum had not worked in film before, Wilder took it upon himself to instruct the young actor in the business. Ostrum would later describe Wilder as a quirky yet gentle gentleman who "treated people with respect and dignity". The bond that developed between the two actors was such that, even though they never saw each other again after filming ''Willy Wonka'', Ostrum described Wilder's 2016 death as "like losing a parent"; in the 2023 documentary '' Remembering Gene Wilder'', Ostrum remembered Wilder being fun to work with, and not speaking down to the child actors. Ostrum was tutored on-set for three hours a day, though sometimes only for 30–60 minutes at a time. Though in his audition he had been assured that his singing would probably be cut and dubbed, it was Ostrum's own singing voice that made it to the screen—albeit significantly cut. In a 2011 interview, Ostrum told the story of how director

Mel Stuart Mel Stuart (born Stuart Solomon; September 2, 1928 – August 9, 2012) was an American film director and producer who often worked with producer David L. Wolper, at whose production firm he worked for 17 years, before going freelance. E ...

gave him a

clapperboard A clapperboard, also known as a dumb slate, clapboard, film clapper, film slate, bertolo clapz, movie slate, or production slate, is a device used in filmmaking, television production and video production to assist in synchronizing of picture ...

from the film, but later asked how he got it because he had forgotten that he had done so; it is Ostrum's only souvenir from the set. After he finished shooting ''Willy Wonka'', the then 13-year-old Ostrum declined

David L. Wolper David Lloyd Wolper (January 11, 1928 – August 10, 2010) was an American television and film producer, responsible for shows such as ''Roots'', '' The Thorn Birds'', and '' North and South'', and the theatrically-released films ''Willy Wonka & th ...

's offer of a three-film contract. The teenager confided in Frawley Becker, his ''Willy Wonka'' dialogue coach, that he turned down the contract to retain "the freedom to choose what he played, and in what picture." (Ostrum and Becker remained friends through at least 1996.) In January 2018, Ostrum said he sometimes misses acting—though not its hurry-up-and-wait nature—but feels he dodged having to make the transition from child- to adult-actor. , Ostrum still received US$8–9 (equivalent to $– in ) of

royalty payment A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...

s about every three months.

Lasting effect

In his senior year, Ostrum was involved in film class and, at the interest of one of his instructors, looked back into theater and acting. After auditioning for, but not landing, several roles (including for Alan Strang in ''Equus'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

), Ostrum decided not to pursue it further. After putting his short film career behind him, Ostrum declined reporters and interviews, preferring not to speak on the subject; "I wanted people to judge me on who I was, not what I’d done". For some time, Ostrum even lied and told people that his brother, and not he, had starred in the film. It took Ostrum years after moving to Lowville, New York, before he told anybody there about his one-time stardom; even his wife Loretta did not know about his role until he warned her about it just before she met his mother. Since 1990, Ostrum has spoken to students at Lowville Academy once a year—on the last day of school, as a special treat—about his experience in ''Willy Wonka'' as well as his work in veterinary medicine. The students chiefly ask about the film's special effects, and Ostrum describes to them "what happened to Veruca, how did Violet blow up like a blueberry, how did Charlie fly with Grandpa Joe, all those types of questions". Ostrum also accepted an invitation to appear at the 2018

Snowtown Film Festival Snowtown is a town located in the Mid North of South Australia 145 km (90 miles) north of Adelaide and lies on the main road and rail routes between Adelaide and Perth – the Augusta Highway and Adelaide-Port Augusta railway line. The ...

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River, about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the t ...

, answering audience questions after a screening of the film; "it’s in my backyard—it's become a popular event in January and I like to support local events." Ostrum said of the 2018 event that he enjoyed re-watching the film, and that people ask him "great questions." Ostrum has been called "the most famous man in Lowville", where the local

video rental shop A video rental shop/store is a physical retail business that rents home videos such as movies, prerecorded TV shows, video game cartridges/discs and other media content. Typically, a rental shop conducts business with customers under conditi ...

twice wore out its

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

copy of ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory''. In the run-up to the release of ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' in 2005, Ostrum garnered a spate of attention that included seeing the film in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

as well as being included in

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's list of "100 Greatest Kid Stars" (at 78th). On the new film, Ostrum quoted fellow ''Willy Wonka'' actor

Julie Dawn Cole Julie Dawn Cole (born 26 October 1957) is an English actress and psychotherapist. She began her career as a child performer in the 1971 film ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'', playing Veruca Salt. Career Cole was raised in Guildford, Su ...

, saying, "It's sort of like going back to a house that you once lived in and it's been redecorated." Ultimately, the media attention was so pervasive that Ostrum stopped answering his phone, and declined further interviews. Of the

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

-led film, he later said that it served to return "the original film back to the forefront again." When interviewed about the production of 2023's ''Wonka'', Ostrum welcomed its expansion of the

fictional universe A fictional universe, also known as an imagined universe or a constructed universe, is the internally consistent fictional setting used in a narrative or a work of art. This concept is most commonly associated with works of fantasy and scie ...

, saying he was looking forward to the

Timothée Chalamet Timothée Hal Chalamet ( ; born December 27, 1995) is an American and French actor. List of awards and nominations received by Timothée Chalamet, His accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to ...

-led

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

. In October 2000, Ostrum and some of his co-stars from the film were scheduled to record an audio commentary for a special edition DVD. In January 2009, Ostrum teamed up with

Dunkin' Donuts DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...

to hand out free rides on the

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

(MBTA) at

South Station South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan I ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

; Ostrum's participation connected the MBTA's

CharlieCard The CharlieCard is a contactless smart card used for fare payment for transportation in the Boston area. It is the primary payment method for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and several regional public transport systems in ...

s he was handing out with his portrayal of Charlie Bucket in ''Willy Wonka''. The promotion also gave out one "golden ticket", worth unlimited rides on MBTA and unlimited Dunkin' Donuts coffee for 2009. In commemoration of the film's 40th anniversary in 2011, he joined ''Willy Wonka'' co-stars

Denise Nickerson Denise Marie Nickerson (April 1, 1957 – July 10, 2019) was an American actress. Starting her career as a child actress, at the age of 13, she starred as Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 film ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory''. She later p ...

( Violet Beauregarde) and

Paris Themmen Paris Themmen (born June 25, 1959) is an American actor who started his career as a child actor. He is best known for his role as Mike Teevee in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory''. After leaving acting, he worked in business as a real esta ...

( Mike Teevee) for a reunion commemorating the 40th anniversary of the film's release in 2011. That year, they were also joined by Julie Dawn Cole (

Veruca Salt Veruca Salt is an American alternative rock band founded in Chicago in 1992 by vocalist-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louise Post, drummer Jim Shapiro, and bassist Steve Lack. They are best known for their first single, " Seether", which was rel ...

) as guests on '' Top Chef: Just Desserts'' to taste contestants' creations.

Veterinary career

Soon after Ostrum returned home from filming ''Willy Wonka'', his family acquired a horse; while the teenaged Ostrum was interested in the horse, it was the animal's veterinarian that left a lasting impression on him: "This person really enjoyed what he did for a living. My father was a lawyer, and I really didn't have a clue what he did all day. But I knew exactly what the veterinarian did. Someone making a living from something he enjoyed so much really sparked my interest." Taking a hiatus from school between high school and college, Ostrum groomed horses and worked at the Delaware Equine Center in Pennsylvania. He contemplated a return to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, and even visited California for a week to "test the waters" there. He ultimately decided to pursue a degree in

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, medical diagnosis, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all a ...

instead, feeling that he would forever berate himself if he did not. In 1984, Ostrum received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from

. By September 2023, Ostrum retired from the Countryside Veterinary Clinic in

Lowville, New York Lowville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Lewis County, New York, United States. The population was 4,888 at the 2020 census,

, where he had worked mainly with horses and cows. He had also worked with ''Veterinarians on Call'', a

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

-funded video series that highlighted the work of large animal veterinarians, and as a

managing partner A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position, traditionally indicating co-ownership of a partnership in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits as " equity partners" ...

with Dairy Health & Management Services.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrum, Peter 1957 births 20th-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American veterinarians Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine alumni living people male actors from Cleveland male actors from Dallas North Hunterdon High School alumni people from Lowville, New York