'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory' Star Denise Nickerson Reportedly Taken Off Life Support
“Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” star Denise Nickerson, 62, has been taken off life support, according to her family.
Nickerson is most recognized for her role as Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
One of the most iconic scenes from the movies features Nickerson’s character boldly taking a piece of experimental gum — despite the slightly-mad candy maker’s warnings — and plumping up to become a human/blueberry hybrid.
From 1972 to 1973, Nickerson also regularly starred on the popular children’s television show “The Electric Company,” as a member of the five-member band the Short Circus.
According to TMZ, her child acting career ended in 1978 and she later became a nurse.
In June 2018, she suffered from a stroke and needed to be treated in the ICU. She recovered, but left the hospital with a pacemaker and needed to be fed through a feeding tube.
Nickerson’s family started a crowdfunding campaign and even offered to sell signed memorabilia to help cover the costs of the medical treatments. The fundraiser ultimately raised $2,500 — $1,000 more than the goal originally set.
Almost a year after recovering from the stroke, her only son Josh Nickerson said he went to check on his mother and discovered she had gotten “into her medicines and took as much as she could.”
Josh quickly rushed his mother to the emergency room. While there, she contracted pneumonia and suffered form a massive seizure which landed her on life support.
After two days in the hospital in a coma-like state, Josh and his wife Jasmine realized that the machines were only making her more uncomfortable.
They said they decided to stop administering further medical treatment early on July 10, 2019.
“We are heartbroken and reliving a grief we’ve lived every single day since she had the stroke over a year ago,” they wrote on the GoFundMe page, which will help fund Nickerson’s final wishes to be cremated and turned into glass art.
“We don’t know how much time she has,” they continued. “It could be minutes. It could be hours. But no matter what, she’s already gone. We are sitting here with her just trying to keep her comfortable and let her know it’s okay.”
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