Via RollingStone.com. Denise Nickerson, who played the extremely unlikeable Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," has passed away at the age of 62.
She had suffered a “major medical emergency” at home on Monday. Nickerson was admitted to the intensive unit of a Colorado hospital, where doctors also discovered that she had aspirated and developed pneumonia.
She was the scene stealer in "Willy Wonka" as the mean spirited, gum chewing, Violet Beauregarde. Instead of winning the lifetime supply of chocolate, she ended up looking like a giant blueberry after chewing the experimental, "3 Course Dinner" gum. She would continue acting in TV through the 70's on shows like "The Brady Bunch" and "The Electric Company."
Her family announced her passing on her Facebook page with the simple message, "She's gone."