View source for Mel Brooks

{{Short description|American filmmaker, actor, comedian, and songwriter (born 1926)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Mel Brooks
| image              = MelBrooksApr10.jpg
| caption            = Brooks in 2010
| birth_name         = Melvin James Kaminsky
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1926|6|28}}
| birth_place        = [[Brooklyn, New York]], U.S.
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| alma_mater         = [[Virginia Military Institute]]
| occupation         = {{hlist|Filmmaker|comedian|actor|playwright|songwriter}}
| years_active       = 1949–present
| works              = [[Mel Brooks on screen and stage|Full list]]
| style              = {{hlist||[[Blue comedy]]|[[clean comedy]]|[[observational comedy]]|[[sexual comedy]]|musical comedy|[[satire]]|[[wit]]|[[wordplay]]}}
| spouse             = {{unbulleted list|{{Marriage|Florence Baum|1953|1962|reason=divorced}}|{{Marriage|[[Anne Bancroft]]|1964|2005|reason=d}}}}
| children           = 4, including [[Max Brooks|Max]]
| awards             = [[List of awards and nominations received by Mel Brooks|Full list]]
| module             = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
| allegiance         = United States
| branch             = [[United States Army]]
| branch_label       = Branch
| serviceyears_label = Service&nbsp;years
| serviceyears       = 1944–1946
| rank               = [[Corporal]]
| unit               = {{plainlist|
* [[78th Infantry Division (United States)|78th Infantry Division]],
* 1104th Engineer Combat Battalion,
* [[Special Services (entertainment)|Special Services]]}}
| battles            = [[World War II]]
| battles_label      = War
}}
}}
'''Melvin James Brooks''' ({{né|'''Kaminsky'''}}; born June 28, 1926) is an American filmmaker, comedian, actor and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad [[farce]]s and [[parodies]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/history-of-the-world-part-ii-series-hulu-mel-brooks-nick-kroll-wanda-sykes-1235091840/|title=History of the World Part II Series|quotation=Brooks' comedy films are consistently ranked among the best of all time.|magazine=Variety|date=October 18, 2021|access-date=December 20, 2021}}</ref> A recipient of [[List of awards and nominations received by Mel Brooks|numerous accolades]], he is one of 27 entertainers to win the [[EGOT]], which includes an [[Emmy]], a [[Grammy]], an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]], and a [[Tony Awards|Tony]]. He received a [[Kennedy Center Honor]] in 2009, a [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] star in 2010, the [[AFI Life Achievement Award]] in 2013, a [[British Film Institute Fellowship]] in 2015, a [[National Medal of Arts]] in 2016, a [[BAFTA Fellowship]] in 2017, and an [[Honorary Academy Award]] in 2024.

Brooks began his career as a comic and a writer for [[Sid Caesar]]'s variety show ''[[Your Show of Shows]]'' (1950–1954). There, he worked with [[Neil Simon]], [[Woody Allen]], [[Larry Gelbart]], and [[Carl Reiner]]. With Reiner, he co-created the comedy sketch "[[The 2000 Year Old Man]]" and released several comedy albums, starting with ''[[2000 Year Old Man#Recordings and performances|2000 Year Old Man]]'' in 1960. Brooks received five nominations for the [[Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album]] finally winning in 1999. With [[Buck Henry]], he created the hit satirical spy [[NBC]] [[television comedy]] series ''[[Get Smart]]'' (1965–1970).

Brooks won the [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay]] for ''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]'' (1967). He then rose to prominence directing a string of successful comedy films such as ''[[The Twelve Chairs (1970 film)|The Twelve Chairs]]'' (1970), ''[[Blazing Saddles]]'' (1974), ''[[Young Frankenstein]]'' (1974), ''[[Silent Movie]]'' (1976), and ''[[High Anxiety]]'' (1977). Later, Brooks made ''[[History of the World, Part I]]'' (1981), ''[[Spaceballs]]'' (1987),  ''[[Life Stinks]]'' (1991), ''[[Robin Hood: Men in Tights]]'' (1993), and ''[[Dracula: Dead and Loving It]]'' (1995).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/toronto-star/20161021/281998966991887|title=Just give me the premise and get out of the way|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date= October 21, 2016|first= Josh|last= Rottenberg|via=Toronto Star}}</ref> A [[The Producers (musical)|musical adaptation]] of his first film, ''The Producers'', ran on Broadway from 2001 to 2007 and earned Brooks three [[Tony Awards]]. The project was remade into a [[The Producers (2005 film)|musical film in 2005]]. He wrote and produced the [[Hulu]] series ''[[History of the World, Part II]]'' (2023).

Brooks was married to actress [[Anne Bancroft]] from 1964 until her death in 2005. Their son [[Max Brooks]] is an actor and author, known for his novel ''[[World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War]]'' (2006). In 2021, Mel Brooks published his memoir titled ''All About Me!''. Three of his films are included on the [[American Film Institute]]'s list of the [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs|top 100 comedy films of the past 100 years (1900–2000)]], all of which were ranked in the top 15: ''Blazing Saddles'' at number 6, ''The Producers'' at number 11, and ''Young Frankenstein'' at number 13.

== Early life, family and education ==
[[File:Mel-brooks-yearbook-photo.jpg|thumb|left|Brooks, then known as Melvin Kaminsky, in the 1944 Eastern District High yearbook]]
Brooks was born Melvin James Kaminsky ({{langx|yi|מעלװין זשאַמעס קאַמינסקי}})<ref name= "independent.co.uk/a6759956">{{cite news |last1= Pringle |first1=Gill |title=Mel Brooks the comic genius says 'retirement is not an option' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/mel-brooks-the-comic-genius-and-risktaking-director-on-how-retirement-is-not-an-option-and-faking-happiness-woody-allen-a6759956.html |access-date= September 29, 2022 |newspaper= [[The Independent]] |date=December 4, 2015}}</ref> on a [[tenement]] kitchen table on June 28, 1926, at 515 Powell Street<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.yahoo.com/news/mel-brooks-talks-funny-113038582--politics.html | title= Mel Brooks Won't Talk Dirty| first= Alex | last= Belth| website= yahoo.com| date= February 16, 2014 | accessdate= November 17, 2025}}</ref> in [[Brownsville, Brooklyn]]<ref name="nydailynews/brooks-book-20190331"/> to Katie ({{née|Brookman}}; {{langx|yi|קייט ברוקמאַן קאַמינסקי}}) and Max Kaminsky ({{langx|yi|מאַקס קאַמינסקי}}).<ref name="Susskind-JewishSon-19702">{{cite episode|url=http://jewishjournal.com/culture/arts/67373/|title=How to be a Jewish Son{{snd}}or{{snd}}My Son the Success!|year=1970|series=[[David Susskind Show]]|season=12|number= 7|access-date=January 26, 2014}}</ref> He grew up in [[Williamsburg, Brooklyn]] on 365 South 3rd Street. His father's family were [[History of the Jews in Gdańsk|German Jews from Danzig]] (present-day [[Gdańsk]], Poland). His mother was a [[Ukrainian Jewish]] immigrant from [[Kyiv]], in the [[Pale of Settlement]] of the [[Russian Empire]] (present-day Ukraine).<ref name="1975/brooks-playboy"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-Features/The-cinematic-Zionism-of-Mel-Brooks|title=The cinematic Zionism of Mel Brooks|date=August 12, 2012|newspaper= The Jerusalem Post|access-date=January 31, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jewishjournal.com/mobile_20111212/154457/shmoozing-with-mel-brooks-the-88-year-old-man/|title= Shmoozing with Mel Brooks, the 88-year-old man|last=Berrin|first= Danielle|date=January 29, 2015|website=[[The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles]]|access-date= June 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejc.com/on-this-day-mel-brooks-is-born-1.24406|title=On this day: Mel Brooks is born|last=Weitzmann|first=Deborah|date=June 28, 2011|website=The Jewish Chronicle|access-date=June 26, 2019|archive-date=August 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819150351/https://www.thejc.com/on-this-day-mel-brooks-is-born-1.24406|url-status=dead}}</ref> His parents married in 1916. He had three older brothers: Irving, Lenny, and Bernie.<ref name="Geffen2">{{cite AV media|title=Mel Brooks Live at the Geffen|date=January 31, 2015|people=Brooks, Mel|publisher= Brooksfilms; distributed by [[Home Box Office]]|location=Los Angeles|medium=Television production}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Citation|last= Wynn| first= Samuel |title=Mel Brooks Stand Up{{snd}}Mel Brooks Live at the Geffen Stand Up Show|date= October 11, 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67kWAve2NM8| access-date= December 6, 2018| via= YouTube}}</ref> His father died of [[tuberculosis]] of the kidney<ref name="1975/brooks-playboy"/> at 34 when Brooks was two years old.<ref>{{cite book | last=Brooks | first=M. | title=All about Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business | publisher=Random House Publishing Group | year=2021 | isbn= 978-0-593-15911-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5MRLEAAAQBAJ | access-date= March 1, 2022 | page=5| via= Google Books}}</ref> He has said of his father's death, "There's an outrage there. I may be angry at God, or at the world, for that. And I'm sure a lot of my comedy is based on anger and hostility. Growing up in Williamsburg, I learned to clothe it in comedy to spare myself problems—like a punch in the face."<ref name="Geffen2" /><ref name=":1" />

Brooks was a small, sickly boy, who often was bullied and teased by his classmates because of his size.<ref name="brookslyn/Adelina1980/Brooks">{{cite news |last1=Bauer |first1=Jerry |title=Interview: Mel Brooks |url=http://www.brookslyn.com/print/Adelina1980/Adelina1980.php/kidney |access-date=September 28, 2022 |work=[[Adelina Magazine]] |date= February 1980 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722103811/http://www.brookslyn.com/print/Adelina1980/Adelina1980.php/kidney |archive-date=July 22, 2013 |location=Rome |via=Brookslyn}}</ref> At age nine, he saw ''[[Anything Goes]]'' with [[William Gaxton]], [[Ethel Merman]], and [[Victor Moore]] at the [[Alvin Theater]].<ref name="cnn/mel-brooks-qa">{{cite news |last1=Zemler |first1=Emily |title=Mel Brooks: A comedic torch to light the way |url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/05/20/showbiz/mel-brooks-qa |access-date=September 29, 2022 |agency=[[CNN]] |date=May 20, 2013}}</ref> After the show, he told his uncle that he was not going to work in the [[Garment District, Manhattan|garment district]] like everyone else, but instead wanted to go into show business.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqsh-wiyNBU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/oqsh-wiyNBU| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Is Jerrod Carmichael the Funniest In His Family?|date=September 25, 2015|website=The Late Late Show with James Corden|publisher=[[CBS]]|access-date=May 12, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

When Brooks was 14, he gained employment as a [[Swimming pool|pool-side]] [[tummler]] (entertainer) at the Butler Lodge,<ref name="Butler Lodge">
*{{cite web |author1=Tichnor Brothers Postcard Collection |title=Butler Lodge, Hurleyville, N. Y. |url=https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:3r076872h |website=[[Digital Commonwealth]] |publisher=[[Boston Public Library]] |access-date=September 29, 2022 }}
*{{cite web |last1=Cohen |first1= Pincus |title=The Butler Lodge, Luzon Station, Hurleyville, N.Y. |url=https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:m04035822 |website=The Catskills Institute |publisher= [[Northeastern University]] |access-date=September 29, 2022}}
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</ref> a second-rate [[Borscht Belt]] hotel, where he met 18-year-old [[Sid Caesar]].<ref name="nydailynews/brooks-book-20190331"/> Brooks kept his guests amused with his crazy antics. In a ''[[Playboy]]'' interview, he explained that one day he stood at the edge of a diving board wearing a [[bowler hat|derby]] and a large alpaca overcoat with two suitcases full of rocks, and then announced: "Business is terrible! I can't go on!" before jumping, fully clothed, into the pool.<ref name="nydailynews/brooks-book-20190331">{{cite news |last1=Cutler |first1=Jacqueline |title=Mel Brooks leaves audiences laughing — but not always the people he works with |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-mel-brooks-book-20190331-asdb4q2lmrca5fssa6fkt3ya7i-story.html |access-date=September 29, 2022 |work=[[New York Daily News]] |date=March 31, 2019}}</ref><ref name="1975/brooks-playboy"/>

Brooks was taught by [[Buddy Rich]], who had also grown up in Williamsburg, how to play the drums, and started to earn money as a musician when he was 14.<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882">{{cite book|last=Wakeman|first=John|title=World Film Directors, 1945–1985|volume=2|publisher=The H.W. Wilson Company|year=1988|pages=162–7|isbn= 978-0-824-20763-2}}</ref> During his time as a drummer, he was given his first opportunity as a comedian at the age of 16, filling in for an ill emcee. During his teens, he changed his name to Melvin Brooks,<ref name="theguardian/2021/dec/04/mel-brooks">{{cite news |last1= Freeman |first1=Hadley |title=Mel Brooks on losing the loves of his life: 'People know how good Carl Reiner was, but not how great' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/dec/04/mel-brooks-on-losing-the-loves-of-his-life-people-know-how-good-carl-reiner-was-but-not-how-great |access-date= September 27, 2022 |newspaper= [[The Guardian]] |date= December 4, 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode | credits= Brooks, Mel; Kimmel, Jimmy | date= May 3, 2013 | series=[[Jimmy Kimmel Live]]| number= 375 | season= 10| location= Los Angeles | publisher= Jackhole Productions; distributed by ABC and Chum Television}}</ref> influenced by his mother's maiden name Brookman, after being confused with trumpeter [[Max Kaminsky (musician)|Max Kaminsky]].<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/> Brooks graduated from [[Eastern District High School]] in Williamsburg in January 1944<ref name="americanfilm/2013/6/cover">{{cite news |title=25 fun and fascinating facts about Mel Brooks |url=http://americanfilm.afi.com/issue/2013/6/cover-story |access-date=September 28, 2022 |website= afi.com| publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |date=June 2013}}</ref> and intended to follow his older brother and enroll in [[Brooklyn College]] to study psychology.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/brooklynstateofm00mich|url-access= registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/brooklynstateofm00mich/page/114 114]|title=Brooklyn: A State of Mind|last1=Robbins|first1=Michael W.|last2=Palitz|first2=Wendy| year= 2001| publisher=[[Workman Publishing Company]]|access-date= February 17, 2013| isbn= 978-0761116356}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ha9QCwAAQBAJ&q=mel+brooks+%22brooklyn+college%22&pg=PA101 |title = The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific|isbn = 978-0385540285|last1 = Bianculli|first1 = David|year=2016| publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing }}</ref>

===1944–1946: World War II service===
In early 1944 in his senior year in high school, Brooks was recruited to take the [[Army General Classification Test]], a [[Stanford–Binet]]-type [[Intelligence quotient|IQ test]].<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks">{{cite web |last1=Brooks |first1=Mel |title=When Mel Brooks Learned Not to 'Shortcut' the Jam |url=https://www.historynet.com/mel-brooks-goes-to-war/ |website= [[HistoryNet]] |access-date= September 26, 2022 |date=April 28, 2022}}</ref> He received high scores and was sent to the [[Army Specialized Training Program]] at the [[Virginia Military Institute]] to be taught [[electrical engineering]], horse riding, and [[saber]] fighting.<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/><ref name="defense.gov/2882521">{{cite web |last1=Vergun |first1=David |title=Actor, Comedian Mel Brooks Served in Army in World War II |url=https://www.war.gov/News/Feature-Stories/Story/Article/2882521/actor-comedian-mel-brooks-served-in-army-in-world-war-ii/ |website= war.gov| publisher= [[U.S. Department of Defense]] |access-date=September 26, 2022 |date=December 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name=ww2>{{cite book|title=All About Me!|publisher=Century|year= 2021|pages=58–73|last= Brooks|first=Mel|author-link=Mel Brooks|isbn=978-1-529-13507-7}}</ref> In 1944, Brooks was drafted into the [[US Army]].<ref name= "defense.gov/2882521"/> Twelve weeks later, when he turned 18, he officially joined the Army<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/> at [[Fort Dix]],<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/> [[New Jersey]], induction center, and was sent to the [[Field Artillery Replacement Training Center]] at [[Fort Sill, Oklahoma]], for [[basic training|basic]] and radio operator training.<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=90801438 |title=Mel Brooks Blazes Wacky Trail|date=May 24, 2008|work=Weekend Edition Saturday|publisher=NPR|access-date=May 4, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/mel-brooks-spent-wwii-mines.html|title=One of the Funniest Men Alive, Mel Brooks Spent WWII Clearing Land Mines|last=Edwards|first=Jeff|date=December 24, 2015|website= War History Online|language=en|access-date=December 10, 2018}}</ref><ref name=ww2/>

Brooks was then sent back to Fort Dix for overseas assignment.<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/> Brooks says he boarded {{SS|Sea Owl}} at the [[Brooklyn Navy Yard]] around February 15, 1945.<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/> A reporter for the [[United States Department of Defense]] writes that Brooks arrived in France in November 1944, and later in Belgium, serving with the [[78th Infantry Division (United States)|78th&nbsp;Infantry Division]] as a [[Forward observers in the U.S. military|forward artillery observer]].<ref name="defense.gov/2882521"/> In December 1944, a short while later, Brooks was transferred to the 1104th&nbsp;[[Engineer Combat Battalion]] as a [[combat engineer]], participating in the [[Battle of the Bulge]].<ref name=ww2/><ref name="defense.gov/2882521"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Elhassan |first1=Khalid |title=Many Don't Know Mel Brooks was a WWII Warrior |url=https://historycollection.com/many-dont-know-mel-brooks-was-a-wwii-warrior/ |website=History Collection |access-date=September 26, 2022 |date=July 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Brooks, Mel, Cpl |url=https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=BattleMemoryExt&ID=170814 |website= army.togetherweserved.com |access-date=September 26, 2022}}</ref> Of his experience there, Brooks noted:<blockquote>[[File:441207-O-D0439-001.jpg|thumb|Brooks during World War II in Europe]] Along the roadside, you'd see bodies wrapped up in mattress covers and stacked in a ditch, and those would be Americans, that could be me. I sang all the time ... I never wanted to think about it ... Death is the enemy of everyone, and even though you hate Nazis, death is more of an enemy than a German soldier.<ref name="Variety/Christon/Producers">{{cite news |last1= Christon |first1=Lawrence |title= 'Producers' pic gains stature as time goes by |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/%60Producers%27+pic+gains+stature+as+time+goes+by.-a078629386 |access-date=29 September 2022 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=September 10, 2001 |via=Free Online Library}}</ref></blockquote> 

Stationed in [[Saarbrücken]] and [[Baumholder]], the battalion was responsible for clearing [[booby-trapped]] buildings and defusing land mines as the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] advanced into Nazi Germany.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/photos/real-life-tough-guys-1374864278-slideshow/afi-life-achievement-award-a-tribute-to-mel-brooks-awards-presentation-photo-1374864255359.html|title=Real Life Tough Guys |last=Enk|first=Bryan |date=July 26, 2013 |publisher=[[Yahoo]]|access-date= July 27, 2013}}</ref><ref name= USACE>{{cite web|website= usace.army.mil | publisher= US Army Corps of Engineers |title=Historical Vignette 109 – Mel Brooks Was a Combat Engineer in World War II|url=https://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/Historical-Vignettes/Sports-Entertainment/109-Mel-Brooks/ |access-date=September 26, 2022}}</ref><ref name=ww2/> Brooks was tasked with land-mine location; defusing was done by a specialist.<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/> Brooks has stated that when he heard Germans singing over loudspeakers, he responded by singing American-Jewish singer [[Al Jolson]]'s hit "[[Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' Bye!)]]" into a [[bullhorn]].<ref name="Brooks-2021-Me=5MRLEAAAQBA">{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Mel |title=All about Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business |year=2021 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-593-15911-8 |page=65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5MRLEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22All+About+Me%22+%22Mel+Brooks%22+%22Toot+Tootsie%22&pg=PA65 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="military.com/veteran-brooks">{{cite news |title=Famous Veterans: Mel Brooks |url=https://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veterans-mel-brooks.html |access-date=September 26, 2022 |work=Military.com |date=November 1, 2017 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Crow |first1=David |title=Mel Brooks and His WW2 Sing-Off with German Soldiers |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/mel-brooks-ww2-sing-off-with-german-soldiers/ |website= [[Den of Geek]] |access-date= September 26, 2022 |date=January 5, 2022}}</ref> Brooks spent time in the [[military prison|stockade]] after taking an anti-Semitic heckler's helmet off and smashing him in the head with his mess kit.<ref name="cbsnews/brooks-anti-semitism">{{cite news |title=Mel Brooks On Anti-Semitism |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mel-brooks-on-anti-semitism/ |access-date=September 29, 2022 |work=[[CBS News]] |date=April 12, 2001}}</ref> His unit constructed the first [[Bailey bridge]] over the [[Roer River]],<ref name="historynet/mel-brooks"/> later building bridges over the [[Rhine River]].<ref name="defense.gov/2882521"/> In April 1945, Brooks's unit conducted its last reconnaissance missions in the [[Harz Mountains]], Germany.<ref name="defense.gov/2882521"/>

With the [[End of World War II in Europe|end of the war in Europe]], Brooks joined the [[Special Services (entertainment)|Special Services]] as a comic touring Army bases, and he was made acting [[Corporal (United States)|corporal]], put in charge of entertainment at [[Wiesbaden]],<ref name="1975/brooks-playboy"/><ref name=ww2/> and performed at Fort Dix.<ref name="1975/brooks-playboy">{{cite news |last1=Darrach |first1=Brad |title=Mel Brooks: The Playboy Interview |url=http://www.thestacksreader.com/mel-brooks-the-playboy-interview/ |access-date=September 27, 2022 |via=The Stacks Reader |work= Playboy |date=February 1975 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231095812/http://www.thestacksreader.com/mel-brooks-the-playboy-interview/ |archive-date=December 31, 2021}}</ref> In June 1946, Brooks was [[honorably discharged]] from the Army as a corporal.<ref name= ww2/><ref name= "defense.gov/2882521"/>

== Career ==
=== 1949–1959: Early work and breakthrough ===
{{main|Your Show of Shows|Caesar's Hour}}
[[File:Coca caesar your show of shows 1952.JPG|thumb|Brooks wrote for ''[[Your Show of Shows]]'' starring [[Imogene Coca]] and [[Sid Caesar]]]]

After the war, Brooks's mother had secured him a job as a clerk at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, but Brooks "got into a taxi and ordered the driver to take him to the Catskills",<ref>{{cite news |first=Jacob|last=Kornbluh |author-link=Jacob Kornbluh |date=August 23, 2021 |title=The advice comedian Mel Brooks gave to his great nephew Todd Kaminsky, now running for Nassau County DA |url=https://forward.com/news/474504/the-advice-comedian-mel-brooks-gave-to-his-great-nephew-todd-kaminsky-now/ |work=[[The Forward]] |location= |access-date=August 24, 2021}}</ref> where he started working in various [[Borscht Belt]] resorts and nightclubs in the [[Catskill Mountains]] as a drummer and pianist. When a regular comic at one of the clubs was too sick to perform, Brooks started working as a stand-up comic, telling jokes and doing movie-star impressions. He also began acting in summer stock in Red Bank, New Jersey, and did some radio work.<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/> He eventually worked his way up to the comically aggressive job of [[tummler]] at [[Grossinger's]], one of the Borscht Belt's most famous resorts.<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/2001/15_Aug---Lost_Issue_Mel_Brooks_Interview.asp |title=8/15/01: Lost Issue Mel Brooks Interview 1997 |publisher= | website= filmscoremonthly.com |access-date=May 4, 2012 |url-status= dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918053720/http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/2001/15_Aug---Lost_Issue_Mel_Brooks_Interview.asp |archive-date=September 18, 2009 }}</ref>

<blockquote>In the years after the war, Brooks's hero was comedian Sid Caesar. Back in New York, Brooks would slink<ref name="thecjn.ca/brooks">{{cite news |last1=Breslin |first1=Mark |title=Mel Brooks: The other Jewish comedy legend |url= https://thecjn.ca/arts/books-and-authors/mel-brooks-the-other-jewish-comedy-legend/ |access-date=29 September 2022 |work=The Canadian Jewish News |date=18 July 2019}}</ref> around trying to catch Caesar in between meetings to pitch him joke ideas. Eventually, Caesar cracked and paid Brooks a little cash to throw him gags....At 24, Brooks got his break as a full-time writer.<ref name="lareviewofbooks-McGilligan-brooks">{{cite news |last1=Yogerst |first1=Chris |title=Review: 'Funny Man' by Patrick McGilligan |url= https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/mel-brooks-boomers-comedian/ |access-date=29 September 2022 |work=[[Los Angeles Review of Books]] |date=12 June 2019 |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>

Brooks found more rewarding work behind the scenes, becoming a comedy writer for television. In 1949, his friend Sid Caesar hired him to write jokes for the DuMont/NBC series ''[[The Admiral Broadway Revue]]'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/mel-brooks-timeline-2000-years-of-mel-brooks/2593/|title=Mel Brooks – Timeline: 2000 Years of Mel Brooks |date=February 1, 2013|work= American Masters | publisher= PBS|access-date=March 15, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> paying him, off-the-books, $50 a week. In 1950, Caesar created the innovative variety comedy series ''[[Your Show of Shows]]'' and hired Brooks as a writer along with [[Carl Reiner]], [[Neil Simon]], [[Danny Simon]], and head writer [[Mel Tolkin]].<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/> The writing staff proved widely influential.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://brothers-ink.com/2016/02/the-amazing-writing-team-of-your-show-of-shows/|title=The Amazing Writing Team of Your Show of Shows |website=Brothers' Ink Productions|date=February 5, 2016 |language= en-US|access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref> Reiner, as creator of ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'', based [[Morey Amsterdam]]'s character Buddy Sorell on Brooks.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.neatorama.com/2017/01/26/13-Things-You-Didnt-know-about-The-Dick-Van-Dyke-Show/|title=13 Things You Didn't Know About The Dick Van Dyke Show|work= Neatorama|access-date=March 15, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Likewise, the film ''[[My Favorite Year]]'' (1982) is loosely based on Brooks's experiences as a writer on the show, including an encounter with actor [[Errol Flynn]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/my-favorite-year/253706/my-favorite-year-a-mirror-for-errol-flynn-peter-otooles-hellraising|title=My Favorite Year: A Mirror for Errol Flynn & Peter O'Toole's Hellraising|work=Den of Geek|access-date=March 15, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Neil Simon's play ''[[Laughter on the 23rd Floor]]'' (1993) is also loosely based on the production of the show, and the character Ira Stone is based on Brooks.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/1993/legit/reviews/laughter-on-the-23rd-floor-1200434229/|title=Laughter on the 23rd Floor|last=Gerard|first= Jeremy|date=November 23, 1993|work=Variety|access-date=March 15, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/life/arts/2017/11/15/review-act-1-delivers-plenty-laughter-23rd-floor/864200001/|title=Review: ACT 1 delivers plenty of 'Laughter on the 23rd Floor'|work=The Tennessean|access-date=March 15, 2018|language=en}}</ref> ''Your Show of Shows'' ended in 1954 when performer [[Imogene Coca]] left to host her own show.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/03/nyregion/imogene-coca-92-is-dead-a-partner-in-one-of-tv-s-most-successful-comedy-teams.html|title=Imogene Coca, 92, Is Dead; a Partner in One of TV's Most Successful Comedy Teams|last= McFadden|first=Robert D.|date=June 3, 2001|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 15, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Caesar then created ''[[Caesar's Hour]]'' with most of the same cast and writers, including Brooks and adding [[Woody Allen]] and [[Larry Gelbart]]. It ran from 1954 until 1957.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://eyesofageneration.com/caesars-hour-1954-57after-your-show-of-shows-ended-its-four-year-run/|title='Caesar's Hour'…1954–57 – Eyes Of A Generation…Television's Living History|website= eyesofageneration.com|date=August 25, 2013 |language=en-US|access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-Reiner#ref1197590|title=Carl Reiner {{!}} American actor and filmmaker|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=March 15, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Brooks told ''[[The New York Times]]'', "When I was a fledgling comedy writer working for Sid Caesar on ''Your Show of Shows'', our head writer was Mel Tolkin... I really looked up to him. (By the way, I was 5-foot-7 and he was six feet tall.) He was a bona fide intellectual, thoroughly steeped in the traditions of great Russian literature. One day, he handed me a book. He said to me, 'Mel, you're an animal from Brooklyn, but I think you have the beginnings of something called a mind.' The book was ''[[Dead Souls]]'' by the magnificent genius [[Nikolai Gogol]]. It was a revelation. I'd never read anything like it. It was hysterically funny and incredibly moving at the same time... It was a life-changing gift, and I still read it once a year to remind myself of what great comic writing can be."<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 13, 2022 |title=How 'Dead Souls' Taught Mel Brooks What Comedy Writing Could Be |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/books/review/mel-brooks-by-the-book-interview.html}}</ref>

===1958–1969: Rise to prominence===
[[File:Carl Reiner with toupee 1964.jpg|thumb|190px|Brooks collaborated with [[Carl Reiner]] on "The 2000 Year Old Man" albums]]

Brooks and co-writer Reiner had become close friends and began to casually improvise comedy routines when they were not working. In October 1959, for a [[Random House]] book launch of [[Moss Hart]]{{'}}s autobiography, ''[[Act One (book)|Act One]]'', at Mamma Leone's, Mel Tolkin (standing in for Carl Reiner) and Mel Brooks performed, and it was later recalled by [[Kenneth Tynan]].<ref name="newyorker/1978/10/30/mel-brooks">{{cite magazine |last1= Tynan |first1=Kenneth |author1-link= Kenneth Tynan |title=Mel Brooks' Indestructible Comedy |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/10/30/mel-brooks-frolics-and-detours-of-a-short-hebrew-man |access-date=September 29, 2022 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date= October 23, 1978}}</ref> Reiner played the straight-man interviewer and set Brooks up as anything from a Tibetan monk to an astronaut. As Reiner explained: "In the evening, we'd go to a party and I'd pick a character for him to play. I never told him what it was going to be."<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/>

On one of these occasions, Reiner's suggestion concerned a [[2000 Year Old Man|2000-year-old man]] who had witnessed the crucifixion of [[Jesus Christ]] (who "came in the store, but never bought anything"), had been married several hundred times and had "over forty-two thousand children, and not one comes to visit me". At first, Brooks and Reiner only performed the routine for friends, but by the late 1950s, it gained a reputation in New York City. [[Kenneth Tynan]] saw the comedy duo perform at a party in 1959 and wrote that Brooks "was the most original comic improvisor I had ever seen".<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/>

In 1960, Brooks, without his family, moved from New York City to Hollywood, returning in 1961.<ref name="grunge/363048"/> Reiner and he began performing the "2000 Year Old Man" act on ''[[The Steve Allen Show]]''. Their performances led to the release of the comedy album ''2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks'' that sold over a million copies in 1961.<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/> They eventually expanded their routine with two more albums in 1961 and 1962, a revival in 1973, a 1975 animated TV special, and a reunion album in 1998.<ref name="1975/brooks-playboy"/>

At one point, when Brooks had financial and career struggles, the record sales from the 2000 Year Old Man were his chief source of income.<ref name="1975/brooks-playboy"/> Brooks adapted the 2000 Year Old Man character to create the 2500-Year-Old Brewmaster for [[Ballantine Beer]] in the 1960s. Interviewed by [[Dick Cavett]] in a series of ads, the Brewmaster (in a German accent, as opposed to the 2000 Year Old Man's Yiddish accent) said he was inside the original Trojan horse and "could've used a six-pack of fresh air".<ref name="1966/brooks-playboy">{{cite news |last1=Siegel |first1=Larry |title=Mel Brooks: The Playboy Interview |work=Ysos.sammigirl.com |agency=Playboy |date=October 1966 |url=http://ysos.sammigirl.com/interviews/playboy1966.html |access-date=November 1, 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512095922/http://ysos.sammigirl.com/interviews/playboy1966.html |archive-date=May 12, 2013}}</ref>

Brooks was involved in the creation of the Broadway musical ''[[All American (musical)|All American]]'', which debuted on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1962. He wrote the play with lyrics by [[Lee Adams]] and music by [[Charles Strouse]]. It starred [[Ray Bolger]] as a southern science professor at a large university, who uses the principles of engineering on the college's football team and the team begins to win games. It was directed by [[Joshua Logan]], who script-doctored the second act and added a gay subtext to the plot. It ran for 80 performances and received two Tony Award nominations. The animated short film ''[[The Critic (1963 film)|The Critic]]'' (1963), a satire of [[Norman McLaren]]'s [[Non-narrative film|abstract animation]], was conceived by Brooks and directed by [[Ernest Pintoff]]. Brooks supplied running commentary as the baffled moviegoer trying to make sense of the obscure visuals. It won the [[Academy Award for Animated Short Film]].

[[File:DonAdams.jpg|thumb|190px|[[Don Adams]] with the iconic "Shoe Phone" in ''[[Get Smart]]'']]
With comedy writer [[Buck Henry]], Brooks created a TV comedy show titled ''[[Get Smart]]'', about a bumbling [[James Bond]]–inspired spy. Brooks said, "I was sick of looking at all those nice sensible situation comedies. They were such distortions of life... I wanted to do a crazy, unreal [[comic-strip]] kind of thing about something besides a family. No one had ever done a show about an idiot before. I decided to be the first."<ref name= "time1965">{{cite magazine|title= Smart Money|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,834525,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730214034/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,834525,00.html|url-status= dead|archive-date=July 30, 2013|magazine=Time|date=October 15, 1965|access-date=August 30, 2009}}</ref> Starring [[Don Adams]] as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, the series ran from 1965 until 1970, although Brooks had little involvement after the first season. It was highly rated for most of its production and won seven [[Primetime Emmy Awards]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/mel-brooks|title=Mel Brooks Emmy Nominated|publisher=Emmys.com|access-date=November 1, 2012}}</ref> including [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series|Outstanding Comedy Series]] in 1968 and 1969.

During a press conference for ''All American'', a reporter asked, "What are you going to do next?" and Brooks replied, "Springtime for Hitler," perhaps riffing on ''[[Springtime for Henry]]''.<ref name="vanityfair/making-producers"/> For several years, Brooks toyed with a bizarre and unconventional idea about a musical comedy of [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bh.org.il/blog-items/five-jewish-comedians/|title=Let There Be Laughter – Jewish Humor Around the World|website= Beit Hatfutsot|date=March 20, 2017|access-date=October 2, 2019|archive-date=October 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025163314/https://www.bh.org.il/blog-items/five-jewish-comedians/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He explored the idea as a novel and a play before finally writing a script.<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/> He eventually found two producers to fund it, [[Joseph E. Levine]] and [[Sidney Glazier]], and made his first feature film, ''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]'' (1968).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Producers |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/87256/the-producers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111115220858/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/87256/The-Producers/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 15, 2011 |publisher=[[Turner Classic Movies]] |access-date=December 17, 2020}}</ref>

''The Producers'' was so brazen in its satire that major studios would not touch it, nor would many exhibitors. Brooks finally found an independent distributor who released it as an art film, a specialized attraction. At the [[41st Academy Awards]], Brooks won the [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay]] for the film over fellow writers [[Stanley Kubrick]] and [[John Cassavetes]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1969|title=The 41st Academy Awards (1969) Nominees and Winners|access-date=July 3, 2020|year=2019|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences}}</ref> ''The Producers'' became a smash underground hit, first on the nationwide [[college circuit]], then in revivals and on home video. It premiered to a limited audience in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on November 22, 1967, before achieving a wide release in 1968.<ref name="MENF"/>

[[Peter Sellers]] personally championed the film, paying out of pocket to take out full-page ads in [[Variety (magazine)|''Variety'']] and ''The New York Times''.<ref name="MENF">{{cite web|last1= Mancini |first1=Mark|title= 12 Outrageous Facts About The Producers|url= https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/80238/12-outrageous-facts-about-producers|access-date=January 20, 2023|work=[[Mental Floss]]|date= May 19, 2016}}</ref> Brooks, along with his collaborator [[Thomas Meehan (writer)|Thomas Meehan]], later adapted it into a [[The Producers (musical)|musical]], which was hugely successful on Broadway and received an unprecedented 12 Tony awards. In 2000, [[Roger Ebert]] included ''The Producers'' in his canon of Great Movies, and remembered being in an elevator with Brooks and [[Anne Bancroft]] shortly after the movie was released: "A woman got on the elevator, recognized him and said, 'I have to tell you, Mr. Brooks, that your movie is vulgar.' Brooks smiled benevolently. 'Lady', he said, 'it rose below vulgarity.{{'"}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=July 23, 2000 |title=The Producers |work= [[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-producers-1968}}</ref>

===1970–1979: Career stardom===
With the moderate financial success of the film ''The Producers'', Glazier financed Brooks's next film, ''[[The Twelve Chairs (1970 film)|The Twelve Chairs]]'' (1970). Loosely based on [[Ilf and Petrov]]'s 1928 [[The Twelve Chairs|Russian novel of the same name]] about greedy materialism in post-revolutionary Russia, it stars [[Ron Moody]], [[Frank Langella]], and [[Dom DeLuise]] as three men individually searching for a fortune in diamonds hidden in a set of 12 antique chairs. Brooks makes a cameo appearance as an alcoholic ex-serf who "yearns for the regular beatings of yesteryear". The film was shot in Yugoslavia with a budget of $1.5 million. It received poor reviews and was not financially successful.<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/>

[[File:Gene Wilder 1970.JPG|thumb|190px|Brooks collaborated with [[Gene Wilder]] on several films including ''Young Frankenstein'' and ''Blazing Saddles'', both in 1974]]
Brooks then wrote an adaptation of [[Oliver Goldsmith]]'s ''[[She Stoops to Conquer]]'', but was unable to sell the idea to any studio and believed that his career was over. In 1972, he met agent [[David Begelman]], who helped him set up a deal with [[Warner Bros.]] to hire Brooks (as well as [[Richard Pryor]], [[Andrew Bergman]], [[Norman Steinberg]], and [[Alan Uger]]) as a script doctor for an unproduced script called ''Tex-X''. Eventually, Brooks was hired as director for what became ''[[Blazing Saddles]]'' (1974), his third film.<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/>

''Blazing Saddles'' starred [[Cleavon Little]], [[Gene Wilder]], [[Harvey Korman]], [[Slim Pickens]], [[Madeline Kahn]], [[Alex Karras]], and Brooks himself, with cameos by Dom DeLuise and [[Count Basie]]. It had music by Brooks and John Morris, and a modest budget of $2.6 million. A satire on the [[Western film]] genre, it references older films such as ''[[Destry Rides Again]]'' (1939), ''[[The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (film)|The Treasure of the Sierra Madre]]'' (1948), ''[[High Noon]]'' (1952), and ''[[Once Upon a Time in the West]]'' (1968). In a surreal sequence towards the end, it references the extravagant musicals of [[Busby Berkeley]].

Despite mixed reviews, ''Blazing Saddles'' was a success with younger audiences. It became the second-highest US grossing film of 1974, grossing $119.5 million in the United States and Canada. It was nominated for three Academy Awards: [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] (for Madeline Kahn), [[Academy Award for Film Editing|Best Film Editing]], and [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]]. It won the [[Writers Guild of America Award]] for [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Comedy – Written Directly for the Screen]]. In 2006, it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the [[Library of Congress]] and selected for preservation in the [[National Film Registry]]. Brooks has said that the film "has to do with love more than anything else. I mean when that black guy rides into that Old Western town and even a little old lady says 'Up yours, nigger!', you know that his heart is broken. So it's really the story of that heart being mended."<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/> Brooks described the film as "a Jewish western with a black hero".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last= Tynan |first=Kenneth |date=October 22, 1978 |title=Frolics and Detours of a Short Hebrew Man |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/10/30/mel-brooks-frolics-and-detours-of-a-short-hebrew-man |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref>

When Gene Wilder replaced [[Gig Young]] as the Waco Kid, he did so only when Brooks agreed that his next film would be a script<ref name="vulture/funny-man-highlights">{{cite web |last1=Boone |first1=Brian |title=Highlights From Mel Brooks Biography 'Funny Man' |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/03/mel-brooks-biography-funny-man-book-highlights.html |website=[[Vulture.com]] |publisher=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |access-date=September 29, 2022 |language=en-us |date=March 19, 2019}}</ref> that Wilder had been working on: a spoof of the [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] series of ''[[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]]'' films from several decades earlier. After the filming of ''Blazing Saddles'' was completed, Wilder and Brooks began writing the script for ''[[Young Frankenstein]]'' and shot it in the spring of 1974. It starred Wilder, [[Marty Feldman]], [[Peter Boyle]], [[Teri Garr]], [[Madeline Kahn]], [[Cloris Leachman]], and [[Kenneth Mars]], with [[Gene Hackman]] in a cameo role. Brooks's voice can be heard three times, as the wolf howl when the characters are on their way to the castle, as the voice of Victor Frankenstein, when the characters discover the laboratory, and as the sound of a cat when Gene Wilder accidentally throws a dart out of the window in a scene with Kenneth Mars. Composer [[John Morris (composer)|John Morris]] again provided the score, and [[Universal monsters]] special effects veteran [[Kenneth Strickfaden]] worked on the film.

[[File:Mel Brooks High Anxiety still.jpg|thumb|Brooks in ''[[High Anxiety]]'', 1977]]
''Young Frankenstein'' was the third-highest-grossing film domestically of 1974, just behind ''Blazing Saddles'' with a gross of $86 million. It also received two Academy Award nominations for [[Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]] and [[Academy Award for Best Sound|Best Sound]]. It received some of the best reviews of Brooks's career. Even notoriously hard-to-please critic [[Pauline Kael]] liked it, saying: "Brooks makes a leap up as a director because, although the comedy doesn't build, he carries the story through&nbsp;... [He] even has a satisfying windup, which makes this just about the only comedy of recent years that doesn't collapse."<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/> In 1975, at the height of his movie career, Brooks tried TV again with ''[[When Things Were Rotten]]'', a [[Robin Hood]] parody that lasted only 13 episodes. Nearly 20 years later, in response to the 1991 hit film ''[[Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves]]'', Brooks mounted another Robin Hood parody, ''[[Robin Hood: Men in Tights]]'' (1993). It resurrected several pieces of dialogue from his TV series, and from earlier Brooks films.

After his two hit films, Brooks got a call from [[Ron Clark (writer)|Ron Clark]], who had an audacious idea - the first feature-length silent comedy in four decades.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/18/archives/mel-brooks-talks-up-silent-movie-brooks-talks-up-silent-movie.html|title=Mel Brooks Talks Up 'Silent Movie'|website= The New York Times|date=July 18, 1976 |access-date= June 28, 2025}}</ref> ''[[Silent Movie]]'' (1976) was written by Brooks and Clark, and starred Brooks in his first leading role, with Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Sid Caesar, [[Bernadette Peters]], and in cameo roles playing themselves: [[Paul Newman]], [[Burt Reynolds]], [[James Caan]], [[Liza Minnelli]], [[Anne Bancroft]], and [[mime]] [[Marcel Marceau]], who uttered the film's only word of audible dialogue: "Non!" It is an ''homage'' to silent comedians [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Buster Keaton]], among others. It was not as successful as Brooks's previous two films, but did gross $36 million. Later that year, he was named fifth on the [[Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll]].<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/> Reviews were generally favorable; Roger Ebert praised it as "not only funny, but fun. It's clear at almost every moment that the filmmakers had a ball making it." Regarding the film's inside jokes, Ebert wrote, "the thing about Brooks's inside jokes is that their outsides are funny, too."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=January 1, 1976 |title=Silent Movie |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/silent-movie-1976}}</ref>

''[[High Anxiety]]'' (1977), Brooks's parody of [[Freudian psychoanalysis]], as well as the films of [[Alfred Hitchcock]], was written by Brooks, Ron Clark, [[Rudy De Luca]], and [[Barry Levinson]], and was the first movie Brooks produced himself. Starring Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman, [[Ron Carey (actor)|Ron Carey]], [[Howard Morris]], and [[Dick Van Patten]], it satirizes such Hitchcock films as ''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]'', ''[[Spellbound (1945 film)|Spellbound]]'', ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'', ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'', ''[[North by Northwest]]'', ''[[Dial M for Murder]]'', and ''[[Suspicion (1941 film)|Suspicion]]''. Brooks plays Professor Richard H. (Harpo) Thorndyke, a Nobel Prize–winning psychologist who suffers from "[[acrophobia|high anxiety]]".<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/>

===1980–2001: Established career===
[[File:Mel Brooks.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Brooks in 1984]]

By 1980, [[Gene Siskel]] and [[Roger Ebert]] had referred to Mel Brooks and [[Woody Allen]] as "the two most successful comedy directors in the world today&nbsp;... America's two funniest filmmakers".<ref name="siskelebert">{{cite episode| title=Take 2: Who's Funnier: Mel Brooks or Woody Allen?|series= Sneak Previews|credits=Siskel, Gene; Ebert, Roger |network=PBS|location=Chicago |air-date=May 1, 1980|season=4}}</ref> Released that year was the dramatic film ''[[The Elephant Man (1980 film)|The Elephant Man]]'' directed by [[David Lynch]] and produced by Brooks. Knowing that anyone seeing a poster reading "Mel Brooks presents ''The Elephant Man''" would expect a comedy, he set up the company [[Brooksfilms]]. It has since produced a number of non-comedy films, including ''[[Frances (film)|Frances]]'' (1982), ''[[The Fly (1986 film)|The Fly]]'' (1986), and ''[[84 Charing Cross Road (film)|84 Charing Cross Road]]'' (1987) starring [[Anthony Hopkins]] and Anne Bancroft—as well as comedies, including [[Richard Benjamin]]'s ''[[My Favorite Year]]'' (1982), partially based on Mel Brooks's real life. Brooks sought to purchase the rights to ''84 Charing Cross Road'' for his wife, Anne Bancroft, for many years. He also produced the comedy ''[[Fatso (1980 film)|Fatso]]'' (1980) that Bancroft directed.

In 1981, Brooks joked that the only genres that he hadn't spoofed were historical epics and Biblical spectacles.<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/> ''[[History of the World Part I]]'' was a tongue-in-cheek look at human culture from the [[Stone Age|Dawn of Man]] to the [[French Revolution]]. Written, produced and directed by Brooks, with narration by [[Orson Welles]], it was another modest financial hit, earning $31 million. It received mixed critical reviews. Critic [[Pauline Kael]], who for years had been critical of Brooks, said, "Either you get stuck thinking about the bad taste or you let yourself laugh at the obscenity in the humor as you do [[Luis Buñuel|Buñuel]]'s perverse dirty jokes."<ref name="Wakeman, John 19882"/>

Brooks produced and starred in (but did not write or direct) a remake of [[Ernst Lubitsch]]'s 1942 film ''[[To Be or Not to Be (1942 film)|To Be or Not to Be]]''. His [[To Be or Not to Be (1983 film)|1983 version]] was directed by [[Alan Johnson (choreographer)|Alan Johnson]] and starred Brooks, Anne Bancroft, [[Charles Durning]], [[Tim Matheson]], [[Jose Ferrer]] and [[Christopher Lloyd]]. It generated international publicity by featuring a controversial song on its soundtrack—"[[To Be or Not to Be (The Hitler Rap)]]"—satirizing German society in the 1940s, with Brooks playing Hitler.

The second movie Brooks directed in the 1980s was ''[[Spaceballs]]'' (1987), a parody of science fiction, mainly ''[[Star Wars]]''. It starred [[Bill Pullman]], [[John Candy]], [[Rick Moranis]], [[Daphne Zuniga]], Dick Van Patten, [[Joan Rivers]], Dom DeLuise, and Brooks.

In 1989, Brooks (with co-executive producer [[Alan Spencer (writer)|Alan Spencer]]) made another attempt at television success with the sitcom ''[[The Nutt House]]'', featuring Brooks regulars Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman. It was originally broadcast on NBC, but the network aired only five of the eleven produced episodes before canceling the series. During the next decade, Brooks directed ''[[Life Stinks]]'' (1991), ''[[Robin Hood: Men in Tights]]'' (1993), and ''[[Dracula: Dead and Loving It]]'' (1995). [[People Magazine|''People'']] magazine wrote, "Anyone in a mood for a hearty laugh couldn't do better than ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'', which gave fans a parody of [[Robin Hood]], especially ''[[Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves]]''."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20105999,00.html |title= Picks and Pans Review: Robin Hood: Men in Tights |work= [[People (magazine)|People]] |first1= Ralph |last1= Novak |first2= Tom |last2= Gliatto |first3= Leah |last3= Rozen |date= August 9, 1993 |volume= 40 |number= 6 |access-date= July 11, 2015 |archive-date= July 13, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150713211414/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20105999,00.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> Like Brooks's other films, it is filled with one-liners and the occasional breaking of [[the fourth wall]]. ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' was Brooks's second time exploring the life of Robin Hood (the first, as mentioned above, being his 1975 TV show ''When Things Were Rotten''). ''Life Stinks'' was a financial and critical failure, but is notable as the only film Brooks directed that is neither a parody nor a film about other films or theater. (''The Twelve Chairs'' was a parody of the original novel.)

===2001–present===
[[Image:Theatre Royal Drury Lane - The Producers 1.jpg|thumb|left|''The Producers'' at [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]] in the [[West End theatre|West End]]]]
Brooks created the [[The Producers (musical)|musical adaptation]] of his film ''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]'' on the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 2001. The production starring [[Nathan Lane]] and [[Matthew Broderick]] received critical acclaim and was a significant box office success. ''[[The New York Times]]'' theatre critic [[Ben Brantley]] praised the production writing, "Mr. Brooks has taken what could have been overblown camp into a far warmer realm in which affection always outweighs irony."<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/20/movies/theater-review-a-scam-that-ll-knock-em-dead.html|title= THEATER REVIEW; A Scam That'll Knock 'Em Dead|newspaper= The New York Times |date= April 20, 2001|access-date= July 13, 2023|last1= Brantley|first1= Ben}}</ref> The production broke the [[Tony Award]] record with 12 wins, a record previously held for 37 years by ''[[Hello, Dolly! (musical)|Hello, Dolly!]]'' with 10 wins including the [[Tony Award for Best Musical]]. It led to a 2005 [[The Producers (2005 film)|big-screen version]] of the Broadway adaptation/remake with Lane, Broderick, [[Gary Beach]], and [[Roger Bart]] reprising their stage roles, and new cast members [[Uma Thurman]] and [[Will Ferrell]].

In early April 2006, Brooks began [[musical composition|composing]] the score to a Broadway [[Young Frankenstein (musical)|musical adaptation of ''Young Frankenstein'']], which he says is "perhaps the best movie [he] ever made". The world premiere was at Seattle's Paramount Theater, between August 7, 2007, and September 1, 2007, after which it opened on Broadway at the former [[Lyric Theatre (1998 New York City)|Lyric Theater]] (then the Hilton Theatre), New York, on October 11, 2007. It earned mixed reviews from the critics. In the 2000s, Brooks worked on an [[animated series]] sequel to ''Spaceballs'' called ''[[Spaceballs: The Animated Series]]'', which premiered on September 21, 2008, on [[G4 TV]].

[[File:The Producers.jpg|thumb|190px|''The Producers'' on [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]]]]

Brooks has voiced vocal roles for animation. He voiced Bigweld, the master inventor, in the animated film ''[[Robots (2005 film)|Robots]]'' (2005), and in the later animated film ''[[Mr. Peabody & Sherman]]'' (2014) he had a cameo appearance as [[Albert Einstein]]. He voiced Dracula's father, [[List of Hotel Transylvania characters#Count Vladimir "Vlad" Dracula|Vlad]], in ''[[Hotel Transylvania 2]]'' (2015)<ref>{{cite web|last=Truitt|first=Brian|date=November 25, 2014|title=Mel Brooks checks in for 'Hotel Transylvania 2'|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/11/25/mel-brooks-hotel-transylvania-2-movie-sneak-peek/19193423/|access-date=July 12, 2015|work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> and ''[[Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation]]'' (2018). Brooks joked about the concept of a musical adaptation of ''Blazing Saddles'' in the final number in ''Young Frankenstein'', in which the full company sings, "next year, ''Blazing Saddles''!" In 2010, Brooks confirmed this, saying that the musical could be finished within a year; however, no creative team or plan has been announced.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.playbill.com/news/article/137884-Back-on-the-Horse-Mel-Brooks-Penning-Songs-for-Blazing-Saddles- |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906082545/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/137884-Back-on-the-Horse-Mel-Brooks-Penning-Songs-for-Blazing-Saddles- |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 6, 2012 |title=Back on the Horse: Mel Brooks Penning Songs for Blazing Saddles Musical |work=Playbill |date=March 16, 2010 |access-date=November 1, 2012 }}</ref>

In 2021, at age 95, Brooks published a memoir titled ''All About Me!''.<ref name="FreshAirInterview">{{cite web |author-link=Terry Gross|first1= Terry|last1=Gross |url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1061836388 |title=Mel Brooks says his only regret as a comedian is the jokes he didn't tell |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=December 7, 2021 |access-date=December 9, 2021}}</ref> On October 18, 2021, it was announced that Brooks would write and produce ''[[History of the World, Part II]]'', a follow-up TV series on [[Hulu]] to his [[History of the World, Part I|1981 movie]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walsh |first=Michael |date=October 18, 2021 |title=Hulu Orders Mel Brooks' HISTORY OF THE WORLD, PART II Series |url=https://nerdist.com/article/hulu-orders-mel-brooks-history-of-the-world-part-ii-series |website=Nerdist}}</ref> He received a nomination for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance]] for his role as the narrator in the series.

In June 2025, Brooks announced ''[[Spaceballs 2]]'' was being produced with a release date targeted for 2027.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cripe |first1=Michael |title= Spaceballs 2 will see Rick Moranis return as Dark Helmet as Mel Brooks Sequel trailer plots a course for 2027 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/spaceballs-2-plots-a-course-for-2027-with-mel-brooks-in-first-teaser-trailer |website=IGN.com |date=June 12, 2025 |access-date=12 June 2025}}</ref> The same month, it was announced that Brooks would be executive-producing ''Very Young Frankenstein'', a television project, for [[FX (TV channel)|FX]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/fx-mel-brooks-very-young-frankenstein-comedy-1236299816/ | title='Very Young Frankenstein' Comedy in the Works at FX, Mel Brooks Exec Producing | website= [[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=June 25, 2025 }}</ref>

==Acting credits and accolades==
{{main|Mel Brooks on screen and stage|List of awards and nominations received by Mel Brooks}}

[[File:MelBrooksStandApr10.jpg|thumb|Brooks at his [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] ceremony in 2010]]

Brooks is one of the [[List of persons who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards|few people]] who have received an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]], an [[Emmy]], a [[Tony Awards|Tony]], and a [[Grammy]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/with-producers-mel-brooks-has-won-tony-oscar-grammy-and-emmy-com-97058|title=With Producers, Mel Brooks Has Won Tony, Oscar, Grammy and Emmy|author-link1=Robert Simonson|last=Simonson|first=Robert|date=June 4, 2001|work=Playbill|access-date=January 1, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170219012246/http://www.playbill.com/article/with-producers-mel-brooks-has-won-tony-oscar-grammy-and-emmy-com-97058|archive-date=February 19, 2017}}</ref> He won his first Grammy for [[Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album|Best Spoken Comedy Album]] in 1999 for his recording of ''The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000'' with [[Carl Reiner]]. His two other Grammys came in 2002 for [[Best Musical Show Album]] for the cast album of ''[[The Producers (musical)|The Producers]]'' and for [[Best Long Form Music Video]] for the DVD ''Recording the Producers: A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks''.

He won his first of four Emmy awards in 1967 for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series|Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety]] for a [[Sid Caesar]] special, and won Emmys in 1997, 1998, and 1999 for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series|Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series]] for his role of Uncle Phil on ''[[Mad About You]]''. He won his [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay]] (Oscar) in 1968 for ''The Producers''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1969 |title=The 41st Academy Awards (1969) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |date=December 21, 2014 |access-date=November 4, 2024}}</ref> He won his three Tony awards in 2001 for his work on the musical ''The Producers'', for Best Musical, Best Original Musical Score, and Best Book of a Musical.

Brooks also won a [[Hugo Award]] and [[Nebula Award]] for ''Young Frankenstein''.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7GIOAAAAIAAJ&q=%22brooks%2C+mel%22 |title=Science Fiction & Fantasy Awards |first=Robert |last=Reginald |publisher=[[Borgo Press]] |isbn=978-0893709068 |page=46 |year=1981 |access-date=August 13, 2018 |via=Google Books}}</ref> In a 2005 poll by [[Channel 4]] to find ''The Comedian's Comedian'', he was voted No. 50 of the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/cook-is-voted-comedians-comedian-7286897.html|title=Cook is voted comedians' comedian|date=January 4, 2005|website=Evening Standard|language=en|access-date=October 4, 2019}}</ref> The [[American Film Institute]] (AFI) lists three of Brooks's films on its [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]] list: ''[[Blazing Saddles]]'' (#6), ''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]'' (#11), and ''[[Young Frankenstein]]'' (#13).<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.afi.com/100years/laughs.aspx |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs |date=June 14, 2000 |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=September 5, 2013}}</ref>

In December 2009, Brooks was one of five recipients of the 2009 [[Kennedy Center Honors]] at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/04/AR2009120400074.html |title=Mel Brooks laughs his way to Kennedy Center honor |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=December 6, 2009|access-date=November 1, 2012}}</ref> He was inducted into the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in April 2010, with a [[List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars|motion pictures star]] located at 6712 [[Hollywood Boulevard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/mel-brooks |title=Hollywood Walk of Fame – Mel Brooks |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |publisher=Hollywood Chamber of Commerce |access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.today.com/id/36744614|title=Mel Brooks gets Hollywood Walk of Fame star|publisher=Today.com|date=April 21, 2010|agency=Associated Press|access-date=January 14, 2016|archive-date=March 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308183453/http://www.today.com/id/36744614|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[American Masters]] produced a biography on Brooks which premiered in May 2013, on [[PBS]].<ref>{{cite episode| title=Mel Brooks: Make a Noise|last=Trachtenberg|first=Robert|date=April 4, 2013|series=[[American Masters]]| season= 27| network= PBS}}</ref>

The AFI presented Brooks with its highest tribute, the [[AFI Life Achievement Award]], in June 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/mel-brooks-receive-afi-life-achievement-honor|last=Lemire|first=Christy|author-link=Christy Lemire|title=Mel Brooks to receive AFI life achievement honor|date=October 5, 2012|agency=Associated Press|access-date=September 5, 2013|archive-date=September 5, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130905180431/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/mel-brooks-receive-afi-life-achievement-honor|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="youtube/AFI/Brooks">{{cite web |author1=[[American Film Institute]] |title=AFI Life Achievement Award: Tribute to Mel Brooks |url=https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyxfzuf_Atx6GgGYQkHGNFr1LsHPim2b |website=YouTube |access-date=September 26, 2022 |date=2013}}</ref> In 2014 Brooks was honored in a handprint and footprint ceremony at [[TCL Chinese Theatre]]. His concrete handprints include a six-fingered left hand as he wore a prosthetic finger when making his prints.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/577576/mel-brooks-has-11-fingers-beloved-actor-leaves-quite-the-mark-during-hollywood-cement-ceremony|last=Vulpo|first=Mike|title=Mel Brooks Has 11 Fingers! Beloved Actor Makes an Impression During Hollywood Cement Ceremony|date=September 9, 2014|agency=[[E!]]|access-date=September 10, 2014}}</ref> In March 2015, he received a [[British Film Institute Fellowship]] from the [[British Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31982210 |title=Mel Brooks gets BFI fellowship for comedy career |date= March 20, 2015|access-date=July 11, 2015|work=BBC News }}</ref>
{{clear}}

==Personal life==
[[File:Mel Brooks Anne Bancroft 1991.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.75|Brooks with wife [[Anne Bancroft]] at the [[1991 Cannes Film Festival]]]]

[[File:MaxMelBrooksApr10.jpg|thumb|Brooks with son [[Max Brooks|Max]] in 2010]]

===Marriages and family===
Brooks met Florence Baum,<ref name="wheatleigh"><!-- Florence Baum Brooks Dunay Weisgal -->
* {{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/02/13/archives/fantasy-mansion-becomes-an-inn.html |title = Fantasy Mansion Becomes an Inn |quote=...David Weisgal, the 44‐year‐old son of a wealthy philanthropist—a $235,000 fantasy that he could afford. Mr. Weisgal purchased the 33‐room mansion, situated on 21 acres of Berkshire pine forest and with Florence Brooks‐Dunay, his fiancée... |newspaper = [[The New York Times]] |date = February 13, 1977}}
* {{Cite news |last1=Huberdeau |first1=Jennifer |title=The Cottager: Wheatleigh, Where the Berkshires ends and Italian country begins |url=https://www.berkshireeagle.com/arts_and_culture/the-cottager-wheatleigh-where-the-berkshires-ends-and-italian-country-begins/article_faee178a-d186-5849-90f8-3e6023de83e6.html |access-date=September 28, 2022 |work=[[The Berkshire Eagle]] |date=September 22, 2016 |language=en |quote=In 1976, Wheatleigh was sold to David Weisgal and his fiancee, Florence Brooks-Dunay, a professional dancer, for $235,000. They ran Wheatleigh as a country inn until 1982, when current owners Linfield and Susan Simon fell in love with the property and purchased it}}
</ref> a dancer in ''[[Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (musical)|Gentlemen Prefer Blondes]]'', on Broadway.<ref name="actorsequity/News/2011-01">
* {{Cite journal |last1=Baum Brooks Dunay Weisgal |first1=Florence |title=ELEGANT, NEVER TACKY |journal=Equity News |date=January–February 2011 |volume=96 |issue=1 |page=8 |url=https://www.actorsequity.org/news/EquityNews/Archives2010-2016/en_01_2011.pdf |access-date=September 28, 2022 |publisher=[[Actors' Equity Association]]}}
* {{Cite news |title=CBS SUNDAY MORNING Features Segment on Broadway Gypsy Robe Today, 6/10 |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/CBS-SUNDAY-MORNING-to-Feature-Segment-on-Broadway-Gypsy-Robe-610-20120609 |access-date=September 28, 2022 |work=[[BroadwayWorld]] |date=June 10, 2012 |language=en}}
* {{Cite news |last1=Fierberg |first1=Ruthie |title=The History of Broadway's Legacy Robe Tradition |url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/history-broadways-gypsy-robe-20249/ |access-date=September 29, 2022 |work=[[Backstage (magazine)|Backstage]] |date=August 29, 2019}}
</ref><ref name="ibdb/98609">
* {{Cite web |title=Florence Baum |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/florence-baum-98609 |website=[[Internet Broadway Database]] |access-date=September 28, 2022}}
* {{Cite web |title=Florence Baum |url=https://www.playbill.com/person/florence-baum-vault-0000081573 |website=[[Playbill]] |access-date=September 28, 2022}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/video/the-gypsy-project-florence-brooks-dunay-baum|title=The Gypsy Project: Florence Brooks-Dunay (Baum)|website=Playbill.com|access-date=December 20, 2021}}
</ref> They were married from 1953 until their divorce in 1962. They had three children.<ref>{{cite web | last=Tremaine | first=Julie | title=Mel Brooks' 4 Kids: All About Max, Nicky, Eddie and Stefanie | website=People.com | date=March 10, 2023 | url=https://people.com/parents/all-about-mel-brooks-kids/ | access-date=December 17, 2025}}</ref> After earning a salary of $5,000 a week on ''[[Your Show of Shows]]'' and ''[[Caesar's Hour]]'',<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=https://caesarswriters.com/about/ |website=Caesar's Writers |access-date=September 29, 2022}}</ref> his salary dropped to $85 a week as a freelance writer. For five years he had few [[Temporary work|gig]]s, and was living in [[Greenwich Village]] on Perry Street in a fourth-floor walk-up.<ref name="vanityfair/making-producers">{{cite news |last1=Kashner |first1=Sam |title=The Making of The Producers |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2004/01/making-the-producers |access-date=September 29, 2022 |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=January 6, 2004}}</ref> In 1960, to escape his situation, Brooks moved in with a friend, in Los Angeles.<ref name="grunge/363048">{{cite web |last1=Collins |first1=Elizabeth |title=The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Mel Brooks |url=https://www.grunge.com/363048/the-tragic-real-life-story-of-mel-brooks/ |website=Grunge.com |access-date=September 29, 2022 |date=March 23, 2021}}</ref> In 1961, after his return to New York, he found that Baum had begun suing him for legal separation. ''Marriage Is a Dirty Rotten Fraud''<ref name="archives.nypl/22177#c1030225">{{cite web |title=Brooks, Mel. Typescript screenplay, 'Marriage is a Dirty Rotten Fraud' undated 126 |url=https://archives.nypl.org/brg/22177#c1030225 |website=[[Terry Southern]] papers |publisher=[[New York Public Library]] |access-date=September 29, 2022}}</ref> was an autobiographical script based on his marriage.<ref name="lareviewofbooks-McGilligan-brooks"/><ref name="cnn/mel-brooks-qa"/> By 1966, Brooks was "living in a fairly old but comfortable New York town house".<ref name="1966/brooks-playboy"/>

Brooks married actress [[Anne Bancroft]] in 1964, and they remained together for 41 years until her death in 2005.<ref name=people>Silverman, Stephen M. [http://people.com/celebrity/mel-brooks-and-anne-bancroft-shared-love-and-laughs/ "Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft Shared Love and Laughs"] ''People'', May 19, 2013</ref> They met at a rehearsal for the ''[[Perry Como]] Variety Show'' in 1961, and were married three years later on August 5, 1964, at the [[Manhattan Marriage Bureau]].<ref name=people/><ref name=country>Carter, Maria. [http://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a44292/anne-bancroft-and-mel-brooks/ "How Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks Kept the Spark Alive for 41 Years"] ''Country Living'', August 9, 2017</ref> Their son, [[Max Brooks]], was born in 1972.<ref name=people/><ref name=country/> In 2010, Brooks credited Bancroft as "the guiding force" behind his involvement in developing ''The Producers'' and ''[[Young Frankenstein (musical)|Young Frankenstein]]'' for the musical theater, saying of his first meeting with her: "From that day, until her death&nbsp;... we were glued together."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/03/mel-brooks-remembers-love_n_448180.html|title=Mel Brooks Remembers Love Anne Bancroft: 'We Were Glued Together' |first=John|last=Carucci|date=February 3, 2010 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[HuffPost]] |access-date=September 5, 2013}}</ref> He has remained single since she died, stating in 2023 that "Once you are married to Anne Bancroft, others don't seem to be appealing".<ref>{{cite news|first=Maureen|last=Dowd|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/11/style/mel-brooks-comedian.html|title=Mel Brooks Isn't Done Punching Up the History of the World|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 11, 2023|access-date=March 12, 2023}}</ref>

According to actor [[David DeLuise]] on ''Wizards of Waverly Pod'', Brooks is his godfather; DeLuise's father, [[Dom DeLuise]], was a frequent co-star of Brooks in his earlier career.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/@WizardsPod | title=Wizards of Waverly Pod – YouTube | website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref>

===Interests===
Brooks is a voracious reader; in a profile for ''[[The New Yorker]]'', [[Kenneth Tynan]] describes "Brooks the secret connoisseur, worshiper of good writing, and expert on the [[Russian literature|Russian classics]], with special reverence to [[Gogol]], [[Turgenev]], [[Dostoevski]], and [[Tolstoy]]."<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Tynan |first=Kenneth |date=October 22, 1978 |title=Frolics and Detours of a Short Hebrew Man |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1978/10/30/mel-brooks-frolics-and-detours-of-a-short-hebrew-man}}</ref> In ''The Producers'', Bialystock refers to Bloom as "Prince Myshkin", a character from Dostoevsky's ''[[The Idiot]]'', and the name Leo Bloom is a reference to Leopold Bloom, hero of [[James Joyce|Joyce]]'s ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Karam |first=Edward |date=June 18, 2001 |title=Breaking the Code: An Insiders' Guide to the Parodies, Homages and Allusions in the Producers |url=https://playbill.com/article/breaking-the-code-an-insiders-guide-to-the-parodies-homages-and-allusions-in-the-producers-com-101518 |website=Playbill.com}}</ref>

===Religious beliefs===
Regarding religion, Brooks stated, "I'm rather secular. I'm basically Jewish. But I think I'm Jewish not because of the Jewish religion at all. I think it's the relationship with the people and the pride I have. The tribe surviving so many misfortunes, and being so brave and contributing so much knowledge to the world and showing courage".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/life-lessons-from-mel-brooks-20130514 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624015633/http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/life-lessons-from-mel-brooks-20130514 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 24, 2013 |title=Mel Brooks Interview on Money, Women, Jokes, and Regret |last=Woods |first=Sean |magazine=[[Men's Journal]] |date=June 2013 |access-date=September 5, 2013 }}</ref>

Brooks has consistently expressed pride in his Jewish identity. In 2021, Brooks told [[NPR|NPR's]] [[Terry Gross]]: "I love being a Jew, I love Jewish humor..."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gross |first=Terry |date=December 7, 2021 |title=Mel Brooks Says His Only Regret as a Comedian is the Jokes He Didn't Tell |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/12/07/1061836388/mel-brooks-all-about-me |website=NPR}}</ref>

On Jewish cinema, Brooks said, "They can be anything and anywhere ... if there's a tribal thing, like, the 'please God, protect us' feeling ... we don't know where and how it's gonna come out. ''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]'' was a Jewish movie ... these people on the run, chasing—and being pursued".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/206140/a-conversation-with-mel-brooks|title=Tablet Magazine|website=Tablet Magazine|date=June 28, 2016|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-05}}</ref>

===Politics===
Brooks endorsed [[Joe Biden]] in the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]] in his first-ever public endorsement of a political candidate.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moreau |first=Jordan |date=October 21, 2020 |title=Mel Brooks Endorses Biden for President in First-Ever Political Video |url=https://variety.com/2020/politics/news/mel-brooks-joe-biden-president-1234812288/ |website=Variety}}</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet|user=maxbrooksauthor|author=Max Brooks|author-link=Max Brooks|number=1318930412610211841|title=My father, @MelBrooks, is 94. He has never made a political video. Until now. / #MelBrooks4JoeBiden / #BidenHarris / #GrassrootsDemHQ}}</ref> He endorsed [[Kamala Harris]] in the [[2024 United States presidential election|2024 presidential election]].<ref name="Brooks-X-20240912">{{cite X |user=MelBrooks |title=I don't have a cat, so a dog will have to do! But like Taylor Swift I'm all in for @KamalaHarris & @Tim_Walz! #VoteBlue |number=1834375935895937244 |access-date=October 27, 2024 |date=September 12, 2024}}</ref>

==Discography==
===Comedy albums===
* ''[[2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks]]'' (World Pacific Records, 1960)<ref>{{cite news|last=Bernstein|first=Adam|date=July 1, 2020|title=Carl Reiner, TV comedy pioneer and probing straight man to Mel Brooks, dies at 98|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/carl-reiner-tv-comedy-pioneer-and-probing-straight-man-to-mel-brooks-dies-at-98/2020/06/30/e145666a-bad4-11ea-bdaf-a129f921026f_story.html|access-date=July 2, 2020|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>
* ''2001 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks'' (Capitol Records, 1961)
* ''[[Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks at the Cannes Film Festival]]'' (Capitol Records, 1962)
* ''2000 and Thirteen with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1973)<ref>{{cite web|title=Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks – 2000 And Thirteen|url=https://www.discogs.com/Carl-Reiner-Mel-Brooks-2000-And-Thirteen/master/414256|access-date=July 2, 2020|website=[[Discogs.com]]|year=1973 |language=en}}</ref>
* ''The Incomplete Works of Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1973)
* ''Excerpts from The Complete 2000 Year Old Man'' (Rhino Records, 1994)<ref>{{cite web|title=Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks – Excerpts From The Complete 2000 Year Old Man|url=https://www.discogs.com/Carl-Reiner-Mel-Brooks-Excerpts-From-The-Complete-2000-Year-Old-Man/release/6024562|access-date=July 2, 2020|website=[[Discogs.com]]|year=1994 |language=en}}</ref>
* ''The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000'' (Rhino Records, 1997)

===Soundtracks===
* ''[[The Producers (1968 film)|The Producers]]'' (RCA Victor, 1968)
* ''[[High Anxiety]] – Original Soundtrack'' (Asylum Records, 1978)
* ''[[History of the World Part I]]'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1981)
* ''[[To Be or Not to Be (1983 film)|To Be or Not to Be]]'' (Island Records, 1984)
* ''[[The Producers (musical)|The Producers: Original Broadway Recording]]'' (Sony Classical, 2001)

==Bibliography==
* ''History of the world, Part I'' (Mel Brooks)
* ''The 2000 Year Old Man: The Collected Recorded Wisdom of the Venerable Sage in One Fully Illustrated Volume'' (Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, illustrations by Leo Salkin)
* ''The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000: The Book'' (Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner)
* ''High Anxiety'' (Mel Brooks, Ron Clark, Rudy DeLuca, Barry Levinson, novelization by Robert H. Pilpel)
* ''The Producers: The Book, Lyrics, and Story Behind the Biggest Hit in Broadway History!'' (Mel Brooks and Tom Meehan)
* ''The Producers: Voice Line with Piano Accompaniment Format Piano, Vocal and Guitar Chords'' (Mel Brooks)
* ''The Producers Songbook: Piano/Vocal Highlights'' (Mel Brooks)
* ''Paul on Mazursky'' (Sam Wasson, with foreword by Mel Brooks)
* ''Young Frankenstein: The Story of the Making of the Film'' (Mel Brooks, Rebecca Keegan, with foreword by Judd Apatow)
* ''All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business'' (Mel Brooks)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Adler, Bill, and Jeffrey Feinman. ''Mel Brooks: The Irreverent Funnyman''. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1976. {{OCLC|3121552}}.
* {{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Mel |last2=Keegan |first2=Rebecca |title=Young Frankenstein: A Mel Brooks Book: The Story of the Making of the Film |date=October 18, 2016 |publisher=[[Running Press]] |isbn=978-0-316-31546-3 |language=en}}
* Brooks, Mel. ''All About Me: My Remarkable Life in Show Business''. New York: Ballantine, 2021.
* Crick, Robert A. ''The Big Screen Comedies of Mel Brooks''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2002. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-1033-0}}. {{OCLC|49991416}}.
* Holtzman, William. ''Seesaw, a Dual Biography of Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks''. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979. {{ISBN|978-0-385-13076-9}}.
* [[Patrick McGilligan (biographer)|McGilligan, Patrick]]. ''Funny Man: Mel Brooks''. Harper, 2019, {{ISBN|978-0062560995}}.
* Parish, James Robert (2007). ''It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks''. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. {{ISBN|978-0471752677}}. {{OCLC|69331761}}.
* Symons, Alex. ''Mel Brooks in the Cultural Industries: Survival and Prolonged Adaptation''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2012. {{ISBN|978-0-7486-4958-7}}. {{OCLC|806201078}}.
* Yacowar, Maurice. ''Method in Madness: The Comic Art of Mel Brooks''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1981. {{ISBN|978-0-312-53142-3}}. {{OCLC|7556005}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mel Brooks}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{AFI person | 110657-Mel-Brooks }}
* {{TCMDb name}}
* {{IBDB name|522302}}
* {{Emmys person|mel-brooks}}
* {{AllMusic |class= |id=mn0000342833 |tab=discography |title=Mel Brooks }}
* {{Discogs artist|artist=3118795-Carl-Reiner-Mel-Brooks|name=Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks}}
* [https://www.the-numbers.com/people/directors/0MBRO.php Mel Brooks – Box Office Data Movie Director] at The Numbers
* [https://www.the-numbers.com/people/0MBRO.php Mel Brooks – Box Office Data Movie Star] at The Numbers
* {{IMDb name|0000316}}
* [https://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=4442 Mel Brooks] at Virtual-History.com (Photographs and Books)
* {{YouTube|channel=UCfdKgwfPhoMKU5yLpsdKCLg|title=Topic: ''Mel Brooks''}} (''2000 Year Old Man'')<!-- Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group, Believe SAS, Unidisc Music Inc. -->
* {{YouTube|user=MelBrooksOfficial|title=The Official MEL BROOKS}}<!-- Description: The Official channel of comedy legend Mel Brooks. www.melbrooks.com -->

'''Interviews'''
* [https://studsterkel.wfmt.com/programs/mel-brooks-discusses-his-new-movie-producers Mel Brooks] interview with [[Studs Terkel]] on [[WFMT]], July 2, 1968 
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009myn6 Mel Brooks] interview on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', July 4, 1978
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1579051 Mel Brooks] interview on [[NPR]]'s ''[[Fresh Air]]'' (January 1, 2004)
* [https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1061836388 Mel Brooks] interview on [[NPR]]'s ''[[Fresh Air]]'' (December 7, 2021)
* [https://www.altfg.com/blog/archives/2007/02/07/mel-brooks-biography-by-james-robert-parish/ Biographer James Robert Parish interview (2007)]—''Alt Film Guide''

{{Mel Brooks}}
{{Navboxes
|title = [[List of awards and nominations received by Mel Brooks|Awards for Mel Brooks]]
|list =
{{Academy Award Best Original Screenplay}}
{{Academy Honorary Award}}
{{AFI Life Achievement Award}}
{{BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award}}
{{British Film Institute Fellowship}}
{{DramaDesk Book}}
{{DramaDesk Lyrics}}
{{EmmyAward ComedyGuestActor}}
{{EmmyAward ComedyVarietyMusicWriting 1960s}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Music Film}}
{{Kennedy Center Honorees 2000s}}
{{National Medal of Arts recipients 2010s}}
{{Nebula Award for Best Script/Bradbury Award}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Director}}
{{TCA Career Achievement Award}}
{{TonyAward MusicalBook}}
{{TonyAward MusicalScore}}
{{Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay}}
{{Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement}}
}}
{{EGOT winners}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Mel}}
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