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Mel Brooks

American comedian, filmmaker, and actor (born 1926) · United States · Comedians

Mel Brooks is read about 6,074 times a day, in 69 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.

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Nine decades in comedy, and the joke never lands the same way twice. Brooks turned farce into high art and low art into an EGOT, writing rooms into movie empires, and somehow made both Blazing Saddles and The Elephant Man.

A life in dates

2024Academy Honorary AwardAward2021“Comedy is a weird but very beautiful thing. Even though it seems foolish and silly and crazy, comedy has the most to say about the human condition.”In their wordsAll About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business (2021) , p. 451

2013AFI Life Achievement AwardAward2009Kennedy Center HonorsAward2003Laurel Award for Screenwriting AchievementAward2001Drama Desk Award for Outstanding LyricsAwardDrama Desk Award for Outstanding MusicalAwardGrammy Award for Best Musical Theater AlbumAwardTony Award for Best Original ScoreAward2000“Lady, it rose below vulgarity.”In their words23 July 2000To a woman accusing The Producers of being vulgar; quoted in "Great Movies: The Producers" by Roger Ebert (23 July 2000)

“If they [presidents] can't do it to their wives, they do it to their country.”In their wordsThe 2,000 Year Old Man (1960) & sequels

“[explaining that Paul Revere was Anti-Semitic] He was scared they were moving into the neighborhood. "They're coming, they're coming. The Yiddish, they're coming”In their wordsThe 2,000 Year Old Man (1960) & sequels

“You know Cuneiform? You know Sanskrit? It's neither of those.”In their wordsThe 2,000 Year Old Man (1960) & sequels

“It's Wheird, there's an H in there. Gotta hit that H otherwise they think I'm some sort of a kook!”In their wordsThe 2,000 Year Old Man (1960) & sequels

1999Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy SeriesAward1998Grammy Hall of FameAward1997Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy SeriesAward1975Nebula Award for Best ScriptAward1969Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original ScreenplayAward1967Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety SeriesAward1926Born28 June 1926

Also in Deutsch

Photos 12

Brooks, then known as Melvin Kaminsky, in the 1944 Eastern District High yearbookBrooks, then known as Melvin Kaminsky, in the 1944 Eastern District High yearbookBrooks during World War II in EuropeBrooks during World War II in EuropeBrooks wrote for Your Show of Shows starring Imogene Coca and Sid CaesarBrooks wrote for Your Show of Shows starring Imogene Coca and Sid CaesarBrooks collaborated with Carl Reiner on "The 2000 Year Old Man" albumsBrooks collaborated with Carl Reiner on "The 2000 Year Old Man" albumsDon Adams with the iconic "Shoe Phone" in Get SmartDon Adams with the iconic "Shoe Phone" in Get SmartBrooks collaborated with Gene Wilder on several films including Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, both in 1974Brooks collaborated with Gene Wilder on several films including Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, both in 1974Brooks in High Anxiety, 1977Brooks in High Anxiety, 1977

In their own words 10

,
Mel Brooks
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. Comedy is a weird but very beautiful thing. Even though it seems foolish and silly and crazy, comedy has the most to say about the human condition.

    2021, All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business (2021) , p. 451, Own words

  2. Lady, it rose below vulgarity.

    Jul 23, 2000, To a woman accusing The Producers of being vulgar; quoted in "Great Movies: The Producers" by Roger Ebert (23 July 2000), Own words

  3. As long as the world is turning and spinning, we're gonna be dizzy and we're gonna make mistakes.

    2000, The 2,000 Year Old Man (1960) & sequels, Own words

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On YouTube

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Awards

Academy Honorary Award2024
Peabody Awards2023
AFI Life Achievement Award2013
Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame2010
Kennedy Center Honors2009
Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical2005
Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement2003
Grammy Award for Best Music Film2002
Grammy Award for Best Music Film2001
Tony Award for Best Original Score2001
Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical2001
Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album2001
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical2001
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics2001
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical2001
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series1999
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series1998
Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album1998
Grammy Hall of Fame1998
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series1997
Saturn Award for Best Director1976
Nebula Award for Best Script1975
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation1975
Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay1969
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay1969
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series1967
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal

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About this person

Brooks started as a writer for Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows, working alongside Neil Simon and Carl Reiner. With Reiner he co-created The 2000 Year Old Man, winning a Grammy; with Buck Henry he invented Get Smart. His directorial debut, The Producers (1967), won him an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. After The Twelve Chairs (1970) came the run that made him: Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein in 1974, then Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World Part I, and Spaceballs. Through Brooksfilms he produced David Lynch's The Elephant Man, Cronenberg's The Fly, and 84 Charing Cross Road. He turned The Producers into a Broadway musical in 2001; it won 12 Tonys and ran six years. Married to Anne Bancroft from 1964 until her death in 2005, he hit one hundred in 2026 - the year the AFI moved Blazing Saddles to first on its list of the funniest films ever made.

Country
United States
Category
Comedians
Type
Comedian
Status
living
Dates
Born 1926 · age 100

In common with Mel

Maddie ZieglerAlso in Ballerina (2016)Stephen ColbertAlso in Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)Jay LenoAlso in Robots (2005)Roseanne BarrAlso in Look Who's Talking Too (1990)Gabriel IglesiasAlso in Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022)Reba McEntireAlso in The Little Rascals (1994)

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