Mel Brooks
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1926-06-28
Place of Birth
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Mel Brooks
Biography
Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. A recipient of numerous accolades, he is one of 21 entertainers to win the EGOT (which includes an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a 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 the 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. He released several comedy albums, starting with 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 comedy series Get Smart (1965–1970) on NBC television. Brooks won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Producers (1967). He then rose to prominence by directing a string of successful comedy films such as 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). A 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 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 she died 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 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mel Brooks, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Also Known For
Spaceballs
Jun 24, 1987
History of the World: Part I
Jun 12, 1981
It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein
Oct 25, 1994
The Silence of the Hams
Mar 11, 1994
The Little Rascals
Aug 05, 1994
Silent Movie
Jun 17, 1976
The Muppet Movie
Jun 22, 1979
Blazing Saddles
Feb 07, 1974
Life Stinks
Jun 05, 1991
To Be or Not to Be
Dec 16, 1983
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Jul 28, 1993
The Twelve Chairs
Oct 28, 1970
Dracula: Dead and Loving It
Dec 22, 1995
High Anxiety
Dec 25, 1977
Robots
Mar 10, 2005
Excavating the 2000 Year Old Man
Mar 01, 2012
Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch
Oct 14, 1997
Screw Loose
Feb 19, 1999
Hitler: The Comedy Years
May 10, 2007
Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love
May 27, 2023
Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World
Dec 15, 2009
Cutting Edge Comedians of the '60s & '70s
Apr 10, 2007
Musical Mel: Inventing The Inquisition
Dec 15, 2009
Free to Be... a Family
Dec 14, 1988
The Critic
May 20, 1963
Mel Brooks Strikes Back!
Dec 10, 2012
Sex, Lies and Video Violence
May 05, 2000
Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic
Apr 23, 2013
Silent Laughter: The Reel Inspirations of 'Silent Movie'
Dec 15, 2009
Free to Be… You and Me
Mar 11, 1974
Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic
Dec 21, 2023
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
May 20, 2013
Look Who's Talking Too
Dec 14, 1990
Hotel Transylvania 2
Sep 21, 2015
Mel Brooks: Live at the Geffen
Jan 31, 2015
Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again
Sep 09, 2011
Sid Caesar Collection: Buried Treasures - The Legend of Sid Caesar
Jan 01, 2003
Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies
Nov 12, 2017
Remembering Gene Wilder
Mar 15, 2024
Mr. Peabody & Sherman
Feb 07, 2014
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
Dec 14, 1975
Caesar's Writers
Aug 19, 1996
Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story
Feb 01, 2017
Young Frankenstein
Dec 15, 1974
Sunset People
Mar 03, 1984
The Last Laugh
Apr 18, 2016
Flower of the Dawn
The Dick Cavett Show with Mel Brooks
Sep 07, 2006
Mel Brooks: The Genius Entertainer
Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank
Jul 14, 2022
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You
Jan 21, 2016
If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast
May 19, 2017
Frank Sinatra: The Voice of the Century
May 15, 1998
Ballerina
Dec 14, 2016
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story
Jun 06, 2018
Mickey's Audition
Oct 01, 1992
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
Nov 29, 2002
An Audience with Mel Brooks
Feb 04, 1984
Ballerina
Dec 14, 2016
Untitled Lani Pixels Project
It's Always About the Story: Conversations with Alan Ladd, Jr.
Apr 22, 2016
Peeping Times
Jan 25, 1978
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
Jun 28, 2018
The Sid Caesar Collection: Inside the Writer's Room
Jun 20, 2000
The Sid Caesar Collection: Creating the Comedy
Jun 20, 2000
Annie: the Women in the Life of a Man
Feb 18, 1970
The Producers
Mar 18, 1968
The Great Buster: A Celebration
Oct 05, 2018
The 2000 Year Old Man
Jan 11, 1975
Mel Brooks: Unwrapped
Feb 17, 2018
A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers
Oct 02, 2009
Toy Story 4
Jun 19, 2019
The Producers
Dec 25, 2005
The Terrible Elephant Man Revealed
Dec 11, 2001
Hitchcock and Mel: Spoofing the Master of Suspense
Dec 15, 2009
Mickey's 50
Nov 19, 1978
Recording the Producers: A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks
Oct 01, 2001
Forky Asks a Question: What Is Love?
Dec 06, 2019
In the Beginning: The Caesar Years
Nov 13, 2012
Life Stinks: Does Life Really Stink?
Feb 18, 2003
Spaceballs: In Conversation - Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
May 03, 2005
John Candy: Comic Spirit
May 03, 2005
'Robin Hood: Men in Tights' – The Legend Had It Coming
Jul 27, 1993
Back in the Saddle
Jun 19, 2001
The Making of 'The Producers'
Dec 03, 2002
The Automat
Sep 02, 2021
The Great Dictator: The Clown Turns Prophet
May 24, 2011
The Muppets Go Hollywood
May 16, 1979
Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1980s, 1990s and 2000s
Aug 11, 2009
Spaceballs: The Totally Warped Animated Adventures
Sep 21, 2008
Blaze of Glory: Mel Brooks' Wild, Wild West
May 06, 2014
Mel Brooks: Seriously... Well, Almost
Dec 27, 2024
David Lynch: A Hollywood Enigma
May 14, 2025
Ruby's Studio: the Feelings Show
Aug 15, 2010
From Darkness to Light
Apr 20, 2025
Spaceballs 2
Spaceballs: The Documentary
May 05, 2005
Mad About You
Sep 23, 1992
The Simpsons
Dec 17, 1989
Noel's House Party
Nov 23, 1991
The David Susskind Show
Jan 18, 1959
Frasier
Sep 16, 1993
Inside Comedy
Jan 26, 2012
The Electric Company
Oct 25, 1971
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Oct 15, 2000
The Hollywood Palace
Jan 04, 1964
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Jan 22, 1968
Spaceballs: The Animated Series
Nov 21, 2008
Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
Sep 07, 2003
The Frank Skinner Show
Sep 10, 1995
Saturday Night Clive
Jan 21, 1989
Glenn Martin, DDS
Aug 17, 2009
The Oscars
Mar 19, 1953
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Oct 01, 1962
An Audience with...
Jan 08, 1978
Only Murders in the Building
Aug 31, 2021
Wogan
May 04, 1982
Flick Flack
Jan 07, 1974
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Jul 19, 2012
To Tell the Truth
Jun 14, 2016
The Mike Douglas Show
Dec 11, 1961
The Hollywood Palace
Jan 04, 1964
Legends
Nov 17, 2006
Champs-Elysées
Jan 16, 1982
RTL Samstag Nacht
Nov 06, 1993
Broadway: The American Musical
Oct 19, 2004
The Dick Cavett Show
Jun 06, 1968
Real Time with Bill Maher
Feb 21, 2003
The Wonderful World of Disney
Oct 27, 1954
Primetime Glick
Jun 20, 2001
History of the World: Part II
Mar 06, 2023
Please Turn the Page
Apr 20, 1977
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
Jul 20, 2002
The Paul Reiser Show
Apr 14, 2011
Great Performances
Jan 28, 1971
Golden Globe Awards
Jan 20, 1944
Tony Awards
Apr 01, 1956
The Grammys
Nov 29, 1959
