Mel Brooks is an acclaimed American actor, comedian, filmmaker, songwriter and playwright who has had a prolific career spanning over seven decades.
He is known for writing and directing successful broad farces and parodies, often spoofing different film genres.
Brooks began his career as a writer for Sid Caesar’s variety shows in the 1950s.
He later created the hit TV series Get Smart with Buck Henry and the comedy sketch The 2000 Year Old Man with Carl Reiner.
Three of his films are ranked among the American Film Institute’s top 100 comedy films: Blazing Saddles (#6), The Producers (#11), and Young Frankenstein (#13).
Siblings
Brooks had three older brothers, namely Irving, Lenny and Bernie Kaminsky.
Their parents are James and Kate Kaminsky.
Brooks’ father died of kidney disease when Brooks was only 2 years old, leaving his mother to raise him and his three older brothers.
Career
Brooks began his career as a comic and a writer for Sid Caesar’s variety show, Your Show of Shows, from 1950 to 1954.
With Carl Reiner, he created the comedy sketch, The 2000 Year Old Man, and released several comedy albums starting with 2000 Year Old Man in 1960.
Brooks won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Producers in 1967.
He then rose to prominence as a film director, producing a series of successful comedies including The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World, Part I, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It.
Brooks has also worked extensively in television, creating the hit series, Get Smart, with Buck Henry and appearing in various TV shows such as Mad About You and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Notable collaborations
Brooks frequently collaborated with Carl Reiner, with whom he co-created the comedy sketch The 2000 Year Old Man and released several comedy albums together.
He also worked with Buck Henry, with whom he co-created the hit TV series Get Smart and Gene Wilder who starred in several Brooks films including The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.
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Brooks also collaborated with Dom DeLuise, who appeared in multiple Brooks films and was considered one of the few actors who could fully utilize DeLuise’s comedic talents and Madeline Kahn and Harvey Korman, who were frequent co-stars that appeared in many of Brooks’ most successful films.
Brooks had a long-running collaboration with composer John Morris, who scored the music for most of his films from the 1960s through the 1990s.
Additionally, Brooks adapted two of his most popular films into hit Broadway musicals – The Producers in 2001, which earned Brooks three Tony Awards and Young Frankenstein in 2007, which was based on the 1974 film.
Awards and accolades
Brooks has had a remarkable career, earning a multitude of awards and accolades.
He has won an Academy Award, four Emmys, three Tony Awards and three Grammys.
Additionally, he has been nominated for six Golden Globes and one BAFTA Award.
Brooks is part of an elite group of entertainers who have achieved an EGOT, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award.
His extensive list of awards includes honors like the Kennedy Center Honor, Hollywood Walk of Fame star, AFI Life Achievement Award and a Honorary Academy Award in 2024.
Personal life
Brooks has been married twice.
His first marriage was to Florence Baum in 1953, with whom he had three children, namely Stephanie, Nicky and Eddie.
After their divorce in 1962, Mel Brooks married Anne Bancroft in 1964. They had one child together, Max Brooks, born in 1972.
In 1964, Brooks married acclaimed actress Anne Bancroft. They remained married until Bancroft’s death in 2005 at age 73.
Brooks and Bancroft were known for their loving and supportive marriage that lasted over 40 years until her passing.
Brooks has said Bancroft was the “greatest love of his life”.
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