Mel Brooks

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Birth Name: Melvin James Kaminsky

Age: 98, born 28 June 1926

Country of origin: United States

Height: 5' 5"

Relationship Status: Married

Partner: Anne Bancroft

Lists

215 votes

Funny Look-A-Likes (81 items)
list by Coby

Published 13 years, 11 months ago

32 comments

194 votes

Last Supper (43 items)
list by Nusch

Published 13 years, 11 months ago

21 comments

155 votes

A Change of Names (77 items)
list by tartan_skirt

Published 16 years, 6 months ago

23 comments

112 votes

The Greatest Guest Appearances on The Simpsons (200 items)
list by Exclusive

Published 10 years, 7 months ago

10 comments

109 votes

Directors' Favorite Actors/Actresses (94 items)
list by Stehako

Published 7 years, 4 months ago

14 comments

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Mel Brooks Videos

Mel Brooks' Performs BRILLIANT Frank Sinatra Impersonation | The Dick Cavett Show

73 Views

Added 5 years ago

Mel Brooks Wins Original Screenplay: 1969 Oscars

70 Views

Added 5 years ago

Mel Brooks on British accents, Ross Noble, and Dublin

68 Views

Added 5 years ago

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Photos

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2 votes

1 vote

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Description: Born on June 28, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, Mel Brooks has directed a number of classic (and quite disarming) film comedies, including The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. The longtime spouse of actress Anne Bancroft, Brooks started his own production company, Brooksfilms, and has won awards in a slew of categories, including an Academy Award and multiple Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards. Mel Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, to Kate Brookman and Max Kaminsky. The young Brooks worked as a comic in his neighborhood and learned how to play the drums as a teen from Buddy Ric Born on June 28, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, Mel Brooks has directed a number of classic (and quite disarming) film comedies, including The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. The longtime spouse of actress Anne Bancroft, Brooks started his own production company, Brooksfilms, and has won awards in a slew of categories, including an Academy Award and multiple Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards.

Mel Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, to Kate Brookman and Max Kaminsky. The young Brooks worked as a comic in his neighborhood and learned how to play the drums as a teen from Buddy Rich. He served in World War II and returned home to work at resorts in the Catskills for a time, utilizing a variety of talents and skill sets.

By 1949, Brooks came to partner with legendary comedian Sid Caesar as a writer on The Admiral Broadway Revue and then, in 1950, on Your Show of Shows. He later worked with Carl Reiner, another Caesar writer, to develop the "2000 Year Old Man" skit, which they released on a series of related albums.

Mel Brooks found more television success as the co-creator with Buck Henry of Get Smart, a series starring Don Adams that debuted in 1965 and parodied the spy genre. After working on an animated short, The Critic, which won a 1964 Academy Award, Brooks made his feature-length film debut in 1968 with the comedy The Producers, starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder as greedy Broadway creators who knowingly put on a play—Springtime for Hitler—that's in appallingly bad taste. Producers didn't fare well at the box office initially, but would be lauded in later years, and Brooks nonetheless received the 1969 Oscar for best screenplay.

Brooks next directed the 1970 film Twelve Chairs and did screenwriting work for the animated adaptation of the musical Shinbone Alley before having two grand slams in 1974. Early that year saw the release of Blazing Saddles, a parody of westerns co-written by Richard Pryor that starred Wilder, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn and Cleavon Little as the first African-American sheriff of a town. The film, known for a number of mouth-dropping sequences, earned almost $120 million domestically.

Then in December, Brooks released another future classic and immediate hit, Young Frankenstein, for which Wilder developed the script and starred in. The film, also featuring Kahn, Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman and Peter Boyle, offered among its wit a show-stopping reworking of the tune "Puttin' on the Ritz."

Other films Brooks has directed and written include Silent Movie (1976), High Anxiety (1977), History of the World - Part 1 (1981), Spaceballs (1987), Life Stinks (1991), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) and Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995).

In addition to appearing onscreen in his own projects, Brooks started his own production company, Brooksfilms, with the desire to push forth more serious projects.

Brooksfilms has helmed fare like The Elephant Man (1980), To Be or Not to Be (1983)—in which Brooks and his wife, actress Anne Bancroft, co-starred—and The Fly (1986).

Brooks and Bancroft were married for more than four decades, from 1964 until her death in 2005. The couple's son, Max Brooks, has become the author of The Zombie Survival Guide series and World War Z, with the latter book having been turned into a 2013 film.

Brooks is one of only a handful of people to have won Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards. He won two Grammys for the Broadway version of The Producers and another for the comedy album The 2000 Year Old Man in The Year 2000. He also received a 1967 Emmy for his variety show writing and, decades later, won three additional statues over three consecutive years for his role as Uncle Phil on the NBC sitcom Mad About You.

The new millennium has seen Brooks continue to enjoy success with the 2001 Broadway musical version of The Producers, which earned a record-breaking 12 Tony Awards and ran for six years, inspiring a 2005 film as well. He was also behind the 2007 musical version of Young Frankenstein.

More recently, it was announced that Brooks would be honored with the American Film Institute's 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, he is the subject of the PBS American Masters documentary Mel Books: Make a Noise. ... (more)

Tags: Actor (20), Director (8), American (7), Jewish (5), Born 1926 (5), Comedian (4), Writer (3), Male (3), 1980s (2), 1970s (2), 1990s (2), Composer (2), Oscar Winner (2), Producer (2), Songwriter (2), Consultant (2), Supporting Actor (2), Lead Actor (2), Born In June (2), June 28 (2)

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Movies

Most popular

Top rated

Most recent

1. Robots (2005)

Rating:

5.8

2004 Watched

2. Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Rating:

6.5

1911 Watched

3. Spaceballs (1987)

Rating:

6.7

1792 Watched

4. Young Frankenstein (1974)

Rating:

7.8

1512 Watched

5. Look Who's Talking Too (1990)

Rating:

4.8

1609 Watched

View all Mel Brooks movies (22 more)

TV

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1. The Simpsons (1989)

Rating:

7.8

5821 Watched

2. Frasier

Rating:

6.7

1452 Watched

3. The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius (2002)

Rating:

726 Watched

4. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Rating:

7.4

572 Watched

5. Mad About You

Rating:

6.2

575 Watched

View all Mel Brooks TV (78 more)

Movies written by

Most popular

Top rated

Most recent

1. Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Rating:

6.5

1911 Watched

2. Spaceballs (1987)

Rating:

6.7

1792 Watched

3. Get Smart

Rating:

6.1

1616 Watched

4. Young Frankenstein (1974)

Rating:

7.8

1512 Watched

5. Blazing Saddles (1974)

Rating:

7.4

1012 Watched

View all Mel Brooks movies (15 more)

Movies directed by

Most popular

Top rated

Most recent

1. Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Rating:

6.5

1911 Watched

2. Spaceballs (1987)

Rating:

6.7

1792 Watched

3. Young Frankenstein (1974)

Rating:

7.8

1512 Watched

4. Blazing Saddles (1974)

Rating:

7.4

1012 Watched

5. Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)

Rating:

5.3

800 Watched

View all Mel Brooks movies (6 more)

TV written by

Most popular

Top rated

Most recent

1. Get Smart (1965)

Rating:

7.4

241 Watched

2. Spaceballs: The Animated Series (2008)

Rating:

4.8

8 Watched

3. The Dick Emery Show (1963)

Rating:

7.4

7 Watched

4. Your Show of Shows

Rating:

8.6

5 Watched

5. Get Smart

Rating:

9.4

4 Watched

View all Mel Brooks tv (2 more)

Music

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Most recent

1. The Producers (2005 Movie Soundtrack) (2010)

Rating:

9.3

6 own

2. The Producers (2001 Original Broadway Cast) (2001)

Rating:

8.5

6 own

3. Free To Be...You And Me (2014)

Rating:

1 want this

4. Mel Brooks Greatest Hits Featuring the Fabulous Film Scores of John Morris

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0 want this

5. The 2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History (2009)

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Books

1. Young Frankenstein: A Novel (1974)

1 own

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Actors/Actresses who are in their 90's and up (37 person items)

"Born: June 28, 1926 (Age: 97) "

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Filmmakers Interviewed on Later with Bob Costas (31 person items)

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Favourite Directors (98 person items)

"Favourite films: Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles, History of the World: Part 1, Young Frankenstein, and Higb Anxiety "

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Movies: Greatest Directors (62 person items)

"Blazing Saddles (1974) Young Frankenstein (1974) High Anxiety (1977) Spaceballs (1987) The Producers (1967)"

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My Favorite Celebrities Over 90 (11 person items)

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TCM’s The Essential Directors (56 person items)

"Must-See Movies The Producers Blazing Saddles Young Frankenstein Silent Movie High Anxiety Robin Hood: Men in Tights "

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Moviebuff's Top 15 More Influential Comedians (16 person items)

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Mel Brooks' Performs BRILLIANT Frank Sinatra Impersonation | The Dick Cavett Show

browser posted a video 5 years, 7 months ago

Mel Brooks Misses Being Able to Call Gene Wilder

browser posted a video 5 years, 7 months ago

Mel Brooks Wins Original Screenplay: 1969 Oscars

browser posted a video 5 years, 7 months ago

Mel Brooks on British accents, Ross Noble, and Dublin

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Favorite Celebrities (Dead or Alive) (764 person items)

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Award Winners ...EGOT Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony (15 person items)

"Emmys: Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety, The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special (1967) Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, Mad About You (1997) Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, Mad About You (1998) Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, Mad About You (1999) Grammys: Best Spoken Comedy Album, The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000 (1998) Best Long Form Music Video, Recording “The Producers”: A Musical Romp With Mel Brooks (2002) Bes"

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Moviebuff's Top 15 Most Influential Filmmakers (15 person items)

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Aladdin (1970's) (12 movies items)

"Genie!"

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Celebrity Dinner Invites (81 person items)

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Directors' Favorite Actors/Actresses (94 person items)

"Gene Wilder - The Producers - Blazing Saddles - Young Frankenstein Mel Brooks - The Producers - The Twelve Chairs - Blazing Saddles - Young Frankenstein - Silent Movie - High Anxiety - History of the World: Part I - Spaceballs - Life Stinks - Robin Hood: Men in Tights - Dracula: Dead and Loving It Dom DeLuise - The Twelve Chairs - Blazing Saddles - Silent Movie - History of the World: Part I - Spaceballs - Robin Hood: Men in Tights Madeline Kahn - Blazing Saddles - Young Frankenstein - High A"

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My Favorite Celebrities In Their 80s (26 person items)

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