Mel Brooks

Birthday: 28 June 1926, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name: Melvin James Kaminsky

Height: 165 cm

Mel Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York. He served in WWII, and afterwards got a job playing the drums at nightclubs in the Catskills. Brooks eventually started a comedy act and also worked in radio and as Master Entertainer at Grossinger's Resort before going to television.He was a writer for, Your Show of Shows (1950) Caesar's Hour (1954) and wrote the Broadway show Shinbone Alley. He also worked in the creation of The 2000 Year Old Man (1975) and Get Smart (1965) before embarking on a highly successful film career in writing, acting, producing and directing.Brooks is famous for the spoofs of different film genres that he made such as Blazing Saddles (1974), History of the World: Part I (1981), Silent Movie (1976), Young Frankenstein (1974), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), High Anxiety (1977), Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995), and Spaceballs (1987). Show less «

I had the best childhood. I loved life. I thought life was the most wonderful thing ever created.

I'm grateful to the army. Grateful to Hitler too. The Producers made me the first Jew in history to ...Show more »

I'm grateful to the army. Grateful to Hitler too. The Producers made me the first Jew in history to make a buck out of Hitler. Show less «

I thank my lucky stars that I was born and that my brother Irving was so kind and good to me. He gav...Show more »

I thank my lucky stars that I was born and that my brother Irving was so kind and good to me. He gave me... a tricycle, trying to make up for the loss of - I didn't realize it, but trying to make up for the loss of our father. Show less «

My movies rise below vulgarity.

Look at Jewish history. Unrelieved lamenting would be intolerable. So for every ten Jews beating the...Show more »

Look at Jewish history. Unrelieved lamenting would be intolerable. So for every ten Jews beating their breasts, God designated one to be crazy and amuse the breast-beaters. By the time I was five, I knew I was that one. Show less «

You're young forever when you write. Alfred Hitchcock directed until the day he died. As long as you...Show more »

You're young forever when you write. Alfred Hitchcock directed until the day he died. As long as you don't have any dementia or Alzheimer's, if you have your All-Bran every day and clear yourself out, I think your brains are gonna be all right. Show less «

[on Woody Allen] Woody Allen is a genius. His films are wonderful.

[on Buster Keaton] I don't think he was a genius. Einstein was a genius; Buster Keaton was astonishi...Show more »

[on Buster Keaton] I don't think he was a genius. Einstein was a genius; Buster Keaton was astonishing. I've never seen any human being able to perform as brilliantly and gracefully with such unusually gifted timing. There was only one Keaton. His eyes shone with a certain intensity, fire and love. His face had little expression, but his eyes were always dynamically alive. His eyes spoke more than any script could speak. Show less «

Dom DeLuise was a big man in every way. He was big in size and created big laughter and joy. He will...Show more »

Dom DeLuise was a big man in every way. He was big in size and created big laughter and joy. He will be missed in a very big way. Show less «

I cut my finger. That's tragedy. A man walks into an open sewer and dies. That's comedy.

I love spaghetti and sex, sometimes together. My dream of heaven is walking naked through fields of ...Show more »

I love spaghetti and sex, sometimes together. My dream of heaven is walking naked through fields of pasta fazool. Show less «

I said to Slim Pickens you've made a hundred movies. Do you have any advice? He said, "Mel, whenever...Show more »

I said to Slim Pickens you've made a hundred movies. Do you have any advice? He said, "Mel, whenever you get the chance. Sit down." Sit down? I felt like I was asking Orson Welles how you make Citizen Kane (1941) he says sit down? But Slim was right because it can get very tiring. Show less «

The musical blows the dust off your soul.

Humor is just another defense against the universe.

I'm the only Jew who ever made a buck offa 'Hitler'!

[on the late Zero Mostel] He could be wicked and cruel, and he could be almost sweet, loving, kind, ...Show more »

[on the late Zero Mostel] He could be wicked and cruel, and he could be almost sweet, loving, kind, generous. The great thing about Zero was that he was uniquely gifted. He was really, truly talented, more talented than any actor except for Sid Caesar that I have ever worked with. Show less «

[on the famous campfire scene in Blazing Saddles (1974)] I only break wind on the prairie.

[on Richard Pryor in Blazing Saddles (1974)] I knew how bright he was. I hired him because I was goi...Show more »

[on Richard Pryor in Blazing Saddles (1974)] I knew how bright he was. I hired him because I was going to do a lot of black jokes. I said, "I'm not going to take the heat for these. I want somebody there to give me the okay, see if I cross the line, what's in good taste, what's in bad taste." Strangely enough, Pryor wrote very little of the black stuff. I wound up doing that. Show less «

[on the late Cleavon Little] My rule was not to eat with actors, but I enjoyed him so much that I be...Show more »

[on the late Cleavon Little] My rule was not to eat with actors, but I enjoyed him so much that I begged him to eat with me. Show less «

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

[on the CIA] They don't know right from wrong. That's what makes a satire of these government bureau...Show more »

[on the CIA] They don't know right from wrong. That's what makes a satire of these government bureaus [Get Smart (2008)] really funny. Show less «

Critics can't even make music by rubbing their back legs together.

[on Anne Bancroft] I'm married to a beautiful and talented woman who can lift your spirits just by l...Show more »

[on Anne Bancroft] I'm married to a beautiful and talented woman who can lift your spirits just by looking at you. Show less «

Immortality is a by-product of good work. Masterpieces are not for artists, they're for critics. Cri...Show more »

Immortality is a by-product of good work. Masterpieces are not for artists, they're for critics. Critics can't even make music by rubbing their back legs together. My message to the world is "Let's swing, sing, shout, make noise! Let's not mimic death before our time comes! Let's be wet and noisy!". Show less «

I'm not such a comedy giant. I'm five-six. There are guys not as funny, but they're bigger. And I th...Show more »

I'm not such a comedy giant. I'm five-six. There are guys not as funny, but they're bigger. And I think that counts. Show less «

[on David Lynch] He's like James Stewart from hell.

Oh, I'm not a true genius. I'm a near genius. I would say I'm a short genius. I'd rather be tall and...Show more »

Oh, I'm not a true genius. I'm a near genius. I would say I'm a short genius. I'd rather be tall and normal than a short genius. Show less «

Why should I indulge myself and do a David Lean-ish kind of film? I could do my little Jewish Brief ...Show more »

Why should I indulge myself and do a David Lean-ish kind of film? I could do my little Jewish Brief Encounter (1945) and disguise it - shorten the noses. But it wouldn't be as much fun as delivering my dish of insanity. Show less «

I've always been a huge admirer of my own work. I'm one of the funniest and most entertaining writer...Show more »

I've always been a huge admirer of my own work. I'm one of the funniest and most entertaining writers I know. Show less «