Mel Brooks Biography
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Trivia

Served as a corporal in the US army in North Africa during World War II.

Part of his duties in WWII was defusing landmines in areas before the infantry moved in.

His stage name is an adaptation of his mother's maiden name, Brookman.

His film
The Producers was the inspiration for the title of U2's album "Achtung Baby".

He produced and wrote the music, lyrics, and book for the Broadway musical version of "The Producers" (2001).

One of the few people to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony. He won an Oscar for the screenplay of
The Producers; 3 Emmys in a row (1997-1999) for his guest appearance as Uncle Phil in
Mad About You; 3 Tonys for The Producers- Best Musical, Original Music Score and Book (musical); and 3 Grammys- Best Spoken Comedy Album for "The 2000 Year Old Man In The Year 2000" (1998, with
Carl Reiner) and two for The Producers (2001): Best Musical Show Album (as composer/lyricist) and Best Long Form Music Video (as artist).

Son (with
Anne Bancroft) Maximilian, b. 1972, is a screenwriter.

Son Eddie manages a band called Early Edison.

Named one of E!'s "top 20 entertainers of 2001."

Calls wife
Anne Bancroft his "Obi-Wan Kenobi" since she encouraged him to turn his movie
The Producers into a Broadway musical.

Named one of People Magazine's '25 Most Intriguing People of 2001'.

According to his 1975 Playboy interview, Mel's favorite candy is Raisinets.

At the opening of the Brodway version of "The Producers", he was asked by a reporter if he was nervious about the play's reception, since it cost $40 million to produce. Brooks joked, "If it flops, I'll take the other sixty million and fly to Rio." He didn't have to worry, since the play was both a critical and financial success.

He and
Anne Bancroft met on the set of a TV talk show, and Mel later paid a woman who worked on the show to tell him which restaurant Bancroft was going to eat at that night so he could "accidentally" bump into her again and strike up a conversation.

He and Bancroft married at New York City Hall, where a passer-by served as their witness.

Children from his first marriage: Stefanie, Nicky, and Eddie.

In 1966 he was about to co-star in a movie called "Easy Come, Easy Go" with
Jan Berry and
Dean Torrence in the leading roles. What would have been his on-screen debut, was cancelled due to a car wreck during shooting, in which Berry suffered a severe brain damage and paralysis. On the casting list was also British comedy star
Terry-Thomas.

Won 3 Tonys in 2001 for "The Producers" - Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Musical Score.

Son,
Max Brooks, with
Anne Bancroft, born 1972.

Performed a rap song for the soundtrack of
History of the World: Part I called "It's Good To Be The King". It was a surprisingly successful hip-hop/dance hit in 1981. He followed it up with "Hitler Rap" for
To Be or Not to Be. The song was not as successful. But the lyric "Don't be stupid, be a smarty/Come and join the Nazi Party" was originally used in the original movie version of
The Producers, then later reused in Brooks' Broadway version of "The Producers".

The 1944 edition of the Eastern District High School (Brooklyn, N.Y.) yearbook featured the future Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky) stating that his goal was to become President of the United States; forty-three years later, in 1987, his ambition was to be fulfilled, if only in fiction and in part - in the movie
Spaceballs, he portrayed Spaceball leader "President Skroob".

His favorite song is "Yankee Doodle Dandy" by
George M. Cohan.

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy", by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 63-66. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 162-167. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.

He is a close friend of Italian TV star
Ezio Greggio, whose cinema movies he inspired. Brooks is often a guest in Greggio's shows, and he offered him a small part in his
Dracula: Dead and Loving It, due to this friendship.

In 2001, won three Tony Awards for "The Producers": as a co-producer of the Best Musical winner; as Best Book (Musical), with collaborator
Thomas Meehan; and as Best Original Musical Score, both lyrics and music.

Grandson Henry Michael Brooks (Max's son) born April 2005.

In the original film version of
The Producers, Brooks' voice can be heard singing the line "Don't be stupid/Be a schmarty/Come and join the Nazi Party" during the "Springtime for Hitler" number. For the Broadway musical version, he repeats this task, with the live actor lip-synching to a recording of Brooks.

Has cited his favorite films as "The Bicycle Thief" (1948) and "Grand Illusion" (1937).

Though Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein are often cited as his best and most popular films as a director, his biggest video sales are Spaceballs and Robin Hood: Men In Tights (which has yet to be released on DVD in the US).

Is an avid fan of Russian literature, occasionally making references to works and writers in his films.

His running "walk this way" gag is also the inspiration for the song "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith.

Would much rather write than direct.

He,
Anne Bancroft and their son
Max Brooks all won Emmys.

Has directed two performers to Oscar-nominations: Gene Wilder (for The Producers) and Madeline Kahn (for Blazing Saddles).

Worked with son Nicholas Brooks at Brooksfilm. Nicholas was a story editor on the Fly, the Fly II, and Space Balls.
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