(animated short)
1968
THE PRODUCERS
1970
THE TWELVE CHAIRS
1974
BLAZING SADDLES
1974
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
1976
SILENT MOVIE
1977
HIGH ANXIETY
1981
HISTORY OF THE WORLD, PART I
1983
TO BE OR NOT TO BE
1987
SPACEBALLS
1991
LIFE STINKS
1993
ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS
1995
DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT
1999
SCREW LOOSE
2005
THE PRODUCERS
More details and a complete listing of all of Brooks’s credits and his numerous small- and big-screen cameo appearances can be found at www.imdb.com.
Index
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MB = Mel Brooks
ABC: Caesar and, 144, 146, 148, 153, 155, 202–3; declines MB pilot, 304; declines Get Smart, 229; Talent Associates pitch, 201–2; When Things Were Rotten, 365–67; “Zero Hour,” 257
Abrahams, Jim, 413
Accent on Love (TV show), 168
Ace, Goodman, 203
Act One (Hart), 160–61; film, 261
Actors Studio, 184, 199, 207, 259
Adams, Don, 229, 237, 304
Adams, Edie, 202–3
Adams, Lee, 143, 150, 153, 166, 173, 179, 186, 188, 189, 193, 198, 365
Adler, Renata, 284, 298
Adler, Stella, 113, 146, 157, 452, 458
Admiral Broadway Revue (TV show), 23, 53–58, 59, 61, 65, 67, 166; “Bomba, the Jungle Boy” skit, 57
Adventures of Robin Hood, The (film), 11
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother, The (film), 367
Advocate newspaper, 524
Agee, James, 401
Agnes of God (film), 464, 465
Airplane! (film), 413
Airport 1975 (film), 373
Albertson, Jack, 289
Alda, Alan, 352, 386, 519, 531, 534
Alda, Arlene, 386, 519
Alexander, Jason, 530
Alexander, Rod, 76, 155
Alex in Wonderland (film), 301
Alien (film), 474
“All American” (musical), 173, 179, 180, 184, 186–91, 193–96, 207, 208, 210, 234, 248, 256, 262, 267, 365, 422; “Once Upon a Time” (song), 193
Allen, Fred, 27
Allen, Stanford C., 374
Allen, Steve, 57, 176, 191, 222, 369
Allen, Woody, 153, 155, 279, 301, 319, 328, 362, 376, 395, 406, 413, 441, 465, 476, 509, 511, 528, 543; MB rivalry, 346, 354–55, 385, 414, 529
All in the Family (TV show), 318
All-Star Comedy Hour, The (TV show), 206
All-Star Revue (TV show), 111
All That Jazz (film), 296
Allyn, William, 389, 449–50
Altman, Robert, 301, 327, 374, 410, 509
American Film Institute (AFI), 363–64, 389, 390, 397, 445; MB receives Life Achievement Award, 543–44
American Film, 482, 484
American Weekly, 226
Amsterdam, Morey, 82
Anderson, Ernie, 94
Anderson, John Murray, 86
Andrés, José, 544
Andrews, Charles, 167–68
Andrews Sisters, 43
Andy Williams Show, The (TV show), 206
Angela’s Ashes (McCourt), 531
Annie (musical), 422, 446, 516
“Annie and the Hoods” (TV special), 352–53
Annie Hall (film), 279, 376, 385, 529
“Annie: The Women in the Life of a Man” (TV special), 294–95, 306, 353; “Yma Dream,” 446
Anthony, Lysette, 506
Anything Goes (musical), 14
Apartment, The (film), 172
Appell, Don, 20–23, 28, 32–33, 47–48, 116, 121, 515
Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, The (film), 356, 362
“Aquacade in Acapulco” (TV special), 305–6, 307, 309–10
archy and mehitabel (album), 138
Arkin, Alan, 287, 308
Arlene Francis Show, The (TV show), 206
Arnold, Gary, 298, 354–55, 376, 383, 411, 442, 460, 462–63
Arnold, William, 428–34, 462
Arthur, Bea, 89, 409
Arthur, Carol, 324, 377–78
Ashby, Hal, 301
Asher, William, 2fds37
Ashley, Ted, 156, 307, 308, 345
Ashley-Famous, 307, 322
Ashley-Steiner, 156, 170, 174, 181, 198, 307
Astaire, Fred, 11, 543
Atkinson, Brooks, 52, 87, 139
Attanasio, Paul, 469
Atwill, Lionel, 344
Aurthur, Robert Alan, 104, 201
Austin, Bud, 302–3, 366
Austin Productions, 303
Avala Film, 290, 291, 296
AVCO Embassy, 252, 278, 279, 280, 282
Avon Lodge, Sullivan County, N.Y., 21–23
Bad News Bears, The (film), 377
Baer, Art, 225, 240, 241
Ball, Lucille, 101n
“Ballad of Davy Crockett, The” (song), 70
Ballantine beer ad, 234–35
Balsam, Martin, 199
Bananas (film), 301
Bancroft, Anne (wife), 43, 183–84, 190, 191, 211, 215, 230, 284, 285, 384, 488, 515, 522, 526, 548; anger issues, 185; awards and Oscar nominations, 207, 226, 282, 294, 390, 464, 492, 493; Berkshire Theatre Festival and, 253, 285, 294; Blazing Saddles casting and, 324, 325, 326; cancers and death of, 416, 531, 533–34; career, 184, 207, 253–54, 271, 294, 305, 317–18, 352, 363, 382, 390–93, 417, 419, 463–64, 492–93, 519, 531, 532; Caribbean trip, 386; character and personality, 185, 293; child with MB, 305, 306, 352, 416–18 (see also Brooks, Maximilian); directing and, 363–64, 390–93, 403, 451; earnings, 209; Fire Island and, 212, 227, 228, 254, 297, 317, 361, 420, 519; grandchild born, 533; health issues, 382, 472, 531; Kallen and, 221; Manhattan town house, 209, 221, 277, 361; marriage to MB, 184–85, 206–9, 216, 225–28, 253–54, 277, 288–89, 293–97, 299, 324, 382, 420, 422, 460, 462–63, 465, 530–31; media and, 207–8; move to West Coast, 322–23; New York return (2000), 519; Other World friends, 377–78; parenting by, 417; privacy and, 414–16; Rothberg managing, 406; Santa Monica house, 417–18, 472; The Twelve Chairs casting and, 286–87; visiting Yugoslavia, 293, 294; Water Mill, Southampton, home, 531; West Coast lifestyle, 360–61, 369; Wilder and, 266
—roles: Agnes of God, 464, 465; “Annie and the Hoods,” 352–53; “Annie: The Women in the Life of a Man,” 294–95, 306, 353; A Cry of Players, 285, 287; Curb Your Enthusiasm, 530; The Devils, 244, 254; Dracula cameo, 506; Duet for One, 419–20, 492; 84 Charing Cross Road, 464; The Elephant Man, 402–3, 464; first TV special, 254, 259; Garbo Talks, 464, 465; Golda, 382, 419; The Graduate, 254, 257, 279, 282, 294; The Hindenburg, 363; Jesus of Nazareth, 382; Lipstick, 382; The Little Foxes, 271; Living with Cancer documentary, 416; Marco Polo miniseries, 419; The Miracle Worker, 184–85, 207, 231, 253; Mother Courage and Her Children, 212, 226; ’night, Mother, 464; Occupant, 531; The Prisoner of Second Avenue, 317–18, 352, 363; The Pumpkin Eater, 226; 7 Women, 230–31; Silent Movie, 372; The Skin of Our Teeth, 253; The Slender Thread, 228; Spanglish, 531; Squeeze Box, 532; TV roles (1990s), 492; To Be or Not to Be, 389, 445, 448, 451–57, 462, 463; Torch Song Trilogy, 464, 521; The Turning Point, 390; Young Winston, 305, 363
Barbizon-Plaza Theatre, 120
Barclay, Paris, 524
Barmore, Frances, 164–65, 179
Barney Miller (TV show), 366
Barrie, Barbara, 226
Bart, Roger, 521, 540
Barthe
l, Joan, 267–68
Basile, Charles, 85, 89
Battle of Algiers, The (film), 289
BBC-TV: Sid Caesar Invites You, 144–45
Beach, Gary, 521, 526
Beal, Greg, 316, 329
Beckhard, Arthur J., 32–33
Begelman, David, 144, 208, 246, 307–8, 321, 335, 442; My Favorite Year and, 440, 442
“Begin the Beguine” (song), 27, 43
Begley, Ed, Jr., 505
Belkin, Gary, 124, 240, 295, 303, 306, 352, 369
Bellamy, Ralph, 162
Bellboy, The (film), 170
Bellwood, Peter, 295
Benjamin, Richard, 440, 441–42
Bennett, Michael, 199
Benny, Jack, 27, 168, 352, 389, 445, 451, 460
Benson, Sheila, 411, 411n, 443
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, 7, 18
Bergen, Polly, 142–44, 352
Bergman, Andrew, 308–9, 387, 492; Blazing Saddles, 309–16, 318–19, 325, 327, 339, 356, 357
Bergren, Eric, 394, 396, 404, 427, 428, 430
Berigan, Bunny, 26
Berkowitz, Sol, 199
Berkshire Theatre Festival, 253, 285, 294
Berle, Milton, 69, 71, 84, 190n, 203
Berlin, Irving, 190n, 342, 349
Berman, Shelley, 177, 186, 256
Berns, William, 282
Bernstein, Leonard, 146
Bernstein, Shirley, 146
Berson, Misha, 541
Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool (film), 492
Besterman, Doug, 526
Best Laid Plans, The (play), 234, 259
Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Los Angeles, 287
Bewitched (TV show), 237
Bicycle Thieves (film), 91
Big Deal on Madonna Street (film), 362
Bikel, Ofra, 146, 208–9
Billboard reviews, 85, 178
Bill Dana Show, The (TV show), 229, 230
Billington, Michael, 552
Billy Williams Quartet, 71, 73, 254
Biroc, Joseph F., 326
Black, Jack, 543
Blackhill Productions, 230, 241, 242–43
Black Is the New White (Mooney), 313
Blagman, Norman, 263, 516–17
Blanc, Mel, 207–8
Blazing Saddles (film), 247, 307–33, 340–41, 345–47, 355, 362, 375, 435, 472, 519, 529, 551; as “Black Bart,” 312, 337, 340; budget, 333; cast, 33, 323–29, 404; earnings, 357, 371, 376, 407; editing, 341, 345; ending of, 319, 332; farting scene, 80, 313–14, 330, 341; filming, 337; film within a film, 332; “The French Mistake,” 332; “I’m Tired,” 330; MB and characters’ names, 312–13, 315; MB and music in, 331–32; MB as actor-director, 326, 329, 476; MB’s life in, 17, 38; MB’s profit from, 550; Oscar nominations, 356; production team, 327–28; Pryor and, 311–15, 318, 326; release of, 345, 346, 353, 356; reviews, 345–46, 354; R rating, 345, 371; story idea and writers, 307–19, 371, 495; story rights, 339, 340; title, 340; Wilder and, 316, 328–29, 334; Your Show of Shows and, 112
Blazing Saddles (musical), 543, 548–49, 552
Blindfold (film), 243
Bloomgarden, Kermit, 199, 200
Boardway Bound (play), 492
Bobrick, Sam, 368–69
Bogart, Paul, 237
Bogdanovich, Peter, 324, 338
Bolger, Ray, 193–95
Bologna, Joseph, 304, 440–41, 505
Boni, John, 365, 366
Bonnie and Clyde (film), 266, 270
Boorman, John, 468
Booth, Shirley, 196
Bosley, Tom, 199
Boulanger, Nadia, 165
Box Office review of The Critic, 211
Boyle, Peter, 309, 334, 335, 337, 343, 349, 540
Bracken, Eddie, 138, 139, 140, 229
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (film), 505
Brantley, Ben, 540, 541
Brecht, Bertolt, 196, 212
Bressart, Felix, 452
Brickman, Marshall, 385
Bright Boy (play), 32–33
Brighton Beach, N.Y., 5–7, 9, 15–16, 18–19, 26, 27, 29, 209
Brill, Marty, 304
Brill, Richard, 197, 198, 200
Brinkley, Christie, 519
Brink’s Job, The (film), 394, 395
Broadhurst Theatre, N.Y., 52
Broadway (Kantor), 14
Broderick, Matthew, 521, 522, 523, 526, 532, 534, 537, 543
Brodie, Steve, 231
Brooklyn, N.Y., 1–21; MB and, 1, 9, 15–17, 26–27, 479; movie houses, 10–11; music and, 14–15; public schools, 16, 26, 29
Brooklyn Dodgers, 19, 105
Brookman, Minnie (grandmother), 4–5, 7, 8, 35
Brookman, Joseph (uncle), 5, 13–14, 83
Brookman, Sadie (aunt), 4, 8, 19, 20, 478
Brooks, Edward Anthony “Eddie” (son), 158, 206, 278, 322, 535, 536, 536n, 551
Brooks, Florence Baum (wife), 67–68, 89–98, 104, 110, 122, 141, 142, 151, 154, 172, 217–19; affair with Strouse, 166, 184; children with MB, 128–29, 136, 150, 158, 182, 320–21, 357–58, 535–36; child with Dunay, 207, 320, 536; divorce from MB, 159, 163–66, 179–83, 191–92; marriage/divorce with Dunay, 192, 206, 320–21; marriage to MB, 107–10, 113–15, 122, 129, 133–36, 140, 145–48, 157–59, 163; MB evading child support, 206, 210, 320–21, 323; MB hiding income from, 183, 321, 323, 357–58; MB’s infidelity, 140, 143, 145, 147, 159, 179; MB’s rages 134, 135, 145; post-divorce relationship with MB, 182–83, 206–7, 278; tryout, Bye Bye Birdie, 165
Brooks, Henry (grandson), 533
Brooks, Maximilian “Max” (son), 306, 322, 416–18, 419, 451, 470–72, 491–92, 534–35, 546; first book, 531–32, 548; marriage, 531; SNL staff writer, 519; son born, 533
Brooks, Mel: acts of kindness, 420–21, 537; ambition of, 63; anger and rage, 64, 78–79, 96, 132, 134, 135, 145, 165, 179, 194, 240, 271–77, 342, 378, 413, 421, 430, 452, 454, 456; “anxiety hysteria” diagnosis, 129–30; apartments, N.Y., 52, 75, 91, 109, 116, 123, 157, 160, 164, 166, 187, 318; appearance, 23, 25, 44, 90–91, 108, 131, 232; Ashley-Steiner agency and, 156, 170, 174, 181, 198, 307; awards and Oscar nominations, 236, 256, 288–90, 356, 510–11, 511n, 512, 526, 528–29, 543–44; Bancroft’s breast cancer and, 416; Bancroft’s second cancer and death, 533–34; baseball and, 19, 115, 201; bereavement of, 534–35; betting on horses and, 519, 535; Beverly Hills house, 322–23, 363; born Melvin Kaminsky, 1, 6; as businessman, 102, 149, 170, 183, 198, 220–21, 222, 237–38, 339–40, 357, 358, 371, 391, 396–400, 405–7, 442, 449–50, 481–85; Caribbean trip (1978), 386; character and personality, 9, 13, 16–17, 40, 44, 46, 47, 62, 63–64, 91, 109–10, 118, 121, 131, 150, 159, 215–16, 265, 355–56, 395, 453–56; children of, 128–29, 145, 158, 206, 278, 305, 306, 320–21, 322, 357–58, 416–18, 534–36, 546, 549 (see also specific children); as Chock Full o’Nuts regular, 215, 272, 309; chronic lateness, 77–78, 98, 118, 121, 132, 172, 274, 275; Club Caesar and, 128, 137, 142, 149, 151–52, 240, 241, 312; CAA as agent, 552–53; CMA as agent, 307–8, 405–6; confabulation by, 104, 137, 242, 311, 444; as controlled personality, 114, 226; critics (crickets) as nemeses, 139, 168, 267–68, 285, 299, 375, 384–85, 413, 461–62, 476, 489–90, 508, 541, 543; as “dangerous” comedian, 168, 177, 243, 365, 471, 512; earnings, 2, 77, 121–23, 140–41, 149, 157, 170, 180–81, 199, 203, 206, 209–10, 222, 235, 237–39, 241, 286, 303, 305, 307, 357, 484, 503, 542; ego and, 172, 239–40, 362, 456, 458–59, 464–65, 54; EGOT milestone, 526; European summers, 513; fame and, 204–6, 226–27, 353–54, 464–65, 518; “fantasy of success,” 509; father figures for, 58–59, 64, 107, 418; father’s death and, 2, 7, 8–9, 59, 107, 130; favorite music, 355; fears and neuroses, 24–25, 47, 63, 75, 78, 104, 109, 129–31, 134, 157, 165, 483; Fire Island and, 73–74, 106, 113–15, 122–23, 140–41, 173, 186–87, 212–13, 227, 228, 250, 251, 254, 297, 317, 361, 420, 519; funerals and, 479, 547; The Gourmet Club friends, 214–15, 420; grandchild, Henry, born, 533; height, 25, 44, 90, 108, 131; household staff, 417; houses p
urchased with new wealth, 361; hypochondria, 129; ICM and Begelman, 307–8 (see also Begelman, David); impromptu sketches, 79, 80–81, 86, 120, 132, 253, 272, 395; influence of movies, theater, and radio, 10–12, 14, 17, 26–27, 32, 91, 94, 210, 365; insomnia of, 63, 104, 132, 208; Jaguar owned by, 174, 249, 420; Judaism of, 1, 18, 34, 35, 90, 131–32, 177, 178, 546–47; lawsuits and, 406, 419, 422–34, 437, 449–50; lawyers for, 156, 170, 183, 197–98, 215, 222, 238–39, 243, 245, 297, 299, 321, 340, 396, 425, 427, 430, 433, 485, 500; life as a nonagenarian, 546–48; life of comedy, motivation, 24–25; in London, 94, 145, 146–50, 226, 286, 290, 296–97, 356, 410, 421–22, 465, 550–51; Los Angeles as home, 321, 322–23, 359, 479; Los Angeles lunch group, 518; love of cats, 116, 138, 224; love of France and Italy, 97; male friendships and, 96–97, 214–15, 319–20, 421, 518; Manhattan luxury co-op, 361, 420, 541; marriage and divorce, Florence Baum, 107–10, 113–15, 122, 129, 133–36, 140, 145–48, 157–59, 163–67, 179–83, 191–92, 206–7, 217, 278, 320–21, 357–58; marriage to Bancroft, 183–85, 190, 191, 206–9, 216, 225–28, 253–54, 277, 288–89, 293–97, 299, 324, 382, 420, 460, 462–63, 530–31; Max’s Kansas City friends, 245–46, 260, 268, 317n; media and, 207–8; modesty lacking in, 355, 359, 362, 412–13, 413n, 444, 526; mother’s death, 478–79; mother’s impact on, 2, 15, 16, 24, 130; music studios, appeal of, 26; name change, 30, 34, 44, 49; need for collaborators, 217, 220, 247–48, 312, 314, 318, 390, 407, 516; Nice Mel–Rude Crude Mel personality, 155, 249, 271, 272–77, 371, 375, 380, 386, 407, 413, 421, 433, 483, 490; Other World friends, 377–78, 465; people who knew him best, 415–16; performance nerves, 177–78; personality as performance art, 81; as “populist artist,” 386; privacy and, 414–15; profanity and crudeness, 79–81, 113, 131, 164, 179, 232, 245–46, 253, 267, 275, 350; psychoanalysis and therapists, 75–76, 77, 81, 98, 129–33; real estate and investments, 549–50; ritual before serious discussions, 336, 341–42; Rothberg as manager, 406; Russian black humor and, 107; Santa Monica home, 417–18, 472, 546; shouting as customary, 62, 63, 78–79, 118, 126, 134, 135, 137, 265, 274, 276, 291, 321, 342, 360, 417, 453, 454, 473, 498, 499, 548; signature ideas, 119; signature song, 31, 46, 53, 55, 553; “success beyond New York” idea, 73, 97, 300, 376, 509; as “talking/performing writer,” 77, 80–82, 87–88, 98, 232, 336; teeth problems, 12; ten favorite recordings, 27; tennis and, 360, 470; turning sixty, 464–65; Water Mill, Southampton, home, 519, 531, 546; West Coast lifestyle, 359–62, 369; William Morris Agency, 72, 85, 117, 121, 138–39, 141, 156; womanizing, 140, 143, 145, 147, 159, 179, 462–63; writing as men’s only club, 128; young comedians and, 413–14, 498, 507, 548