Ilf, Ilya, 107, 280
I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (film), 280
I’m Getting Married (TV special), 254, 259, 295
Imogene Coca Show, The (TV show), 111–12, 117–18, 120–22, 143, 150, 221
“Impossible Dream, The” (song), 138
Incredible Mel Brooks, The (DVD box set), 46, 205, 236, 242, 258
“In Defense of Bad Jokes” (Canby), 411
Inside Danny Baker (TV pilot), 197–202, 210–11, 220, 261
Inside the Actors Studio (TV show), 199
International Creative Management (ICM), 307, 322
International Famous Agency (IFA), 307
In the Line of Fire (film), 505
Irma La Douce (film), 172
Irv Kupcinet Show, The (TV show), 206
Italie, Hillel, 523
It Happened One Night (film), 474
It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (film), 180, 259
It’s a Wonderful Life (film), 327
It’s Good to Be the King (Parish), 57; see also Parish, James Robert
It’s in the Bag (film), 301n
I Vitelloni (film), 387
Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy (radio show), 26
Jack Carter Hour, The (TV show), 66, 70
Jack Paar Show, The (TV show), 206
Jackson, Michael, 500n
Jacobi, Lou, 213–14
Jacobs, Joseph J., 6
Jacobson, Tom, 497, 498
Jacoby, Estelle, 92, 93, 95
Jeakins, Dorothy, 345
Jeopardy! (TV show), 206
Jerk, The (film), 245n
Jerry Lewis Productions, 171
Jerry Lewis Show, The (TV show), 150–52
Jesus of Nazareth (TV miniseries), 382, 419
Jewish Journal, 524, 547
Job, Thomas, 23–24
Joe (film), 335
Joelson, Ben, 240
Joe Miller’s Joke Book, 45
Joffe, Charles H., 529
Johnson, Alan, 261–62, 295, 327, 332, 345, 374, 410, 467–68, 473, 488; To Be or Not to Be director, 446, 448, 451–53, 455, 456
Johnson, Erskine, 101
Johnson, Harold “Chic,” 14
Johnson, Judy, 76
Jolson, Al, 13, 40, 43, 45, 50, 55, 440, 553
Jones, James, 114, 134
Jones, James Earl, 308
Jordan, Will, (a.k.a. Wilbur Roach),191
Joyce, James, 156, 249
Joys of Yiddish, The (Rosten), 32n
Judaism and Jews, 3–5, 9–10, 12, 18, 29; the Catskills and, 21, 131; comedy heritage, 131, 132; comedy teams, 11; Hollywood blacklisting, 119; Kaminsky family and, 35; MB and, 1, 18, 34, 35, 90, 131–32, 177, 178, 546–47; surnames changed, 30; 2000 Year Old Man and, 177; World War II and, 35
Justin, George, 442
Kaczorowski, Peter, 526
Kael, Pauline, 284, 298, 385, 399–400, 401, 443, 460
Kahn, Madeline, 309, 367, 373, 409, 488, 501; Blazing Saddles, 324–26, 331, 356; High Anxiety and, 381; History of the World, Part I, 408, 488; Young Frankenstein, 343, 349–50
Kalcheim, Harry, 54, 72
Kallen, Lucille, 55, 92, 93, 95, 124, 128, 240, 322, 415, 416, 418, 443; Admiral Broadway Revue, 54–57; Bancroft and, 221; Imogene Coca Show and, 112, 117–18, 121; on MB’s infidelity, 159; Outside There, Somewhere, 221; Your Show of Shows and, 62–63, 65, 70, 72, 77, 78, 80, 84, 99, 100, 101, 107, 256
Kamen, Milt, 181
Kaminsky, Abraham “Shloimy” (grandfather), 3–4, 7, 8, 18–19
Kaminsky, Bernard (brother), 1, 6, 15, 19, 25, 26, 29, 34, 108, 478–79
Kaminsky, Bertha (grandmother), 3, 8, 18
Kaminsky (later Kaye), Irving (brother), 1, 6, 12, 16, 19, 25, 30, 34, 46, 77, 108, 130, 478–79
Kaminsky, Kitty Brookman (mother), 1–9, 12, 15–16, 18–20, 25–26, 29, 30, 34–35, 108, 228; death of, 478–79; MB and, 9, 10–11, 15, 24, 46–47, 52, 77, 95, 130, 299, 361, 386
Kaminsky, Leonard (brother), 1, 6, 8, 16, 19, 20, 25, 26, 34–35, 47, 108, 478–79
Kaminsky, Leon (uncle), 19
Kaminsky, Max (father), 2, 3, 6–8, 107, 306; death of, 7, 8–9, 47, 130, 224
Kanfer, Stefan, 131
Kanne, Gretchen, 260–61
Kanter, Jay, 395, 518
Kantor, Michael, 14
Kaplan, Stanley, 44
Karloff, Boris, 11, 335, 342
Karras, Alex, 323
Kasher, Charles, 187, 338
Kauffman, Stanley, 403, 476
Kaufman, George S., 158
Kay, Hershy, 214
Kaye, Danny, 54, 369
Kaye, Nora, 113, 113n, 114–15
Kazan, Lainie, 18, 441
Kazan, Nicholas, 428
Keach, Stacy, 549
Keaton, Buster, 10, 362
Keaton, Diane, 385
Keith, Hal, 62
Keller, Sheldon, 124, 167, 255
Kelly (musical), 231–34, 251–52, 286
Kempley, Rita, 502
Kempson, Rachel, 290
Kendall, Kay, 142–43
Kerkorian, Kirk, 469, 477
Kholos, Michelle, 531, 532, 533
Kimmel, Jimmy, 545
King, Alan, 3, 133, 310, 365
King, Dave, 158–59
King of Comedy (Levy), 171
Kingsley, Dorothy, 105
Kinoy, Ernest, 118, 121
Kirkwood, James, Jr., 389–90, 445, 446
Kissel, Howard, 33, 375
Kiss Me like a Stranger (Wilder), 329
Kitt, Eartha, 87, 138–40, 145, 166
Kleier, Sean, 549
Klein, Robert, 309
Klein, Stewart, 375
Kleinsinger, George, 138, 139
Knepp, Natalie, 549
Kohlmar, Fred, 101, 102, 105
Korman, Harvey, 325, 326, 329, 381, 382, 408, 480, 488, 506, 549
Kroll, Jack, 375
Kubrick, Stanley, 224, 289, 320
Kutcher, Benjamin F., 28–29, 32, 47–50
Ladd, Alan, Jr., 338–39, 395, 468–70, 477, 485, 486n, 487, 493, 518
Ladies Man, The (film), 174; see also “The Girls’ Boy,” 170
Lady Sings the Blues (film), 311
Lahr, John, 523, 525
Laine, Frankie, 331–32
Lamar, Bob, 392
Lamarr, Hedy, 319
Lancaster, Bill, 377
Landesman, Rocco, 520
Lane, Nathan, 395, 521–22, 523, 526, 529–30, 532, 534, 537, 548–49
Lane Theatre, Philadelphia, 277–78
Langella, Frank, 185, 253, 254, 277, 285, 287, 292, 293, 298, 417, 543
Lapham, Lewis H., 231–32
Lardner, Jr., Ring, 301
LaSalle, Mick, 537
Last Hunt, The (film), 472
“Last Man, The” (spec script), 246–47, 248, 448n
Last Movie, The (film), 338
Last Picture Show, The (film), 338, 344
Latouche, John, 115–16
Laughter on the 23rd Floor (play), 441n, 443, 521
Lawrence, Carol, 86–87
Lawrence, Eddie, 231, 232, 234
Lawrence, Gertrude, 65
Lawrence, Peter, 139
Lawrence Welk Show, The (TV show), 136
Leachman, Cloris, 344, 381, 382, 408, 480
Lean, David, 474
Lear, Frances, 377–78
Lear, Norman, 114, 151, 244, 311, 318, 328, 377–78, 465, 528, 544, 547
Lee, Ngoot, 214
Lee, Rowland V., 337
Lemmon, Jack, 172, 361
Lengyel, Melchior, 389, 447, 448
Lerner, Alan Jay, 141, 158
LeRoy, Mervyn, 361
Les Crane Show, The (TV show), 206
Les Girls (film), 143
Le Studio Canal+, 489, 493, 503
Les Visiteurs (film), 503
Letterman, David, 545
Levin, Herman, 68, 90, 97
; Levine, Joseph E., 307; The Graduate, 279–80; Kelly, 231, 234, 251–52, 286; pictures produced by, 252; The Producers, 251–53, 258, 267, 278, 278n, 279–80, 283, 285–86, 288; The Twelve Chairs, 282
Levine, Rosalie, 289
Levinson, Barry, 251n, 369–70, 371, 374, 378, 380, 381, 387, 394
Levinson, Barry 250–51
Levy, Shawn, 171–72
Lew Grade Organization, 338
Lewin, Kaufman & Schwartz, 153
Lewis, Jerry, 68, 74, 142, 150–53, 157, 167, 170, 174, 374, 420, 547; MB and, 150–52, 167, 169–74, 180
Lewis, Richard, 501
Lewis, Robert, 457–58
Lewis, William, 147
Liebman, Max, 48, 52–54, 57, 58, 60, 71, 72, 92, 102, 111–12, 124; MB and, 53, 55–56, 62–63, 66, 68–69, 99; Reiner and, 82; Your Show of Shows and, 61–65, 70, 71, 97, 101, 110–12
Life Stinks (film), 404, 485–91, 502, 513; Cannes Film Festival and, 488–89; editing, 488; filming, 488; idea for and script, 486–89; MB promoting, 490; MB’s interviews on, 489; MB starring in, 487; production team, 488; release, 489, 490; reviews, 489; story credits, 487; video and ancillary markets, 490–91; writers, 486–87, 505
Linn-Baker, Mark, 214, 441, 441n
Lion King, The (animated feature), 521
Lipstick (film), 382
Lipton, James, 199
Little, Cleavon, 17, 38, 326–27, 329
Little Foxes, The (play), 271
Little Me (play), 203–4
Little Prince, The (film), 328, 329, 337
Lloyd, Norman, 139
Lodger, The (film), 12
Loewe, Frederick, 141
Logan, Ella, 232
Logan, Joshua, 174, 188–90, 193–95
Loggia, Robert, 113
Lohmann, Paul, 374, 381
Lollobrigida, Gina, 143
Lombard, Carole, 389
Lombardi, Tony “Uncle Tony,” 19
London Independent, Wilder interview, 540
Lone Ranger, The (radio show), 26
Long, William Ivey, 526
Long Day’s Journey into Night (film), 207
Look Who’s Talking Too (film), 511
Loos, Anita, 67
Loose Shoes (film), 404
Loretta Young Show, The (TV show), 168
Los Angeles Times, 543; “Creating a Monster,” 362; MB interview (1998), 509–10; reviews of MB’s films and plays, 285, 298, 346, 354, 384, 411, 443, 460–61, 476, 489, 490, 507, 524, 540; The Tonight Show and, 204–5
Loudon, Dorothy, 199
Love Potion No. 9 (film), 492
Lubitsch, Ernst, 94, 388, 389, 445, 447, 448, 449, 450, 457, 452, 453, 456, 460; see also To Be or Not to Be
Lucas, George, 470, 471
Lucas, Malcolm M., 433
Lugosi, Bela, 505
Lumet, Sidney, 199, 261, 463, 492
Lunney, David, 363, 388–89, 445, 449–50
Luv (musical), 260
Lynch, David, 397–98; The Elephant Man and, 398–403, 404, 427
Lynde, Paul, 87, 369
Lynn, Bambi, 76, 155
M*A*S*H (film), 301, 327, 410
M*A*S*H (TV show), 128, 360, 446
MacLaine, Shirley, 211, 390
MacNicol, Peter, 506
Macy, Bill, 441
Mad About You (TV show), 512
Mademoiselle review of The Producers, 283
Madison, William V., 331, 350
Maher, Bill, 545
Make Mine Manhattan (revue), 52–53, 61
Making the Elephant Man (Sanger), 434
Malibu, Ca., 361, 414, 481
Malin Studios, NYC, 62
Mamma Leone’s, N.Y., 161
Mandel, George, 214
Manhattan (film), 441
Mankiewicz, Joseph L., 528
Mann, Hummie, 501
Manning, Robert, 482
Man of La Mancha (musical), 138
Marceau, Marcel, 369, 372, 424
March, Hal, 150
Marco Polo (TV miniseries), 419
Marks, Peter, 540–41
Marquis, Don, 138
“Marriage Is a Dirty Rotten Fraud” (unproduced script), 134–35, 160, 216–19, 227, 230, 241–44, 248, 294, 364, 422, 437, 463, 486
Mars, Kenneth, 259, 270, 275, 276, 344, 352
Marsh, Terence, 474
Marshall, Noel, 429, 430, 432
Martin, Dean, 68, 74, 90, 142, 151, 154, 286
Martin, Steve, 245n, 395
Martinet, Mary Katherine (“M. K.”), 67–68, 70, 85, 89–90, 108
Marty Feldman Comedy Machine, The (TV show), 334, 370
Marx, Groucho, 181
Marx Brothers, 11, 131, 159, 362
Mary Tyler Moore Show, The (TV show), 344
Maslin, Janet, 403, 410–11, 442–43, 471
Mason, Jackie, 409
Mason, Marsha, 80
Mata (Meta Krahn) and (Otto Ulbricht) Hari, 76, 295
Matheson, Tim, 450, 462
Maugham, Somerset, 102, 103
Max’s Kansas City, N.Y., 245–46, 260, 268, 317n
May, Elaine, 177, 186
Mayer, Edwin Justus, 389, 447, 448–49
Mays, Willie, 115
Mazursky, Paul, 280, 301, 518
MCA, 142, 144
McCarter, Jeremy, 542
McCarty, Mary, 54, 56
McClain, John, 139
McCourt, Frank, 531
McCrea, Joel, 388, 490
McDonald, Audra, 544
McLaren, Norman, 210
McLean, Nick, 475
McMahon, Ed, 205, 306, 310
McNulty, Charles, 540
McQueen, Steve, 372
Meader, Vaughn, 178
Meadows, Audrey, 155
Meara, Anne, 304, 306
Medavoy, Mike, 334, 335, 338
Medwick, Joe “Ducky,” 19
Meehan, Thomas, 217, 295, 352, 366, 446, 460, 486, 537; The Producers musical, 516–18, 522, 523, 526, 532; Spaceballs 471, 472–73, 500, 516; To Be or Not to Be, 446–50, 516; Young Frankenstein musical, 537; Young Frankenstein musical script revision, 549–550; film of The Producers musical, 532–533
Meier, Richard, 212
Meisner, Sanford, 452, 458
Mel Brooks Strikes Back! (TV show), 544–45
Melnick, Daniel, 201, 232, 233, 238, 239, 241; Curtain Going Up!, 84; Get Smart, 220, 223, 229, 230; MB and, 84, 231–32
Mendelsohn, Daniel, 524
Mengers, Sue, 322
Menjou, Adolphe, 59
Meredith, Burgess, 65
Meredith, Lee, 259–60, 373, 517
Merman, Ethel, 14, 161
Merrick, David, 32
Merrill, Robert, 66, 70, 295
MGM (later MGM/UA and MGM Pathé), 469, 485–86, 497, 504; Brooksfilms Limited and, 493; Ladd at, 469–71, 477, 485, 486, 486n; Life Stinks, 486–87; MB at, 486, 504, 516; My Favorite Year, 440, 442; Spaceballs, 470–71, 475, 477, 486
Mike Douglas Show, The (TV show), 206
Milk and Honey (musical), 515
Miller, Arthur, 85, 87, 266, 386
Miller, Bill, 52
Miller, Ira, 404
Miller, Marilyn, 6
Miller, Walter C., 306
Milligan, Spike, 436
Minnelli, Liza, 372
Miracle Worker, The (play and film), 184–85, 207, 231, 253, 295, 493, 534
Miramax, 503, 520
Mitchell, Cameron, 441
Mobley, Robert, 201
Modern Times (film), 10
Monet, Robert, 110
“Monotonous” (song), 87
Montagu, Ashley, 394, 426
Montague, Percy, 50
Montand, Yves, 161
Montecito Apartments, Los Angeles, 170
Monty Python’s Flying Circus, 413–14
Moody, Ron, 189, 282, 287, 293, 298, 299
Mooney, Paul, 313
Moon is Blue, The (film), 102
Moonstruck (film), 469
Moranis, Rick, 474
Morris, Bronwen, 525n
Morris, Helen, 68, 109
Morris, Howard, 66–67, 71, 76n, 107, 116, 202, 411n, 420, 483, 547; Caesar’s Hour, 112, 124, 127; friendship with MB, 67–68, 109, 230; Get Smart, 230; High Anxiety, 381; History of the World, Part I, 408; Life Stinks, 488; Polly Bergen Show, 142–43; Your Show of Shows, 76, 100, 127, 254–55, 381
Morris, John, 262–63, 501, 515, 516; Blazing Saddles, 328, 331, 356; The Elephant Man, 404; High Anxiety, 381; Life Stinks, 488; The Producers, 262–63, 525n; Spaceballs, 475; Silent Movie, 374; The Twelve Chairs, 288; Young Frankenstein, 345
Morris, William, 84
Morse, Robert, 521
Mostel, Kate, 257
Mostel, Zero, 118–20, 136, 189, 196–97, 214, 249n, 277, 293, 302, 328, 372, 521; The Producers and, 256–57, 265–68, 270–71, 275, 278, 279, 283, 284, 289
Mother Courage and Her Children (play), 212, 226
Moulin Rouge (film), 94
Muppet Movie, The (film), 365
Murphy, Brianne, 391–92
Murray, Bill, 404
Murray, Jan, 415
Music Man, The (musical), 520, 522, 523
My Fair Lady (musical), 158, 162, 258
My Favorite Year (film), 19, 214, 437–44, 529; cast, 440–41, 450; director, 440; MB as writer-producer, 26, 439, 440, 444; production team, 440; reviews and kudos, 442–43; story idea and script, 437–40; writing credits, 438–39, 495
My Sister Eileen (film), 105, 141
My Son, the Hero (film), 213
Naked Gun 2½, The (film), 506
Nashville (film), 374
National Public Radio, Fresh Air, 489
NBC, 56, 113; Admiral Broadway Revue, 53, 54, 56, 58, 65; Caesar’s deal with, 111; Caesar’s Hour, 111–12, 116, 117, 136; City Center facility, 58; Colgate Comedy Hour, 68, 114; Colgate Summer Comedy Hour, 115–16; The Elephant Man, 398, 401; Get Smart, 230, 231, 236–38, 309; Imogene Coca Show, 111–12, 117–18; NBC Saturday Night Revue, 65, 70; The Nutt House, 479–81; Perry Como Show, 184; Polly Bergen Show, 143; Red Buttons Show, 116; Tinker and, 229; Your Show of Shows, 58, 61–80, 101, 106, 110–11
Neal, Patricia, 230–31
Nelson, Craig T., 370
New Dick Van Dyke Show, The (TV show), 317n, 325
New Faces of 1937, 190n
New Faces of 1952, 85–88, 88n, 118, 138, 139, 523; “Of Fathers and Sons,” 86–89, 88n; “Guess Who I Saw Today?” (song), 353
New Faces of 1968, 324
Newhart, Bob, 186, 256
Newman, Louis I., 108–9
Newman, Paul, 372
New Republic, The, 403, 476, 524
Newsday, 375, 469, 481, 526, 534; MB interview, 541–42
Newsweek, 77, 375, 413n; MB cover, 353–56, 415; The Producers review, 284
New York Daily News, The, 168, 199, 278; reviews, 284, 375
New Yorker, The, 446; MB profile, 161, 301n, 538n; reviews, 284, 298, 385, 443, 460, 523, 525; see also Pauline Kael