The great Mel Brooks is 99 years old today. His next project is a forthcoming sequel to 1987’s Spaceballs, which reportedly will bring the also-wonderful Rick Moranis out of retirement. (Moranis left acting, other than the occasional voice role, after his wife died – his kids needed him.)
Comedy doesn’t always age well, but my hunch is that Brooks’s will endure about as well as comedy can – he’s on a par with the Marx Brothers, and maybe even Bugs Bunny, in the American comedy pantheon. He has a finely-tuned sense of the absurd, enjoys sending up social pieties, and he’s never cruel. His work is generous to the genres it lampoons. He has been generous to other artists, too: he produced, among many other things, both David Lynch’s The Elephant Man and David Cronenberg’s The Fly. And he ran interference for both those directors when it came to studio meddling:
He is also a member of the “EGOT” club – he’s won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.
I could load up this post with dozens of great clips of his stuff from YouTube. I’m just going to share this one I saw today for the first time: Brooks and his wife, the stone-cold fox Anne Bancroft, singing “Sweet Georgia Brown” together on a British variety show in 1983.
Just, you know, in Polish.
Enjoy, and may Mr. Brooks live another hundred years. Share your favorite lines or clips from this great American original in the comments.
UPDATED: Via Another Scott in the comments, a reminder that Mel Brooks was also a WWII veteran who served in the Battle of the Bulge. Thanks, Another Scott!
UPDATED, AGAIN: Frank McCormick shares this additional bit of context in a comment below:
“The performance of ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’ is most likely publicity for a remake of an Ernst Lubitsch film, ‘To Be or Not to Be’, from 1942 set in Poland just before the German invasion. The original stars were Jack Benny and Carole Lombard. The remake was released in 1983.
Both versions of the film are a hoot, with Benny and Brooks eventually impersonating Adolph Hitler as part of a plot to recover a list of Polish underground pilots from a double agent.
The title refers to how every time Benny/Brooks begins his version of Hamlet’s soliloquy, a good looking young man stands up and leaves the theater to have an assignation with Lombard/Bancroft.
The version of “Sweet Georgia Brown” from the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM7WG9C5HTg
The 1983 trailer:
Thanks, Frank!
Respite open thread.
suzanne
“That’s the same combination I have on my luggage!” comes up often in my life.
trollhattan
Since George Burns left us Mel is the closest we have to god walking the earth. And it’s a tonic to realize god has a sense of humor.
Rose Judson
@suzanne: One of my sisters has horses, and whenever they whinny, we all yell “Frau Blücher!”
NotMax
FYI. Not as respite-y as it might be but science is always welcome, eh? Let’s be careful out there.
NotMax
@trollhattan
Dick van Dyke is also 99.
Just sayin’. ;)
Rose Judson
@NotMax: I once tried to charm a man I was interested in by telling him the story about how Dick Van Dyke wound up going adrift while surfing and was rescued by porpoises.
The man was not impressed, strangely.
VFX Lurker
Princess Vespa: “Hey! I don’t have to put up with this! I’m rich!“
Another Scott
Brooks had a pretty amazing stint in the Army as well as did many of the millions in his generation.
HBD Mel!
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
bbleh
Lol that clip is hilarious. Go ahead, add more. We could use ’em.
NotMax
Bit of respite fluff from across the pond.
The aunties are all right.
Baud
Ni-CLANG was a staple of the Obama years.
Rusty
Carol Burnett is 92, another great comedian who is still with us and whose humor stands up even now.
NotMax
@Baud
A staple in the centerfold of America.
//
pluky
Putting the business on hold because his kids needed him, my respect for Mr. Moranis just went up a few orders of magnitude.
Rose Judson
@Another Scott: Awesome article. Added to the main post. Thanks!
Elizabelle
That video clip was a great antidote to worrying about GOP and their BBB.
Mel Brooks has lived through worse, and triumphed. Happy 99th. Anne Bancroft was splendid.
twbrandt
that clip of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft is wonderful!
stinger
The man sitting behind Anne Bancroft is Mr. Hudson, the butler in the original Upstairs, Downstairs (Gordon Jackson).
Elizabelle
And Mel Brooks is an EGOT winner. Applause.
NotMax
Mel Brooks on filming The Twelve Chairs in Yugoslavia.
:)
MattF
Getting as far as possible from absolutely anything, news from the land of incomprehensibly large numbers.
ETA: Note that the various links in the post are very much worth reading.
NeenerNeener
Parts of “History of the World Part 1” are stuck in my brain, especially the part about the philosopher in the unemployment line in ancient Rome:
“Did you bullshit last week? Did you try to bullshit last week?”
Steve LaBonne
Use the Schwartz, Mel!
Rose Judson
@NeenerNeener: Applies beautifully to pundits.
They Call Me Noni
@NotMax: I love that being vegan is just a bridge too far for them!! Hilarious.
NeenerNeener
@Rose Judson: It does indeed.
Frank McCormick
The performance of “Sweet Georgia Brown” is most likely publicity for a remake of an Ernst Lubitsch film, “To Be or Not to Be”, from 1942 set in Poland just before the German invasion. The original stars were Jack Benny and Carole Lombard. The remake was released in 1983.
Both versions of the film are a hoot, with Benny and Brooks eventually impersonating Adolph Hitler as part of a plot to recover a list of Polish underground pilots from a double agent.
The title refers to how every time Benny/Brooks begins his version of Hamlet’s soliloquy, a good looking young man stands up and leaves the theater to have an assignation with Lombard/Bancroft.
The version of “Sweet Georgia Brown” from the movie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM7WG9C5HTg
The 1983 trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgNW4Pl4L2g&t=153s
They Call Me Noni
@Rusty: I have so many memories of watching her show. She’s fabulous.
Raoul Paste
“ Mongo merely pawn in game of life…”
zhena gogolia
His autobiography is well worth reading.
I love his scene with Madeline Kahn in the airport in High Anxiety.
ETA: Hope it hasn’t already been posted, but I couldn’t wait.
Chetan Murthy
@They Call Me Noni: “Went with the Wind”
Another Scott
@MattF: Thanks for the pointer.
Gamow’s 1, 2, 3, … Infinity and the Ramanujan biography, The Man Who Knew Infinity passed along to me some of the wonder of “simple” numbers and ratios and sets and so forth. But this Busy Beaver number stuff is wild.
Thanks.
Best wishes,
Scott.
sab
I don’t know about singing Polish, bit she danced way better than he did.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
Caught the original The Producers movie on TCM last night. (Made in 1967!). It was great, with something to offend everyone. Zero Mostel was wonderful, and Mel Brooks is a comedy genius. But Young Frankenstein is still my favorite, with Gene Wilder and the monster singing Putting on the Ritz my favorite scene. Wonderful cameo with Gene Hackman as the blind man.
cmorenc
Speaking of Brooks being a WW2 vet @99yo, I just returned from the 100th birthday party of my Uncle, a vet of the Battle of the Bridge @Remagen. The generation of WW2 vets are fast-dwindling, and with them the generation who understood and were attuned to sacrifice and service for the common good in the US. And coincidentally they were the generation who lived through the Great Depression, also a time when the country understood the need for government action.
sab
@sab: My dad died last year at 99 and 5/12 months.
I really really hope I don’t make it that long, spouse dead, friends dead, trapped in nursing home (jail for those who don’t deserve jail.)
Dad was protected by an amazing nurse’s aide we hired, but he still was imprisoned away from his home (which I sold out from under him.) Will haunt me for the rest of my life.
J.
That clip is fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing it. Looking forward to Spaceballs 2.
Professor Bigfoot
“…the common clay of the New West. You know… morons.”
”That man is a eunuch. That man is a eunuch. That man is dead!”
”Lady, that’s my arm you’re sucking on.” (alleged)
sab
@sab: Which surprised me, because I thought she sucked in Turning Point, the only movie I saw her in where I thought she was terrible. (I saw her in other movies where I thought she was excellent.)
Prima ballerina with bad posture? That’s supposed to be believable?
hells littlest angel
“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.”
NotMax
@sab
The Hunchback of Giselle.
//
divF
I share today as my birthday with Mel Brooks (I’m only 73, though – a mere child). Sto Lat , Mr. B !
eclare
@NotMax:
Hahaha…
NutmegAgain
Such a wonderful clip! thank you. And, agree with all, May he live another 99+1
bbleh
@Baud: and “people of the land, the common clay” remains a staple today.
NutmegAgain
@sab: I’m so sorry. My grandfather died at 96 (after having been run over at 90–that’s what walking everywhere and never owning a car can get you!) He had a lot of rehab, but he was clearly dying in the facility. My mom managed to find him an apartment, with a visiting nurse, and the nice Lithuanian lady downstairs cooked for him. But he was long past outliving everyone he knew, and everyone he loved not a kid or grandkid. It was harsh.
sab
@sab: Apparently she was substantially taller than every ballet professional (male or female) in the cast, which would make her likely to slouch.
brantl
@Raoul Paste: “Somebody’s got to go get a shitload of dimes!”
They Call Me Noni
@Chetan Murthy: I saw it in the window and just had to have it!
Rose Judson
@Frank McCormick: Thank you for this additional context! Shall add it to the main post.
Gin & Tonic
@Frank McCormick: Was that song in the Benny/Lombard film? I’m wondering who wrote the lyrics, which bear only the most tenuous connection with “Sweet Georgia Brown” as sung by, e.g. Ella Fitzgerald.
jowriter
@Another Scott: I loved his autobiography (titled, but of course, All About Me!) Never a shrinking violet, that guy. A storyteller supreme; many of the book’s personal anecdotes had me lol-ing.
Uncle Cosmo
@Frank McCormick: IIRC the movie (a remake of the eponymous 1942 flick starring Jack Benny) opens on a busy Polish street seen scene ;^p from above, and as the camera swings down to street level it passes the street sign reading KUBELSKY STREET – in honor of Benjamin Kubelsky (1894-1974), better known by his stage name – Jack Benny.
Nice touch.
Scuffletuffle
@stinger: oh, what a treat to see his hansome face and lovely smile!!!
Elizabelle
RE The Elephant Man:
That is a slam’s slam. Applause.
Thor Heyerdahl
I remember the 40th anniversary showing of Blazing Saddles was on ny hotel room TV in Santa Monica while I was getting ready to go out. I couldn’t figure out why it seemed off. I then realized they were blanking out all the swearing and racist insults.
On that note:
“We have to protect our phoney baloney jobs here, gentlemen!”
“What’s the matter, Colonel Sandurz? CHICKEN?”
And this Spaceballs sequence kills me every time:
Gin & Tonic
@MattF: Looks like I’m going to have to go read at least some of them, since I’m not easily grasping why a (basically) arithmetic operation – just *because* of its large result – becomes independent of ZFC.
lowtechcyclist
Since long-lived dads have entered the chat, my father lived a few months past his 90th birthday (and mentally sharp for all but the last few weeks), and would have turned 100 tomorrow if he’d lived. Thinking of you, Dad.
zhena gogolia
@Gin & Tonic: I’m pretty sure it’s not in the Benny version.
MattF
@Gin & Tonic: Some discussion in the comments section about that.
NotMax
@divF
Have a happy!
lowtechcyclist
50+ years later, I can happily watch Blazing Saddles for the umpteenth time, any time at all.
Lehrjet
We ain’t found shit!
narya
I saw an uncut showing of Blazing Saddles a month or so ago, and it is subversive AF. Richard Pryor has a screenwriting credit, which prolly explains some of that, but props to Mel, too. Also: same year as Young Frankenstein; we should all have such a year.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@Uncle Cosmo: Nice info!
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
@narya: IIRC, Brooks planned for Richard Pryor to play the sheriff (he wrote the part, after all) but the studio suits wouldn’t allow it, so they got Cleavon Little instead. Still a very subversive movie, amongst the fart jokes (the classic beans around the campfire scene).
laura
My beloved Mother and I loved, Loved, LOVED(!) Kissing each other’s cheeks and saying “taffeta darling, tafetta.” He’s a Good’n for real, for real.
Peke Daddy
@Thor Heyerdahl: And this bit.
https://youtu.be/fIyYTN86_Uk?si=iJ4LJjgG0tu9mgWL
Matt McIrvin
“I liebe ya, baby, I liebe ya, now liebe me alone!!”
Miss Bianca
@Matt McIrvin: lol! Love that one myself!
John Sterling
Did you mention he co-created Get Smart?
UncleEbeneezer
Speaking of 99 year old man, yesterday was the one year anniversary of the world collectively shitting our pants and beginning the witch-hunt of Old Joe Biden. I swear this shit is more triggering than images/memories of the fire.
Miss Bianca
@lowtechcyclist: same here! Of course, as far as I’m concerned, Blazing Saddles is actually a documentary disguised as a comedy.
Whomever
Living in NYC, I know a bunch of professional and semi-professional singers (I can’t sing to save my life but my wife has a degree in Opera). Doing Karaoke with everyone singing along to Springtime For Hitler was awesome…
Tehanu
@Uncle Cosmo:
Applause.
@Thor Heyerdahl:
On a related note, we went to a 25th anniversary screening of Blazing Saddles and were amazed that only a couple of dozen people were in the audience. The movie started, and after about 5 minutes I noticed this buzz noise all around me, and realized that everyone in the theater, including us, was reciting the dialogue along with the actors.
Papaloupas
In the 1960s Mel Brooks made a gently amazing comedy album, The 2,000 Year Old Man. Brooks at age 2,000 being interviewed by a deadpan Carl Reiner. Easy to find excerpts online still.
Paul in KY
@NotMax: My mom also.
Paul in KY
@Raoul Paste: I had a wonderful cat named Mongo. He was so sweet.
AnnaC
Mel Brooks has always been one of my all-time favorites! May he live as long as he wants but not want as long as he lives. I am so looking forward to Spaceballs 2 (which should be sub-titled “The Search for More Money”. The Schwartz is with Mel, always!