Biography for
Mel Brooks
Birth name
Melvin Kaminsky
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Height
5' 4" (1.63 m)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spouse
Anne Bancroft (5 August 1964 - present) 1 son
Florence Baum (1951 - 1961) (divorced) 3 children

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trade mark
Frequently casts himself, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Rudy De Luca, and Madeline Kahn.

Almost always uses music by John Morris.

Frequently uses the line: "we have much to do and less time to do it in"

His films usually contain many Jewish references and jokes.

Always features one scene in his movies in which the main character is seated and staring blankly, wondering what went wrong, while friends console him.

The main bad guy in his films is usually someone wearing a moustache or a beard.

Always features a scene where one character is explaining a plan to another, and the latter character repeats everything the former says, including something outrageous. After realizing this, the latter exclaims "what?"

Lead character in his films is always a male.

Known for parodying several films.

His films often contain references to the film's sequel, which never come to pass. Good examples of this are History of the World Part I, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

Is known for including in his movies a "walk this way" gag; one character says "Walk this way!" (as in "Follow me!"), and another character(s) copies the way he/she is walking. Examples include History of the World Part I, Young Frankenstein, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

Frequently has a bust of his head on the poster of video/DVD cover of his movies.

All of his movies feature a wacky song-and-dance number.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 (1968) 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 (1968); 3 Emmys in a row (1997-1999) for his guest appearance as Uncle Phil in "Mad About You" (1992); 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 Max (with Bancroft) 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 (1968) 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 (1981) called "It's Good To Be The King". It was a suprisingly successful hip-hop/dance hit in 1981. He followed it up with "Hitler Rap" for To Be or Not to Be (1983). 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, due to this friendship.

In 2001, on three Tony Awards for "The Producers, the new Mel Brooks musical": 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.