Mel Brooks turns 100 on June 28. For this monument of comedy, which spanned the 20th century, humor has never been simple entertainment. It is, in his words, “the opposite of death.”
Born Melvin Kaminsky in a modest background in Brooklyn, this son of European Jewish immigrants grew up without a father. A difficult start which creates in him a visceral need for attention. After learning the drums from jazz giant Buddy Rich, young Mel saw his youth interrupted by World War II. He joined the army and took part in the terrible Battle of the Ardennes. It was there, in the face of the Nazi horror, that his absolute determination to make a mockery of fascism was born. And he will do it more often than not.
On his return, he cut his teeth in the seaside resorts of the Borscht Belt before joining the legendary team of writers of the show “Your Show of Shows.” It’s the start of a meteoric rise. With his accomplice Carl Reiner, he created the cult sketch “The 2000-Year-Old Man”, a phenomenal success that won over even the British royal family.
In 1967, Brooks dared the unthinkable with his first film, “The Producers.” This story of provocative producers launching a musical called “Hitler’s Spring” shocks as much as it fascinates. Faced with criticism that the wounds of war are too fresh, Brooks retorts with his characteristic nerve. The film becomes a masterpiece of satire.
The year 1974 definitively established his genius with the quick release of the parody western “The Sheriff is in Prison” and the totally wacky “Frankenstein Junior”. The first even became one of the most profitable westerns in the history of cinema for almost two decades. A visionary producer in his spare time, he also finances the drama “Elephant Man” by David Lynch, taking care to remove his own name from the credits to prevent the public from expecting a comedy. This audacity and artistic flair allow him to join the very closed circle of artists, having won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony Award.
During all these years, Mel Brooks tackled other cinematographic diversions. He signs “The Great Thrill”, a mocking homage to the psychological thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock, “The Mad History of the World” where he notably lampoons the Bible, or even “The Mad History of Space”, a very amusing diversion from “Star Wars” and the science fiction of the 1980s.
Mel Brooks also wrote a few parody songs in the 1980s, again making fun of dictators and Nazism, with “It’s Good To Be The King” and “To Be Or Not To Be”.
Note that the film “The Mad History of Space” will have a sequel which will be released in 2027.
