At 26, after taking dictation and guff from assorted people in show business with egos ranging from inflated to absurdly inflated, I met Carl Reiner. On talk shows he’d seemed like an incredible mensch, so when I heard from a friend that his secretary was leaving, I desperately wanted her job. Reiner would be respectful…
Not that it should come as any surprise, but Vulture’s recent list of merely affirms the widespread assumption that much if not most of what passes for contemporary humor was and remains directly or indirectly forged out of the tragicomedy of Jewish culture. With roots going back to the Old World badkhns through Yiddish vaudeville…
Photo: Blake Ezra Comedy history was made in 1961 with the creation of Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner’s classic routine, “The 2000 Year Old Man.” Brooks played the oldest Jewish man in the world, interviewed by Carl Reiner in a series of skits that appeared on television and five award winning albums. Topics ranged from…
Put a couple of Jewish comedians in a room together and it’s only a matter of time before one of them mentions Hitler. This “Single Shot” montage from “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” just proves the point. Watch Jerry Seinfeld make fun of the ultimate Big Bad with Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Barry Marder, Ricky Gervais…
Ironically, it was Mel Brooks who asked the first question: “So, how long have you been working for the Jewish Daily Forward?” Then he wondered aloud how I spell my name, and he graded my response. “You got all the letters right,” he said, and laughed when I ask for extra credit for getting them…
In case you missed it. Mel Brooks has joined Twitter! This is my 1st tweet – watch me with @carlreiner & @juddapatow live at 5E/2P for #comedyfest P.S. Carl made me do it. ampmdash; Mel Brooks (@MelBrooks) April 29, 2013 The comedy genius hopped on the blue birdie train during a Comedy Central chat with…
Courtesy of HBO Dick Cavett calls Mel Brooks more than a comedy star; he’s a “super nova.” Mel Brooks calls Dick Cavett “spectacularly gentile.” The two share the stage on the appropriately titled HBO special, “Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again,” an hour-long, anecdote-filled, hilarious love fest debuting September 9 at 9:00 p.m. Brooks…
The November 23 release by Shout! Factory of “The 2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History,” a 3-CD and 1-DVD set, exuberantly celebrates Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner’s classic comic shtik. Alongside all the beloved old albums, starting in 1961, and even an animated film, is an interview filmed in August 2009. In the latter,…
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