Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish comedian Mel Brooks.
Mel Brooks
The Latest
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Culture A history of Mel Brooks as a ‘disobedient Jew’
Jewish literature and American studies scholar Jeremy Dauber centers Jewish identity in a new biography of the director and actor
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Culture ‘History of the World, Part II’ is a Mel Brooks comedy without much Mel Brooks — and that’s a good thing
The star-studded Hulu series has a Brooksian sensibility, but fresher jokes
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Culture 5 questions for Mel Brooks about ‘The History of the World Part II’
The legendary comedian and filmmaker discusses his latest project and how Zoom has transformed comedy writing
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Culture The Space Force’s official song sounds like something Mel Brooks wrote
You'd be forgiven for thinking the tune sounds a whole lot like 'Jews in Space'
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Culture Mel Brooks delivers 500 pages on his favorite subject – himself
All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business By Mel Brooks Ballantine Books, 480 pages, $25 Mel Brooks’ memoir begins with a promise. In a preface, the 95-year-old actor-writer-director vows to make an intimate confession to his reader — one not to be shared with anyone. Then, he thinks a bit more about the…
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Culture No, David Zucker, you couldn’t make ‘Airplane!’ today — but why would you want to?
In a lengthy essay published in the New York Post, we learn that filmmaker David Zucker was recently asked an inane question at an anniversary screening of his 1980 film “Airplane!” “Could you make ‘Airplane!’ today?” an audience member asked. Zucker’s response was, “Of course, we could. Just without the jokes.” Really? Is there a…
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Culture For Mel Brooks’ 95th birthday, 4 ways he changed the world
From one Brooks, how many rivers flow? There’s a bit of trivia about the filmmaker, who turns 95 on Monday, that I often turn over in my head. On an episode of Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show,” Carl Reiner said that the two funniest people he knew were Brooks and a 16-year-old kid named Albert Einstein….
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Culture Muse to Jews, Cloris Leachman played funny, flawed women
“Every time I hear a horse whinny I will forever think of Cloris’ unforgettable Frau Blücher,” Mel Brooks wrote Wednesday on Twitter, as the media reported Cloris Leachman’s death at the age of 94. Indeed, few characters or performances have been so linked to Foley sound as Leachman’s turn as the eldritch housekeeper from Brooks’…
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