Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Jewish comedian Mel Brooks.
Mel Brooks
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News It’s Hitler in Yiddish as Mel Brooks Gem ‘The Producers’ Returns to Stage
True story. About a decade ago, a Jewish businessman — Siberian born, but Brooklyn raised — ran into Mel Brooks at the Joe Allen restaurant in Manhattan’s Theater District. “Vos macht a yid?” the man asked Brooks in Yiddish. “How’s it going?” Taking on a Yiddish intonation, Brooks replied. “Shhh …” he said. “I’m not…
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The Schmooze How 100 Years of Jewish Jokes Shaped Modern Humor
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…
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Film & TV How an Orthodox 6-Year-Old Became the Star of ‘Hotel Transylvania 2’
When five-year-old Asher Blinkoff strode off into the audition room, his father, Saul, was a little nervous. An old pro of the movie industry, Saul has directed several films himself and worked for Walt Disney Animation Studios before that. He knew what to expect, but to leave his son in a room full of strangers…
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The Schmooze Is That a Mel Brooks Joke in the New Frankenstein Trailer?
Among the many iconic lines from Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein,” (“Walk this way;” “Would you like to roll in the hay;” “Frau Blucher”) one always stands out for me. It’s the one spoken by Dr. Frederick Frankenstein when, upon meeting his assistant Igor for the first time, he corrects his pronunciation. The exchange goes as…
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The Schmooze Let’s Make ‘Spaceballs: The LEGO Set’ Happen!
“Who knows? God willing, we’ll all meet again in Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money.” Sadly for Yoghurt, the Yoda-spoof of Mel Brooks’ “Spaceballs” (1986), there was no Spaceballs 2, but the quest for money lives on! Well, maybe. Introducing the submitted to Lego’s “Ideas” crowd sourced suggestion platform. User NvdK offered the concept…
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The Schmooze Can ‘2000 Year Old Man’ Live Without Mel Brooks?
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…
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The Schmooze Mel Brooks Making London Debut
Getty Images Think Yiddish, dress British is getting a revamp: Mel Brooks is about to make his solo London debut. According to [the Telegraph]( (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/11445043/Mel-Brooks-first-ever-London-show-announced.html ‘the Telegraph’)), the 88-year-old will bring his particular brand of Jewish comedy to The Prince of Wales Theatre “for an evening of storytelling about his childhood memories and Hollywood anecdotes,…
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Culture The Secret Jewish History of Richard Pryor
● Becoming Richard Pryor By Scott Saul Harper, 608 Pages, $27.99 Richard Pryor’s personal history has already been relentlessly mined by numerous biographies as well as in the comedian’s stand-up acts and memoir. Still, Scott Saul’s new biography “Becoming Richard Pryor” adds a lot of new information. In his author’s note, Saul takes particular pride…
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