This is the Forward’s coverage of Jewish comedian Mel Brooks.
Mel Brooks
The Latest
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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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The Schmooze Jerry Seinfeld, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and Ricky Gervais Talk About Hitler
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…
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The Schmooze In New HBO Special, Mel Brooks Is in Fine Form
“Good evening ladies and Jews.” That, Mel Brooks explains, is the way he used to start his shtick in the Catskills resorts where he honed his craft. It’s also how he begins his outstanding January 31 HBO stand up (and given his 86 years, partly sit-down) special, “Mel Brooks: Live at the Geffen.” Brooks offers…
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The Schmooze 8 Best (and Worst) Mel Brooks Movies
Melvin James Kaminsky is finally getting the tribute he deserves. A monthlong retrospective at the Bell Lightbox, home of the Toronto International Film Festival, is honoring the director better known as Mel Brooks. “It’s Good to Be the King” salutes the 88-year-old’s “triumphant bad taste and transcendently-awful-cum-pricelessly-hilarious jokery,” according to program notes. Though Brooks hasn’t…
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The Schmooze Mel Brooks’s 11-Finger Hollywood Handprint
Getty Images When he’s not watching “Downton Abbey” with Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks keeps busy by pranking future generations. The comedian finally cemented his Hollywood legacy on Monday afternoon during the Hollywood Cement Ceremony outside Mann’s Chinese Theater (“Blazing Saddles!”). The event also marked the 40th anniversary of “Young Frankenstein.” Dressed as only Mel Brooks…
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Opinion Tell It on the Mountain: A Shavuot Holiday Concert
The festival of Shavuot begins tonight. You all know what that means: time for a little holiday music. Herewith a mix of Peter Paul & Mary, Shlomo Carlebach, Shoshana Damari, Bob Dylan, some Ladino sacred cancon, some 1950s doo-wop and lots more, including a snippet of Mel Brooks. The holiday comes seven weeks after Passover…
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Yiddish ייִדישע דעטעקטיװ־מעשׂיות פֿון דער אַמאָליקער גאַליציע — אויף ענגלישYiddish detective stories from Galicia, now in English
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