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Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. A recipient of numerous accolades, he is one of 21 entertainers to win the EGOT (which includes an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony). He received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2009, a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2010, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2013, a British Film Institute Fellowship in 2015, a National Medal of Arts in 2016, a BAFTA Fellowship in 2017, and the Honorary Academy Award in 2024.
Brooks began his career as a comic and a writer forΒ Sid Caesar's variety showΒ Your Show of Shows(1950β1954). There, he worked withΒ Neil Simon,Β Woody Allen,Β Larry Gelbart, andΒ Carl Reiner. With Reiner, he co-created the comedy sketchΒ The 2000 Year Old Man. He released several comedy albums, starting withΒ 2000 Year Old ManΒ in 1960. Brooks received five nominations for theΒ Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album, finally winning in 1999. WithΒ Buck Henry, he created the hit satirical spyΒ comedyΒ seriesΒ Get SmartΒ (1965β1970) on NBC television.
Brooks won theΒ Academy Award for Best Original ScreenplayΒ forΒ The ProducersΒ (1967). He then rose to prominence by directing a string of successful comedy films such asΒ The Twelve ChairsΒ (1970),Β Blazing SaddlesΒ (1974),Β Young FrankensteinΒ (1974),Β Silent MovieΒ (1976), andΒ High AnxietyΒ (1977). Later, Brooks madeΒ History of the World, Part IΒ (1981),Β SpaceballsΒ (1987),Β Life StinksΒ (1991),Β Robin Hood: Men in TightsΒ (1993), andΒ Dracula: Dead and Loving ItΒ (1995).Β AΒ musical adaptationΒ of his first film,Β The Producers, ran on Broadway from 2001 to 2007 and earned Brooks threeΒ Tony Awards. The project was remade into aΒ musical film in 2005. He wrote and produced theΒ HuluΒ seriesΒ History of the World, Part IIΒ (2023).
Brooks was married to actressΒ Anne BancroftΒ from 1964 until she died in 2005. Their son, Max Brooks, is an actor and author known for his novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie WarΒ (2006). In 2021, Mel Brooks published his memoir titledΒ All About Me!. Three of his films are included on theΒ American Film Institute's list of theΒ top 100 comedy films of the past 100 years (1900β2000), all of which were ranked in the top 15:Β Blazing SaddlesΒ at number 6,Β The Producers at number 11, andΒ Young FrankensteinΒ at number 13.
