134-521: Melvin James Brooks ( né Kaminsky ; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. 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 Award , a Grammy Award , an Academy Award , and
268-448: A Random House book launch of Moss Hart ' s autobiography, Act One , at Mamma Leone's , Mel Tolkin (standing in for Carl Reiner) and Mel Brooks performed, and it was later recalled by Kenneth Tynan . Reiner played the straight-man interviewer and set Brooks up as anything from a Tibetan monk to an astronaut. As Reiner explained: "In the evening, we'd go to a party and I'd pick a character for him to play. I never told him what it
402-625: A Robin Hood parody that lasted only 13 episodes. Nearly 20 years later, in response to the 1991 hit film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves , Brooks mounted another Robin Hood parody, Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). It resurrected several pieces of dialogue from his TV series, and from earlier Brooks films. After his two hit films Brooks got a call from Ron Clark who had an audacious idea:
536-607: A Tony Award . 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 for Sid Caesar 's variety show Your Show of Shows from 1950 to 1954. With Carl Reiner , he created
670-603: A corporal . After the war, Brooks's mother had secured him a job as a clerk at the Brooklyn Navy Yard , but Brooks "got into a taxi and ordered the driver to take him to the Catskills", where he started working in various Borscht Belt resorts and nightclubs in the Catskill Mountains as a drummer and pianist. When a regular comic at one of the clubs was too sick to perform, Brooks started working as
804-480: A musical , which was hugely successful on Broadway and received an unprecedented 12 Tony awards. In 2000, Roger Ebert included The Producers in his canon of Great Movies, and remembered being in an elevator with Brooks and Anne Bancroft shortly after the movie was released: "A woman got on the elevator, recognized him and said, 'I have to tell you, Mr. Brooks, that your movie is vulgar.' Brooks smiled benevolently. 'Lady', he said, 'it rose below vulgarity. ' " With
938-442: A woman's surname at birth that has been replaced or changed. In most English-speaking cultures, it is specifically applied to a woman's maiden name after her surname has changed due to marriage. The term né can be used to denote a man's surname at birth that has subsequently been replaced or changed. The diacritic mark (the acute accent ) over the e is considered significant to its spelling, and ultimately its meaning, but
1072-608: A Dirty Rotten Fraud was an autobiographical script based on his marriage. By 1966, Brooks was "living in a fairly old but comfortable New York town house". Brooks married actress Anne Bancroft in 1964, and they remained together for 41 years until her death in 2005. They met at a rehearsal for the Perry Como Variety Show in 1961, and were married three years later on August 5, 1964, at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau . Their son, Max Brooks ,
1206-405: A Nobel Prize–winning psychologist who suffers from " high anxiety ". By 1980, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert had referred to Mel Brooks and Woody Allen as "the two most successful comedy directors in the world today ... America's two funniest filmmakers". Released that year was the dramatic film The Elephant Man directed by David Lynch and produced by Brooks. Knowing that anyone seeing
1340-516: A black hero." When Gene Wilder replaced Gig Young as the Waco Kid, he did so only when Brooks agreed that his next film would be a script that Wilder had been working on: a spoof of the Universal series of Frankenstein films from several decades earlier. After the filming of Blazing Saddles was completed, Wilder and Brooks began writing the script for Young Frankenstein and shot it in
1474-510: A cameo appearance as an alcoholic ex-serf who "yearns for the regular beatings of yesteryear". The film was shot in Yugoslavia with a budget of $ 1.5 million. It received poor reviews and was not financially successful. Brooks then wrote an adaptation of Oliver Goldsmith 's She Stoops to Conquer , but was unable to sell the idea to any studio and believed that his career was over. In 1972, he met agent David Begelman , who helped him set up
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#17327655350941608-496: A character from Dostoevsky's The Idiot . And the name Leo Bloom is a reference to Leopold Bloom, hero of Joyce 's Ulysses . Regarding religion, Brooks stated, "I'm rather secular. I'm basically Jewish. But I think I'm Jewish not because of the Jewish religion at all. I think it's the relationship with the people and the pride I have. The tribe surviving so many misfortunes, and being so brave and contributing so much knowledge to
1742-685: A comedian at the age of 16, filling in for an ill MC. During his teens, he changed his name to Melvin Brooks, influenced by his mother's maiden name Brookman, after being confused with trumpeter Max Kaminsky . Brooks graduated from Eastern District High School in Williamsburg in January 1944 and intended to follow his older brother and enroll in Brooklyn College to study psychology. In early 1944, in his senior year in high school, Brooks
1876-576: A commercial center as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the great trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople , Kyiv was a tributary of the Khazars , until its capture by the Varangians ( Vikings ) in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the city became a capital of Kievan Rus' , the first East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasions in 1240,
2010-444: A crazy, unreal comic-strip kind of thing about something besides a family. No one had ever done a show about an idiot before. I decided to be the first." Starring Don Adams as Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, the series ran from 1965 until 1970, although Brooks had little involvement after the first season. It was highly rated for most of its production and won seven Emmy Awards , including Outstanding Comedy Series in 1968 and 1969. During
2144-444: A dart out of the window in a scene with Kenneth Mars. Composer John Morris again provided the score, and Universal monsters special effects veteran Kenneth Strickfaden worked on the film. Young Frankenstein was the third-highest-grossing film domestically of 1974, just behind Blazing Saddles with a gross of $ 86 million. It also received two Academy Award nominations for Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound . It received some of
2278-522: A deal with Warner Bros. to hire Brooks (as well as Richard Pryor , Andrew Bergman , Norman Steinberg , and Alan Uger ) as a script doctor for an unproduced script called Tex-X . Eventually, Brooks was hired as director for what became Blazing Saddles (1974), his third film. Blazing Saddles starred Cleavon Little , Gene Wilder , Harvey Korman , Slim Pickens , Madeline Kahn , Alex Karras , and Brooks himself, with cameos by Dom DeLuise and Count Basie . It had music by Brooks and John Morris, and
2412-608: A far warmer realm in which affection always outweighs irony." The production broke the Tony Award record with 12 wins, a record previously held for 37 years by Hello, Dolly! with 10 wins including the Tony Award for Best Musical . It led to a 2005 big-screen version of the Broadway adaptation/remake with Lane, Broderick, Gary Beach , and Roger Bart reprising their stage roles, and new cast members Uma Thurman and Will Ferrell . In early April 2006, Brooks began composing
2546-524: A founding in the sixth or seventh centuries, with some researchers dating the founding as late as the late 9th century. There are several legendary accounts of the origin of the city. One tells of members of a Slavic tribe ( Eastern Polans ), brothers Kyi (the eldest, after whom the city was named), Shchek, Khoryv, and their sister Lybid, who founded the city (See the Primary Chronicle ). Another legend states that Saint Andrew passed through
2680-497: A little cash to throw him gags....At 24, Brooks got his break as a full-time writer. Brooks found more rewarding work behind the scenes, becoming a comedy writer for television. In 1949, his friend Sid Caesar hired him to write jokes for the DuMont/NBC series The Admiral Broadway Revue , paying him, off-the-books, $ 50 a week. In 1950, Caesar created the innovative variety comedy series Your Show of Shows and hired Brooks as
2814-429: A million copies in 1961. They eventually expanded their routine with two more albums in 1961 and 1962, a revival in 1973, a 1975 animated TV special, and a reunion album in 1998. At one point, when Brooks had financial and career struggles, the record sales from the 2000 Year Old Man were his chief source of income. Brooks adapted the 2000 Year Old Man character to create the 2500-Year-Old Brewmaster for Ballantine Beer in
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#17327655350942948-468: A mind.' The book was Dead Souls by the magnificent genius Nikolai Gogol . It was a revelation. I'd never read anything like it. It was hysterically funny and incredibly moving at the same time... It was a life-changing gift, and I still read it once a year to remind myself of what great comic writing can be." Brooks and co-writer Reiner had become close friends and began to casually improvise comedy routines when they were not working. In October 1959, for
3082-602: A modest budget of $ 2.6 million. A satire on the Western film genre, it references older films such as Destry Rides Again (1939), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), High Noon (1952) and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). In a surreal sequence towards the end, it references the extravagant musicals of Busby Berkeley . Despite mixed reviews, Blazing Saddles was a success with younger audiences. It became
3216-498: A nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for his role as the narrator in the series. Brooks is one of the few people who have received an Oscar , an Emmy , a Tony , and a Grammy . He won his first Grammy for Best Spoken Comedy Album in 1999 for his recording of The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000 with Carl Reiner . His two other Grammys came in 2002 for Best Musical Show Album for
3350-423: A parody of science fiction, mainly Star Wars . It starred Bill Pullman , John Candy , Rick Moranis , Daphne Zuniga , Dick Van Patten, Joan Rivers , Dom DeLuise, and Brooks. In 1989, Brooks (with co-executive producer Alan Spencer ) made another attempt at television success with the sitcom The Nutt House , featuring Brooks regulars Harvey Korman and Cloris Leachman. It was originally broadcast on NBC, but
3484-409: A person's name include middle names , diminutive forms, changes relating to parental status (due to one's parents' divorce or adoption by different parents), and gender transition . The French and English-adopted née is the feminine past participle of naître , which means "to be born". Né is the masculine form. The term née , having feminine grammatical gender , can be used to denote
3618-451: A poster reading "Mel Brooks presents The Elephant Man " would expect a comedy, he set up the company Brooksfilms . It has since produced a number of non-comedy films, including Frances (1982), The Fly (1986), and 84 Charing Cross Road (1987) starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft—as well as comedies, including Richard Benjamin 's My Favorite Year (1982), partially based on Mel Brooks's real life. Brooks sought to purchase
3752-531: A press conference for All American , a reporter asked, "What are you going to do next?" and Brooks replied, "Springtime for Hitler," perhaps riffing on Springtime for Henry . For several years, Brooks toyed with a bizarre and unconventional idea about a musical comedy of Adolf Hitler . He explored the idea as a novel and a play before finally writing a script. He eventually found two producers to fund it, Joseph E. Levine and Sidney Glazier , and made his first feature film, The Producers (1968). The Producers
3886-535: A reputation in New York City. Kenneth Tynan saw the comedy duo perform at a party in 1959 and wrote that Brooks "was the most original comic improvisor I had ever seen". In 1960, Brooks, without his family, moved from New York to Hollywood, returning in 1961. He and Reiner began performing the "2000 Year Old Man" act on The Steve Allen Show . Their performances led to the release of the comedy album 2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks that sold over
4020-566: A salary of $ 5,000 a week on Your Show of Shows and Caesar's Hour , his salary dropped to $ 85 a week as a freelance writer. For five years he had few gigs , and was living in Greenwich Village on Perry Street in a fourth-floor walk-up. In 1960, to escape his situation, Brooks moved in with a friend, in Los Angeles. In 1961, after his return to New York, he found that Baum had begun suing him for legal separation. Marriage Is
4154-521: A secret political society, the Brotherhood of Saint Cyril and Methodius, whose members put forward the idea of a federation of free Slavic peoples with Ukrainians as a distinct and separate group rather than a subordinate part of the Russian nation; the Russian authorities quickly suppressed the society. Following the gradual loss of Ukraine's autonomy, Kyiv experienced growing Russification in
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4288-413: A southern science professor at a large university who uses the principles of engineering on the college's football team and the team begins to win games. It was directed by Joshua Logan , who script-doctored the second act and added a gay subtext to the plot. It ran for 80 performances and received two Tony Award nominations. The animated short film The Critic (1963), a satire of arty, esoteric cinema,
4422-491: A specialist. Brooks has stated that when he heard Germans singing over loudspeakers, he responded by singing into a bullhorn , Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' Bye!) by American-Jewish singer Al Jolson . Brooks spent time in the stockade after taking an anti-Semitic heckler's helmet off and smashing him in the head with his mess kit. His unit constructed the first Bailey bridge over the Roer River , later building bridges over
4556-691: A stand-up comic, telling jokes and doing movie-star impressions. He also began acting in summer stock in Red Bank, New Jersey, and did some radio work. He eventually worked his way up to the comically aggressive job of tummler at Grossinger's , one of the Borscht Belt's most famous resorts. In the years after the war, Brooks's hero was comedian Sid Caesar. Back in New York, Brooks would slink around trying to catch Caesar in between meetings to pitch him joke ideas. Eventually Caesar cracked and paid Brooks
4690-445: A writer along with Carl Reiner , Neil Simon , Danny Simon , and head writer Mel Tolkin . The writing staff proved widely influential. Reiner, as creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show , based Morey Amsterdam 's character Buddy Sorell on Brooks. Likewise, the film My Favorite Year (1982) is loosely based on Brooks's experiences as a writer on the show including an encounter with the actor Errol Flynn . Neil Simon's play Laughter on
4824-528: Is Vitali Klitschko , who was sworn in on 5 June 2014, after he had won the 25 May 2014 Kyiv mayoral elections with almost 57% of the votes. Since 25 June 2014, Klitschko is also Head of Kyiv City Administration . Klitschko was last reelected in the 2020 Kyiv local election with 50.52% of the votes, in the first round of the election. Most key buildings of the national government are along Hrushevskoho Street ( vulytsia Mykhaila Hrushevskoho ) and Institute Street ( vulytsia Instytutska ). Hrushevskoho Street
4958-507: Is an homage to silent comedians Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton , among others. It was not as successful as Brooks's previous two films but did gross $ 36 million. Later that year, he was named fifth on the Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll . Reviews were generally favorable; Roger Ebert praised it as "not only funny, but fun. It's clear at almost every moment that the filmmakers had a ball making it." Regarding
5092-473: Is based on anger and hostility. Growing up in Williamsburg, I learned to clothe it in comedy to spare myself problems—like a punch in the face." Brooks was a small, sickly boy who often was bullied and teased by his classmates because of his size. At age nine, he saw Anything Goes with William Gaxton , Ethel Merman and Victor Moore at the Alvin Theater . After the show, he told his uncle that he
5226-430: Is filled with one-liners and the occasional breaking of the fourth wall . Robin Hood: Men in Tights was Brooks's second time exploring the life of Robin Hood (the first, as mentioned above, being his 1975 TV show When Things Were Rotten ). Life Stinks was a financial and critical failure, but is notable as the only film Brooks directed that is neither a parody nor a film about other films or theater. ( The Twelve Chairs
5360-494: Is his godfather. DeLuise's father Dom DeLuise was a frequent costar of Brooks in his earlier career. Brooks is a voracious reader; in a profile for The New Yorker , Kenneth Tynan describes "Brooks the secret connoisseur, worshiper of good writing, and expert on the Russian classics , with special reverence to Gogol , Turgenev , Dostoevski , and Tolstoy ." In The Producers , Bialystock refers to Bloom as "Prince Myshkin",
5494-577: Is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions, and historical landmarks. The city has an extensive system of public transport and infrastructure, including the Kyiv Metro . The city's name is said to derive from the name of Kyi , one of its four legendary founders. During its history , Kyiv, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of prominence and obscurity. The city probably existed as
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5628-405: Is in the oblast council building on ploshcha Lesi Ukrainky ("Lesya Ukrainka Square"). The growing political and economic role of the city, combined with its international relations, as well as extensive internet and social network penetration , have made Kyiv the most pro-Western and pro-democracy region of Ukraine; (so called) National Democratic parties advocating tighter integration with
5762-582: Is named after the Ukrainian academician, politician, historian, and statesman Mykhailo Hrushevsky , who wrote an academic book titled: "Bar Starostvo: Historical Notes: XV–XVIII" about the history of Bar, Ukraine . That portion of the city is also unofficially known as the government quarter ( урядовий квартал ). The city state administration and council is in the Kyiv City council building on Khreshchatyk Street. The oblast state administration and council
5896-417: Is sometimes omitted. According to Oxford University 's Dictionary of Modern English Usage , the terms are typically placed after the current surname (e.g., " Margaret Thatcher , née Roberts" or " Bill Clinton , né Blythe"). Since they are terms adopted into English (from French), they do not have to be italicized , but they often are. In Polish tradition , the term z domu (literally meaning "of
6030-548: The Primary Chronicle , is that the name is a derivation of Kyi (Ukrainian: Кий , Russian: Кий , rom. : Ky or Kiy ), the legendary eponymous founder of the city. According to Oleg Trubachyov 's etymological dictionary from the Old East Slavic name *Kyjevŭ gordŭ (literally, "Kyi's castle", "Kyi's gord "), from Proto-Slavic *kyjevъ , This etymology has been questioned, for instance by Mykhailo Hrushevsky who called it an "etymological myth", and meant that
6164-540: The 78th Infantry Division as a forward artillery observer . In December 1944, a short while later, Brooks was transferred to the 1104th Engineer Combat Battalion as a combat engineer , participating in the Battle of the Bulge . Of his experience there, Brooks noted: Along the roadside, you'd see bodies wrapped up in mattress covers and stacked in a ditch, and those would be Americans, that could be me. I sang all
6298-733: The AFI Life Achievement Award , in June 2013. In 2014 Brooks was honored in a handprint and footprint ceremony at TCL Chinese Theatre . His concrete handprints include a six-fingered left hand as he wore a prosthetic finger when making his prints. On March 20, 2015, he received a British Film Institute Fellowship from the British Film Institute . Brooks met Florence Baum, a dancer in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes , on Broadway. They were married from 1953 until their divorce in 1962. They had three children. After earning
6432-773: The American Film Institute 's list of the top 100 comedy films of the past 100 years (1900–2000) , all of which were ranked in the top 15: Blazing Saddles at number 6, The Producers at number 11, and Young Frankenstein at number 13. Brooks was born Melvin James Kaminsky on a tenement kitchen table on June 28, 1926, in Brownsville, Brooklyn , to Kate ( née Brookman) and Max Kaminsky, and grew up in Williamsburg . His father's family were Polish Jews from Danzig (Gdańsk, Poland); his mother
6566-620: The Battle on the Irpen' River and conquered the city. The Tatars , who also claimed Kyiv, retaliated in 1324–1325, so while Kyiv was ruled by a Lithuanian prince, it had to pay tribute to the Golden Horde . Finally, as a result of the Battle of Blue Waters in 1362, Algirdas , Grand Duke of Lithuania, incorporated Kyiv and surrounding areas into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . In 1482, Crimean Tatars sacked and burned much of Kyiv. At
6700-892: The Fort Dix , New Jersey , induction center, and was sent to the Field Artillery Replacement Training Center at Fort Sill, Oklahoma for basic training and radio operator training. Brooks was then sent back to Fort Dix for overseas assignment. Brooks says he boarded SS Sea Owl at the Brooklyn Navy Yard around February 15, 1945. A reporter for the United States Department of Defense writes that Brooks arrived in France in November 1944, and later in Belgium, serving with
6834-760: The Hudud al-'Alam . The texts of those authors were discovered by Russian orientalist Alexander Tumansky . The etymology of Sambat has been argued by many historians, including Grigoriy Ilyinsky , Nikolay Karamzin , Jan Potocki , Nikolay Lambin , Joachim Lelewel , and Guðbrandur Vigfússon . The Primary Chronicle states that at some point during the late 9th or early 10th century Askold and Dir, who may have been of Viking or Varangian descent, ruled in Kyiv. They were murdered by Oleg of Novgorod in 882, but some historians, such as Omeljan Pritsak and Constantine Zuckerman , dispute that, arguing that Khazar rule continued as late as
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#17327655350946968-546: The Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry . Brooks has said that the film "has to do with love more than anything else. I mean when that black guy rides into that Old Western town and even a little old lady says 'Up yours, nigger!', you know that his heart is broken. So it's really the story of that heart being mended." Brooks described the film as "a Jewish western with
7102-720: The Polesia woodland ecological zone, a part of the European mixed woods area, and the East European forest steppe biome . However, the city's unique landscape distinguishes it from the surrounding region. Kyiv is completely surrounded by Kyiv Oblast . Originally on the west bank, today Kyiv is on both sides of the Dnieper , which flows southwards through the city towards the Black Sea . The older and higher western part of
7236-675: The Rhine river . In April 1945, Brooks's unit conducted its last reconnaissance missions in the Harz mountains , Germany. With the end of the war in Europe , Brooks joined the Special Services as a comic touring Army bases and he was made acting corporal , put in charge of entertainment at Wiesbaden , and performed at Fort Dix. In June 1946, Brooks was honorably discharged from the Army as
7370-576: The Scythians and ancient states of the northern Black Sea coast. Findings of Roman coins of the 2nd to the 4th centuries suggest trade relations with the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire . Notable archaeologists of the area around Kyiv include Vikentiy Khvoyka . Scholars continue to debate when the city was founded: The traditional founding date is 482 CE, so the city celebrated its 1,500th anniversary in 1982. Archaeological data indicates
7504-582: The Soviet Union 's third-largest city. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and Ukrainian independence in 1991, Kyiv remained Ukraine's capital and experienced a steady influx of ethnic Ukrainian migrants from other regions of the country . During the country's transformation to a market economy and electoral democracy , Kyiv has continued to be Ukraine's largest and wealthiest city. Its armament-dependent industrial output fell after
7638-506: The UN 2011 evaluation, there were no risks of natural disasters in Kyiv and its metropolitan area . Kyiv has a warm-summer humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfb ). The warmest months are June, July, and August, with mean temperatures of 13.8 to 24.8 °C (56.8 to 76.6 °F). The coldest are December, January, and February, with mean temperatures of −4.6 to −1.1 °C (23.7 to 30.0 °F). The highest ever temperature recorded in
7772-735: The Ukrainian People's Republic declared independence from the Russian Republic after the October Revolution there, Kyiv became its capital. From the end of the Ukrainian-Soviet and Polish-Soviet wars in 1921, Kyiv was a city of the Ukrainian SSR , and made its capital in 1934. The city suffered significant destruction during World War II but quickly recovered in the postwar years, remaining
7906-487: The destruction of Kyiv . These events had a profound effect on the future of the city and on the East Slavic civilization . Before Bogolyubsky's pillaging, Kyiv had had a reputation as one of the largest cities in the world, with a population exceeding 100,000 at the beginning of the 12th century. In the early 1320s, a Lithuanian army led by Grand Duke Gediminas defeated a Slavic army led by Stanislav of Kyiv at
8040-538: The 1920s Ukrainization as well as the migration of the rural Ukrainophone population made the Russophone city Ukrainian-speaking and bolstered the development of Ukrainian cultural life in the city; the Soviet industrialization that started in the late 1920s turned the city, a former centre of commerce and religion, into a major industrial, technological and scientific centre; the 1932–1933 Great Famine devastated
8174-518: The 1960s. Interviewed by Dick Cavett in a series of ads, the Brewmaster (in a German accent, as opposed to the 2000 Year Old Man's Yiddish accent) said he was inside the original Trojan horse and "could've used a six-pack of fresh air". Brooks was involved in the creation of the Broadway musical All American which debuted on Broadway in 1962. He wrote the play with lyrics by Lee Adams and music by Charles Strouse . It starred Ray Bolger as
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#17327655350948308-491: The 19th century, by means of Russian migration, administrative actions, and social modernization. At the beginning of the 20th century the Russian-speaking part of the population dominated the city centre, while the lower classes living on the outskirts retained Ukrainian folk culture to a significant extent. However, enthusiasts among ethnic Ukrainian aristocrats, soldiers, and merchants made attempts to preserve
8442-433: The 23rd Floor (1993) is also loosely based on the production of the show, and the character Ira Stone is based on Brooks. Your Show of Shows ended in 1954 when performer Imogene Coca left to host her own show. Caesar then created Caesar's Hour with most of the same cast and writers (including Brooks and adding Woody Allen and Larry Gelbart ). It ran from 1954 until 1957. Brooks told The New York Times , "When I
8576-533: The 920s, leaving historical documents such as the Kievan Letter and Schechter Letter . Other historians suggest that Magyar tribes ruled the city between 840 and 878, before migrating with some Khazar tribes to the Carpathian Basin . The Primary Chronicle mentions Hungarians passing near Kyiv. Askold's Grave was previously known as " Uhorske urochyshche " (Hungarian place). According to
8710-737: The Dnieper River forms a branching system of tributaries , isles, and harbors within the city limits. The city is close to the mouth of the Desna River and the Kyiv Reservoir in the north, and the Kaniv Reservoir in the south. Both the Dnieper and Desna rivers are navigable at Kyiv, although regulated by the reservoir shipping locks and limited by winter freeze-over. In total, there are 448 bodies of open water within
8844-428: The Empire and the major centre of commerce in its southwest. In the turbulent period following the 1917 Russian Revolution , Kyiv became the capital of several successive Ukrainian states and was caught in the middle of several conflicts: World War I , during which German soldiers occupied it from 2 March 1918 to November 1918, the Russian Civil War of 1917 to 1922, and the Polish–Soviet War of 1919–1921. During
8978-412: The European Union receive most votes during elections in Kyiv. In a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in the first half of February 2014, 5.3% of those polled in Kyiv believed "Ukraine and Russia must unite into a single state", nationwide this percentage was 12.5. The Dnieper River naturally divides Kyiv into the Right Bank and the Left Bank areas. Historically on
9112-466: The Khazars". In De Administrando Imperio , Constantine Porphyrogenitus mentions a caravan of small cargo boats which assembled annually, and writes, "They come down the river Dnieper and assemble at the strong-point of Kyiv (Kioava), also called Sambatas". At least three Arabic-speaking 10th century geographers who traveled the area mention the city of Zānbat as the chief city of the Russes. Among them are ibn Rustah, Abu Sa'id Gardezi , and an author of
9246-401: The Kyiv Chronicle in the 12th century, and they were identified as old-Russian mythological heroes. The city of Kyiv stood on the trade route between the Varangians and the Greeks . In 968 the nomadic Pechenegs attacked and then besieged the city . By 1000 CE the city had a population of 45,000. In March 1169, Grand Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal sacked Kyiv , leaving
9380-476: The Soviet collapse, adversely affecting science and technology, but new sectors of the economy such as services and finance facilitated Kyiv's growth in salaries and investment, as well as providing continuous funding for the development of housing and urban infrastructure. Kyiv emerged as the most pro-Western region of Ukraine; parties advocating tighter integration with the European Union dominate during elections . The traditional etymology, stemming from
9514-413: The Soviet period, became the Bogomolets National Medical University in 1995. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Imperial Russian Army and ecclesiastical authorities dominated city life; the Russian Orthodox Church had involvement in a significant part of Kyiv's infrastructure and commercial activity. In the late 1840s the historian, Mykola Kostomarov (Russian: Nikolai Kostomarov ), founded
9648-581: The aforementioned scholars the building of the fortress of Kyiv was finished in 840 under the leadership of Keő (Keve), Csák, and Geréb, three brothers, possibly members of the Tarján tribe . The three names appear in the Kyiv Chronicle as Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv and may be not of Slavic origin, as Russian historians have always struggled to account for their meanings and origins. According to Hungarian historian Viktor Padányi, their names were inserted into
9782-484: The area in the 1st century. Where the city is now he erected a cross, where a church later was built. Since the Middle Ages an image of Saint Michael has represented the city as well as the duchy . There is little historical evidence pertaining to the period when the city was founded. Scattered Slavic settlements existed in the area from the 6th century, but it is unclear whether any of them later developed into
9916-447: The best reviews of Brooks's career. Even notoriously hard-to-please critic Pauline Kael liked it, saying: "Brooks makes a leap up as a director because, although the comedy doesn't build, he carries the story through ... [He] even has a satisfying windup, which makes this just about the only comedy of recent years that doesn't collapse." In 1975, at the height of his movie career, Brooks tried TV again with When Things Were Rotten ,
10050-449: The boundaries of Kyiv, which include the Dnieper itself, its reservoirs, and several small rivers, dozens of lakes and artificially created ponds. They occupy 7949 hectares. Additionally, the city has 16 developed beaches (totalling 140 hectares) and 35 near-water recreational areas (covering more than 1,000 hectares). Many are used for pleasure and recreation, although some of the bodies of water are not suitable for swimming. According to
10184-582: The buildings on the Khreshchatyk , the main street of the city, where German military and civil authorities had occupied most of the buildings; the buildings burned for days and 25,000 people were left homeless. Allegedly in response to the actions of the NKVD, the Germans rounded up all the local Jews they could find, nearly 34,000, and massacred them at Babi Yar in Kyiv on 29 and 30 September 1941. In
10318-680: The capital of the Amadoci people living in an area between the marshes of Amadoca in the west and the Amadoca mountains in the east. Another name for Kyiv mentioned in history, the origin of which is not completely clear, is Sambat, which apparently has something to do with the Khazar Empire . The Primary Chronicle says the residents of Kyiv told Askold "there were three brothers Kyi, Shchek, and Khoriv. They founded this town and died, and now we are staying and paying taxes to their relatives
10452-709: The cast album of The Producers and for Best Long Form Music Video for the DVD Recording the Producers: A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks . He won his first of four Emmy awards in 1967 for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety for a Sid Caesar special, and won Emmys in 1997, 1998, and 1999 for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role of Uncle Phil on Mad About You . He won his Academy Award for Original Screenplay (Oscar) in 1968 for The Producers . He won his three Tony awards in 2001 for his work on
10586-455: The city again suffered significant damage, and Nazi Germany occupied it from 19 September 1941 to 6 November 1943 . Axis forces killed or captured more than 600,000 Soviet soldiers in the great encircling Battle of Kyiv in 1941. Most of those captured never returned alive. Shortly after the Wehrmacht occupied the city, a team of NKVD officers who had remained hidden dynamited most of
10720-592: The city border the Polesian Lowland . Kyiv expanded into the Dnieper Lowland on the left bank ( to the east ) as late as the 20th century. The whole portion of Kyiv on the left bank of the Dnieper is generally referred to as the Left Bank ( Лівий берег , Livyi bereh ). Significant areas of the left bank Dnieper valley were artificially sand-deposited, and are protected by dams. Within the city
10854-491: The city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. Coming under Lithuania , then Poland and then Russia , the city would grow from a frontier market into an important centre of Orthodox learning in the sixteenth century, and later of industry, commerce, and administration by the nineteenth. The city prospered again during the Russian Empire's Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century. In 1918, when
10988-420: The city sits on numerous wooded hills ( Kyiv Hills ), with ravines and small rivers. Kyiv's geographical relief contributed to its toponyms , such as Podil ("lower"), Pechersk ("caves"), and uzviz (a steep street, "descent"). Kyiv is a part of the larger Dnieper Upland adjoining the western bank of the Dnieper in its mid-flow, and which contributes to the city's elevation change. The northern outskirts of
11122-477: The city was 39.4 °C (102.9 °F) on 30 July 1936. The coldest temperature ever recorded in the city was −32.9 °C (−27.2 °F) on 11 January 1951. Snow cover usually lies from mid-November to the end of March, with the frost-free period lasting 180 days on average, but surpassing 200 days in some years. The municipality of the city of Kyiv has a special legal status within Ukraine compared to
11256-472: The city's name. The first known humans in the region of Kyiv lived there in the late paleolithic period ( Stone Age ). The population around Kyiv during the Bronze Age formed part of the so-called Trypillian culture , as evidenced by artifacts from that culture found in the area. During the early Iron Age certain tribes settled around Kyiv that practiced land cultivation, husbandry and trading with
11390-541: The city, and it is used for legislative and official acts. Kiev is the traditional English name for the city, but because of its historical derivation from the Russian name, Kiev lost favor with many Western media outlets after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014 in conjunction with the KyivNotKiev campaign launched by Ukraine to change the way that international media were spelling
11524-646: The city. However, the prevailing south wind blew most of the radioactive debris away from Kyiv. In the course of the collapse of the Soviet Union the Ukrainian parliament proclaimed the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine in the city on 24 August 1991. In 2004–2005, the city played host to the largest post-Soviet public demonstrations up to that time, in support of the Orange Revolution . From November 2013 until February 2014, central Kyiv became
11658-489: The city. On the Ptolemy world map there are several settlements indicated along the mid-stream of Borysthenes , among which is Azagarium, which some historians believe to be the predecessor to Kyiv. However, according to the 1773 Dictionary of Ancient Geography of Alexander Macbean , that settlement corresponds to the modern city of Chernobyl . Just south of Azagarium, there is another settlement, Amadoca, believed to be
11792-470: The comedy sketch The 2000 Year Old Man , and together, they released several comedy albums, starting with 2000 Year Old Man in 1960. With Buck Henry , he created the hit television comedy series Get Smart , which starred Don Adams and ran from 1965 to 1970. Brooks won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Producers (1967). He then rose to prominence becoming one of
11926-488: The edge of a diving board wearing a derby and a large alpaca overcoat with two suitcases full of rocks, and then announced: "Business is terrible! I can't go on!" before jumping, fully clothed into the pool. He was taught by Buddy Rich (who had also grown up in Williamsburg) how to play the drums, and started to earn money as a musician when he was 14. During his time as a drummer, he was given his first opportunity as
12060-605: The empire's most important religious figures, but until the 19th century, the city's commercial importance remained marginal. In 1834, the Russian government established Saint Vladimir University, now called the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv after the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861). (Shevchenko worked as a field researcher and editor for the geography department). The medical faculty of Saint Vladimir University, separated into an independent institution in 1919–1921 during
12194-446: The entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth register may by that fact alone become the person's legal name . The assumption in the Western world is often that the name from birth (or perhaps from baptism or brit milah ) will persist to adulthood in the normal course of affairs—either throughout life or until marriage. Some reasons for changes of
12328-688: The film's inside jokes, Ebert wrote that "the thing about Brooks's inside jokes is that their outsides are funny, too." High Anxiety (1977), Brooks's parody of Freudian psychoanalysis , as well as the films of Alfred Hitchcock , was written by Brooks, Ron Clark, Rudy De Luca , and Barry Levinson , and was the first movie Brooks produced himself. Starring Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman , Harvey Korman, Ron Carey , Howard Morris , and Dick Van Patten , it satirizes such Hitchcock films as Vertigo , Spellbound , Psycho , The Birds , North by Northwest , Dial M for Murder and Suspicion . Brooks plays Professor Richard H. (Harpo) Thorndyke,
12462-442: The first feature-length silent comedy in four decades. Silent Movie (1976) was written by Brooks and Clark, and starred Brooks in his first leading role, with Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Sid Caesar , Bernadette Peters , and in cameo roles playing themselves: Paul Newman , Burt Reynolds , James Caan , Liza Minnelli , Anne Bancroft , and the mime Marcel Marceau , who uttered the film's only word of audible dialogue: "Non!" It
12596-496: The full company sings, "next year, Blazing Saddles !" In 2010, Brooks confirmed this, saying that the musical could be finished within a year; however, no creative team or plan has been announced. In 2021, at age 95, Brooks published a memoir titled All About Me! . On October 18, 2021, it was announced that Brooks would write and produce History of the World, Part II , a follow-up TV series on Hulu to his 1981 movie . He received
12730-637: The house", de domo in Latin ) may be used, with rare exceptions, meaning the same as née . Kyiv Kyiv (also Kiev ) is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine . It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River . As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2,952,301, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyiv is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural center in Eastern Europe . It
12864-621: The last three months of 1919, Kyiv was intermittently controlled by the White Army . Kyiv changed hands sixteen times from the end of 1918 to August 1920. From 1921 to 1991, the city formed part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic , which became a founding republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. The major events that took place in Soviet Ukraine during the interwar period all affected Kyiv:
12998-578: The master inventor, in the animated film Robots (2005), and in the later animated film Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014) he had a cameo appearance as Albert Einstein . He returned, to voice Dracula's father, Vlad , in Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018). Brooks joked about the concept of a musical adaptation of Blazing Saddles in the final number in Young Frankenstein , in which
13132-425: The moderate financial success of the film The Producers , Glazier financed Brooks's next film, The Twelve Chairs (1970). Loosely based on Ilf and Petrov 's 1928 Russian novel of the same name about greedy materialism in post-revolutionary Russia, it stars Ron Moody , Frank Langella and Dom DeLuise as three men individually searching for a fortune in diamonds hidden in a set of 12 antique chairs. Brooks makes
13266-561: The months that followed, thousands more were taken to Babi Yar where they were shot. It is estimated that the Germans murdered more than 100,000 people of various ethnic groups, mostly civilians, at Babi Yar during World War II. Kyiv recovered economically in the post-war years, becoming once again the third-most important city of the Soviet Union. The catastrophic accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 occurred only 100 km (62 mi) north of
13400-504: The most successful film directors of the 1970s with The Twelve Chairs (1970), Blazing Saddles (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974), Silent Movie (1976), and High Anxiety (1977). Later Brooks made History of the World, Part I (1981), Spaceballs (1987), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), and Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995). A musical adaptation of his first film, The Producers , ran on Broadway from 2001 to 2007 and earned Brooks three Tony Awards . The project
13534-563: The musical The Producers , for Best Musical, Best Original Musical Score, and Best Book of a Musical. Brooks also won a Hugo Award and Nebula Award for Young Frankenstein . In a 2005 poll by Channel 4 to find The Comedian's Comedian , he was voted No. 50 of the top 50 comedy acts ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. The American Film Institute (AFI) lists three of Brooks's films on its AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list: Blazing Saddles (#6), The Producers (#11), and Young Frankenstein (#13). On December 5, 2009, Brooks
13668-549: The names of the legendary founders are in turn based on place names. According to the Canadian Ukrainian linguist Jaroslav Rudnyckyj , the name can be connected to the Proto-Slavic root *kyjь , but should be interpreted as meaning 'stick, pole' as in its modern Ukrainian equivalent Кий . The name should in that case be interpreted as 'palisaded settlement'. Kyiv is the romanized official Ukrainian name for
13802-520: The nationwide college circuit , then in revivals and on home video. It premiered to a limited audience in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on November 22, 1967, before achieving a wide release in 1968. Peter Sellers personally championed the film, paying out of pocket to take out full page ads in Variety and The New York Times . Brooks, along with his collaborator Thomas Meehan , later adapted it into
13936-452: The native culture in Kyiv, by clandestine book-printing, amateur theatre, folk studies, etc. During the Russian industrial revolution in the late 19th century, Kyiv became an important trade and transportation centre of the Russian Empire, specialising in sugar and grain export by railway and on the Dnieper river . By 1900, the city had also become a significant industrial centre, with a population of 250,000. Landmarks of that period include
14070-470: The network aired only five of the eleven produced episodes before canceling the series. During the next decade, Brooks directed Life Stinks (1991), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), and Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995). People magazine wrote, "Anyone in a mood for a hearty laugh couldn't do better than Robin Hood: Men in Tights , which gave fans a parody of Robin Hood , especially Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves ." Like Brooks's other films, it
14204-506: The old town and the prince's hall in ruins. He took many pieces of religious artwork - including the Theotokos of Vladimir icon - from Vyshhorod. In 1203, Prince Rurik Rostislavich and his Kipchak allies captured and burned Kyiv. In the 1230s, the city was besieged and ravaged several times by different Rus princes. The city had not recovered from these attacks when, in 1240, the Mongol invasion of Rus' , led by Batu Khan , completed
14338-552: The other administrative subdivisions of the country . The most significant difference is that the city is considered as a region of Ukraine (see Regions of Ukraine ). It is the only city that has double jurisdiction. The Head of City State Administration – the city's governor – is appointed by the president of Ukraine , while the Head of the City Council – the mayor of Kyiv – is elected by local popular vote. The mayor of Kyiv
14472-410: The part of the migrant population not registered for ration cards; and Joseph Stalin 's Great Purge of 1937–1938 almost eliminated the city's intelligentsia In 1934, Kyiv became the capital of Soviet Ukraine. The city boomed again during the years of Soviet industrialization as its population grew rapidly and many industrial giants were established, some of which exist today. In World War II ,
14606-519: The primary location of Euromaidan . During the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces attempted to seize Kyiv but were repelled by Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of the city; Kyiv itself escaped major damage. Following the Russian retreat from the region in April 2022, Kyiv has been subject to frequent air strikes . Geographically, Kyiv is on the border of
14740-406: The railway infrastructure, the foundation of numerous educational and cultural facilities, and notable architectural monuments (mostly merchant-oriented). In 1892, the first electric tram line of the Russian Empire started running in Kyiv (the third in the world). Kyiv prospered during the late 19th century Industrial Revolution in the Russian Empire, when it became the third most important city of
14874-648: The rights to 84 Charing Cross Road for his wife, Anne Bancroft, for many years. He also produced the comedy Fatso (1980) that Bancroft directed. In 1981, Brooks joked that the only genres that he hadn't spoofed were historical epics and Biblical spectacles. History of the World Part I was a tongue-in-cheek look at human culture from the Dawn of Man to the French Revolution . Written, produced and directed by Brooks, with narration by Orson Welles , it
15008-418: The run, chasing—and being pursued". Brooks endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election in his first-ever public endorsement of a political candidate. He endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election . Interviews Birth name#Maiden and married names A birth name is the name given to a person upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname , the given name , or
15142-700: The score to a Broadway musical adaptation of Young Frankenstein , which he says is "perhaps the best movie [he] ever made". The world premiere was at Seattle's Paramount Theater, between August 7, 2007, and September 1, 2007, after which it opened on Broadway at the former Lyric Theater (then the Hilton Theatre), New York, on October 11, 2007. It earned mixed reviews from the critics. In the 2000s, Brooks worked on an animated series sequel to Spaceballs called Spaceballs: The Animated Series , which premiered on September 21, 2008, on G4 TV . Brooks has also supplied vocal roles for animation. He voiced Bigweld,
15276-613: The second-highest US grossing film of 1974, grossing $ 119.5 million in the United States and Canada. It was nominated for three Academy Awards : Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Madeline Kahn, Best Film Editing , and Best Music, Original Song . It won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen ; and in 2006 it was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by
15410-429: The spring of 1974. It starred Wilder, Marty Feldman , Peter Boyle , Teri Garr , Madeline Kahn , Cloris Leachman and Kenneth Mars , with Gene Hackman in a cameo role. Brooks' voice can be heard three times: as the wolf howl when the characters are on their way to the castle; as the voice of Victor Frankenstein, when the characters discover the laboratory; and as the sound of a cat when Gene Wilder accidentally throws
15544-520: The time ... I never wanted to think about it ... Death is the enemy of everyone, and even though you hate Nazis, death is more of an enemy than a German soldier. Stationed in Saarbrücken and Baumholder , the battalion was responsible for clearing booby-trapped buildings and defusing land mines as the Allies advanced into Nazi Germany. Brooks was tasked with land mine location; defusing was done by
15678-703: The time of the Lithuanian rule, the core of the city was located in Podil and there was a Lithuanian Kyiv Castle [ uk ] with 18 towers on the Zamkova Hora which served as a residence of Vladimir Olgerdovich , Grand Prince of Kyiv , and subsequently of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (e.g. Vytautas ). With the 1569 Union of Lublin , when the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
15812-647: The treaty never went into operation. Occupied by Russian troops since the 1654 Treaty of Pereyaslav , Kyiv became a part of the Tsardom of Russia from 1667 on the Truce of Andrusovo and enjoyed a degree of autonomy. None of the Polish-Russian treaties concerning Kyiv have ever been ratified. In the Russian Empire , Kyiv was a primary Christian centre , attracting pilgrims , and the cradle of many of
15946-672: The western right bank of the river, the city expanded into the left bank only in the 20th century. Most of Kyiv's attractions as well as the majority of business and governmental institutions are on the right bank. The eastern "Left Bank" is predominantly residential. There are large industrial and green areas in both the Right Bank and the Left Bank. Kyiv is further informally divided into historical or territorial neighbourhoods, each housing from about 5,000 to 100,000 inhabitants. The first known formal subdivision of Kyiv dates to 1810 when
16080-431: The world and showing courage". Brooks has consistently expressed pride in his Jewish identity. In 2021, Brooks told NPR's Terry Gross : "I love being a Jew, I love Jewish humor..." On Jewish cinema, Brooks said, "They can be anything and anywhere ... if there's a tribal thing, like, the 'please God, protect us' feeling ... we don't know where and how it's gonna come out. Avatar was a Jewish movie ... these people on
16214-457: Was a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant from Kyiv , in the Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine). He had three older brothers: Irving, Lenny, and Bernie. His father died of tuberculosis of the kidney at 34 when Brooks was two years old. He has said of his father's death, "There's an outrage there. I may be angry at God, or at the world, for that. And I'm sure a lot of my comedy
16348-430: Was a fledgling comedy writer working for Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows , our head writer was Mel Tolkin... I really looked up to him. (By the way, I was 5-foot-7 and he was six feet tall.) He was a bona fide intellectual, thoroughly steeped in the traditions of great Russian literature. One day he handed me a book. He said to me, 'Mel, you're an animal from Brooklyn, but I think you have the beginnings of something called
16482-468: Was a parody of the original novel.) Brooks created the musical adaptation of his film The Producers on the Broadway in 2001. The production starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick received critical acclaim and was a significant box office success. The New York Times theatre critic Ben Brantley praised the production writing, "Mr. Brooks has taken what could have been overblown camp into
16616-459: Was another modest financial hit, earning $ 31 million. It received mixed critical reviews. Critic Pauline Kael , who for years had been critical of Brooks, said, "Either you get stuck thinking about the bad taste or you let yourself laugh at the obscenity in the humor as you do Buñuel 's perverse dirty jokes." Brooks produced and starred in (but did not write or direct) a remake of Ernst Lubitsch 's 1942 film To Be or Not to Be . His 1983 version
16750-484: Was born in 1972. In 2010, Brooks credited Bancroft as "the guiding force" behind his involvement in developing The Producers and Young Frankenstein for the musical theater, saying of an early meeting with her: "From that day, until her death ... we were glued together." He has remained single since she died, stating in 2023 that "Once you are married to Anne Bancroft, others don't seem to be appealing". According to David DeLuise on Wizards of Waverley Pod , Brooks
16884-483: Was conceived by Brooks and directed by Ernest Pintoff . Brooks supplied running commentary as the baffled moviegoer trying to make sense of the obscure visuals. It won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film . With comedy writer Buck Henry , Brooks created a TV comedy show titled Get Smart , about a bumbling James Bond –inspired spy. Brooks said, "I was sick of looking at all those nice sensible situation comedies. They were such distortions of life... I wanted to do
17018-411: Was directed by Alan Johnson and starred Brooks, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning , Tim Matheson , Jose Ferrer and Christopher Lloyd . It generated international publicity by featuring a controversial song on its soundtrack—" To Be or Not to Be (The Hitler Rap) "—satirizing German society in the 1940s, with Brooks playing Hitler. The second movie Brooks directed in the 1980s was Spaceballs (1987),
17152-745: Was established, the Lithuanian-controlled lands of the Kyiv region ( Podolia , Volhynia , and Podlachia ) were transferred from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland , and Kyiv became the capital of Kyiv Voivodeship . The 1658 Treaty of Hadiach envisaged Kyiv becoming the capital of the Grand Duchy of Rus' within the Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth , but this provision of
17286-415: Was going to be." On one of these occasions, Reiner's suggestion concerned a 2000-year-old man who had witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (who "came in the store but never bought anything"), had been married several hundred times and had "over forty-two thousand children, and not one comes to visit me". At first Brooks and Reiner only performed the routine for friends but, by the late 1950s, it gained
17420-470: Was not going to work in the garment district like everyone else but instead wanted to go into show business. When Brooks was 14 he gained employment as a pool-side tummler (entertainer) at the Butler Lodge, a second-rate Borscht Belt hotel, where he met 18-year-old Sid Caesar . Brooks kept his guests amused with his crazy antics. In a Playboy interview, he explained that one day he stood at
17554-652: Was one of five recipients of the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 23, 2010, with a motion pictures star located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard . American Masters produced a biography on Brooks which premiered May 20, 2013, on PBS . The AFI presented Brooks with its highest tribute,
17688-738: Was recruited to take the Army General Classification Test , a Stanford-Binet -type IQ test . He made high scores and was sent to the Army Specialized Training Program at the Virginia Military Institute to be taught electrical engineering , horse riding, and saber fighting. In 1944, Brooks was drafted into the Army. Twelve weeks later, when he turned 18, he officially joined the United States Army at
17822-541: Was remade into a musical film in 2005 . He wrote and produced the Hulu series History of the World, Part II (2023). Brooks was married to actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until her death in 2005. Their son Max Brooks is an actor and author, known for his novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (2006). In 2021, Mel Brooks published his memoir titled All About Me! . Three of his films are included on
17956-483: Was so brazen in its satire that major studios would not touch it, nor would many exhibitors. Brooks finally found an independent distributor who released it as an art film, a specialized attraction. At the 41st Academy Awards , Brooks won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film over fellow writers Stanley Kubrick and John Cassavetes . The Producers became a smash underground hit, first on
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