Enstarz Is Celebrating Mel Brooks On His 96th Birthday With A Look Back At The Funnyman's Illustrious Career
Today is definitely a reason to celebrate, and we at Enstarz would like to wish the legendary comedian, writer, actor, producer, and all around great guy, Mel Brooks a very Happy 96th Birthday!
For decades, Mel Brooks has been entertaining audiences with his off-beat and sharp brand of comedy. From original concepts to his witty spoofs of classic Hollywood films, Brooks has made a name for himself as one of the most innovative comedic minds of his time, creating such classic comedies as The Producers (1967) starring Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, who realize they can make just as much money with a flop as they can with a hit stage play.
The film was Brooks' first film and one of his biggest hits, spawning a Broadway musical and a remake with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, who also starred in the show.
Working with the greats like Dom DeLuise, Frank Langella, Slim Pickens, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Carl Reiner, John Candy, and Rick Moranis, Mel Brooks directed 11 movies in his career. Films like the Western spoof Blazing Saddles (1974), a bitingly funny look at racism that pushed the boundaries of good taste and language in order to make its point.
Taking on horror, Young Frankenstein (1974) became one of Brooks' biggest hits as it played with concepts from both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the Universal film with Boris Karloff. The film starred Gene Wilder as the mad doctor and Peter Boyle as The Monster. This too became a huge smash on Broadway when it was written into a musical.
And he doesn't stop there. Brooks was known for also taking on genres in outrageous ways as he did with Silent Movie (1976), which is exactly as you might think. The man made an actual lampoon of the silent era, only to follow it up the very next year with High Anxiety, a comical send up of all things Hitchock.
Taking a stab at the history books, Mel came up with the brilliantly titled History of the World: Part 1 (1981), a series of vignette sketches that cover some of the major events of human history from The Old Testament to The French Revolution.
An avid student of cinema, all of his ribbing was more of a love letter to the films he grew up on. Though, Mel Brooks did change with the times when he decided to take on Star Wars with his film Spaceballs (1987). Tackling sci-fi like never before, Spaceballs helped bridge the gap between Brooks' older fans and their kids who might not have seen or fully appreciated his early work.
Not only known for his filmography, Mel Brooks also starred in sketches with Carl Reiner - One of the most famous being "The 2000 Year Old Man," where Mel plays the oldest man alive, giving his comedic insights to the world.
He also wrote for television, when he worked as the creator of the popular spy comedy Get Smart and several Sid Caesar programs.
The man has a career that has lasted generations and we thank him for all the years of laughter. Happy Birthday, Mel Brooks!
