L'chaim Mel!!

[macliam]

For once it's good to celebrate a life, rather than mourn a passing.

For anyone who has not seen it, there is an interview on the BBC by Alan Yentob of Mel Brooks, the actor and director, now 95 years young. The full interview will be available on 31 December.

He has outlived so many of those who starred in his movies, Zero Mostel, Dom DeLuise and his wife Carol Arthur, Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Kenneth Mars, Sid Caesar, Harvey Korman, Gregory Hines, John Candy and Dick Van Patten, amongst others. He lost his friend, the actor, director and producer Carl Reiner, earlier this year, recalling their meeting in 1950 when he joined Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows and how they had enjoyed each other’s company as “best friends ever since.” Yet the loss that still cuts him deepest is that of his wife of 41 years, Anne Bancroft, who died of cancer in 2005.

Despite all that, he remains full of beans (remember Blazing Saddles?!!) and irreverent (remember The Producers). I hope he stays with us for many years to come.

L'chaim

[macliam]

Sorry to come back on this, but I just find the guy an inspiration, although I'm not American, I'm not Jewish, I don't fully share his love of show business and we might disagree markedly on politics, etc. (although he did support Biden against Trump, the first time he ever gave his backing to a candidate). I found a transcript of an interview he did in the US - obviously he is trotting out the same comments due to the pubication of his book, but still worth reading.

"On being 95

I'm so grateful to be able to eat scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast and sometimes a roast beef sandwich for dinner. I'm so happy that I still have somewhat of an appetite. I'm having trouble sleeping. That's a problem. But otherwise things are pretty good for being 95 and I'm getting around fairly well and my basic emotional attitude is still more positive than negative. I'm still looking forward to talking to people, to meeting people, to have dinner with people.

On being a happy kid

When I'm asked what was the happiest time of your life? Was it marrying Anne Bancroft? What was it winning the Academy Award? Was it writing your first sketch for Broadway, for New Faces? I cut them off and I say I was the happiest — and to this day, probably the happiest in my life — from 5 years old to 9. Those four years were blessed with running, Johnny-on-the-pony, kick the can ... playing with my gang in the streets and just being free and and careless and reckless and just a happy, happy child.

On what being Jewish means to him now, late in life

Being afraid I'm going to die has not made me more religious. I'm tribal. I love being a Jew and I love Jewish humor, and I loved the je ne sais quoi that the Jews [have]. They have a wonderful attitude. I guess it's called survival. ...

The synagogues in Brooklyn charged money on the High Holy Days — not much, I think maybe $5 a family, to keep the synagogue going. My mother simply didn't have the money, therefore, we were very rarely in a synagogue because it cost $5 on High Holy Days. But I loved going to Passover dinners at my grandfather's house in Bensonhurst. I loved the trappings of being a Jew — the dinners, the jokes.

On some of the responses to making fun of the Holocaust in The Producers

When I did The Producers, I got a thousand letters, mostly from rabbis and Jewish organizations, [saying] "How dare you! It's the Holocaust!" And they were right and they were wrong, and I would say, "You're not wrong. You're absolutely right to take offense at it. But let me tell you this, if we're going to get even with Hitler, we can't get on a soapbox because he's too damn good at that. We got to ridicule them. We've got to laugh at him. Then we can get even." And sometimes I'd get a letter back saying, "Maybe you're right."

On hiring Richard Pryor as a writer for Blazing Saddles

Richard Pryor was so good and I expected him to play Black Bart, the Black sheriff. And then when Warner Bros. said, "No. Under no circumstances. We can't get any insurance on Richard because of the drug problems, and he's been in jail." And I said, "OK," and I said to Richard, "Richard, We're not doing this movie. I'm not going to do it." And he said, "Nonsense. Stupidity. We're going to do it. And you and I are going to find the right Black sheriff to play the lead." ... The casting agents found this Broadway actor whose name was Cleavon Little and he flew out in the audition for me and I kissed him and said, "You're the guy!""

Interestingly, this doesn't mention Mel's discomfort at the use of the "N" word in Blazing Saddles - or Prior's insistance on it's use to spotlight "the bad guys"!

"On remaining friends with Richard Pryor until his death

Yes, we sure did and then he became ill, and it was very sad losing such an incredible, truly incredible talent. He was the best stand-up comic that ever lived. That's saying a lot. There were thousands that were really good, but he was the best.

On the meaning of life

I haven't figured it out yet. ... That's a very good question. And maybe in my second book, the sequel, ... maybe I'll figure it out. But so far I haven't. But I don't want to get too close in case the answers are negative, I don't want to know. I want it to be up and at 'em and positive and fun. And I still love comedy. It's my delicious refuge from the world. I hide in humor and comedy. I love it."

L'chaim