Original subtitles

JUDD APATOW: What is your diet and exercise strategies these days?

MEL BROOKS: None, zero.

Get up,

stick my hands out in front of me

in case there's something,

I'm going to hit something.

-JUDD: Yeah. -You know?

And make my way to the bathroom, take a shower...

-JUDD: Mm-hmm. -...dress, and do my mental exercises.

-JUDD: Mm-hmm. -"What's your name?" "Melvin."

-(JUDD CHUCKLES) -"Where are you?" "I'm at home."

"What are you gonna do now?" "I'm gonna eat breakfast."

(JUDD CHUCKLES)

"Melvin, what are you going to eat?"

"I'm gonna probably eat some soft-boiled eggs."

"And anything else?" "Yes."

"What, Melvin?" "I'm thinking."

(JUDD CHUCKLES)

"Maybe English muffins with some butter."

"Good, Melvin."

"Should you make your way down to the breakfast room?"

"Thank you. That's a good idea."

And then I'd go to the breakfast room,

and then I'd see people,

and I wouldn't have to talk to myself anymore.

I'd have people to talk to.

But that's what I do every morning.

-JUDD: You answer it correctly you know... -MEL: Yeah.

-...you can start your day. -MEL: Right, right.

JUDD: You have all your marbles.

♪ (FUNKY MELODY PLAYS, FADES) ♪

CREW MEMBER: Five, four, three...

INTERVIEWER: Mel Brooks, let's talk about Blazing Saddles for a moment.

-Um.. -(EXCLAIMS, BLOWS RASPBERRY)

Okay, I'm fine. I just have to settle.

I'll just get that out of my system. But...

A lot of people thought it was the laugh of the century,

and a lot of other people thought it was the most crude

and vulgar piece of stupidity...

-Yes. -...they'd ever seen.

I agree with the latter group. I do.

But it made you a millionaire all the same.

Yeah. I think... Yes, we did quite well at the box office.

And now this sort of spoof,

frightening, non-frightening comic Frankenstein.

Why do you want to make a film about Frankenstein?

How can Frankenstein be funny?

Because the very essence of Frankenstein

is that it's frightening.

I mean, is yours frightening?

It's only frightening when they're not laughing.

-(THUNDER RUMBLING) -NARRATOR: It's coming.

♪ (THRILLING MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

NARRATOR: From the deep, dark recesses

of the mind of Mel Brooks.

I love him.

(READING PROMPT)

My name, it's pronounced Fronkensteen.

CREW: Marker.

And...

action!

Frankenstein Junior, un film extraordinaire.

-Give my creation life! -(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)

MEL: Gene Wilder said, "I have this idea

for a movie about Baron Frankenstein's grandson.

Young Frankenstein."

Frankenstein?

You're putting me on.

I said, "That's a good idea. That's genius."

GENE WILDER: He was preparing Blazing Saddles.

It hadn't come out yet.

So when they offered him Young Frankenstein,

and I would be doing the writing and he would supervise,

it was very tempting, and he said yes.

To the castle!

-The castle! -The castle!

-MEL: Each night... -To the ca...

-...after I finished... -To the ca...

...in the editing room on Blazing Saddles,

I'd go to Gene's hotel.

We wrote and we rewrote

and wrote and rewrote and wrote and rewrote once again.

DANA GOULD: Gene Wilder came to him with the idea.

They collaborated on the script.

But one of the reasons that movie is so great

is something that Mel brought to it,

which was the slavish accuracy

of the sets, the makeup,

the cinematography.

Knowing that he needs

to play it straight as a heart attack up to here

so this stuff can work.

-(THUNDER BOOMING) -It's alive! It's alive!

It's alive!

It's alive!

JOHNNY CARSON: Why did you make this in black and white?

The crayons.

We lost all the crayons and...

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

No, we... Black and white because James Whale.

It's a valentine, really, to James Whale.

That body is not dead.

It has never lived.

MEL: James Whale was the original director

of the first Frankenstein film.

I was five. I loved that movie. It scared the shit out of me.

(GROWLING)

MEL: It etched itself into my mind,

and James Whale,

he's just a brilliant, brilliant movie maker.

(INDISTINCT CLAMOR)

(SPEAKING INCOHERENTLY) ... a Frankenstein!

CROWD: What?

Tonight...

we shall ascend into the heavens.

PATTON OSWALT: It was one of those situations

like with Mad magazine,

where you see the parody before you see the originals

and it kind of informs

how you look at the originals.

It's not because he's making fun of something he hates,

he's making fun of things he truly loves

and you see that, oh, he got everything right

about these movies.

FREDERICK FRANKENSTEIN: Put the candle back.

All right,

I think I have it figured out now.

Take out the candle,

and I'll block the bookcase with my body.

(LOUD CRASH)

FRANKENSTEIN: (IN MUFFLED VOICE) Now listen to me very carefully.

Don't put the candle back.

Because it looked so...

It was black and white, the look of it, and I was young,

I didn't understand it was a comedy

until she tells Gene Wilder,

"You haven't touched your food," and he goes...

Now I've touched it.

"There, I've touched it."

(CHUCKLES) I was like... As a kid, you're like,

"Oh, shit, he touched his food."

I did see Young Frankenstein. I was a little kid.

And I went there with my brother.

We were at the... in my hometown,

it was called the Jerry Lewis Theaters.

And we went there,

and me and my brother stayed two in a row

after Young Frankenstein. We saw it twice.

(KNOCK ECHOING)

ADAM SANDLER: It was the best. Couldn't believe it.

Asked my brother what knockers were.

What knockers.

Oh.

Thank you, Doctor.

I'm finding out what knockers are

and just coming home like, "Whoa. I love knockers."

That brain that you gave me,

was it Hans Delbrück's?

-No. -Ah.

Good.

Uh...

Would you mind telling me...

whose brain

I did put in?

And you won't be angry?

I will not be angry.

Abby someone.

-JOSH GAD: Gene Wilder... -Abby someone?

Abby who?

Abby Normal.

JOSH: He's so unpredictable.

Abby Normal.

There's like this bubbling rage,

excitement.

I'm almost sure that was the name.

(CHUCKLES)

JOSH: He is a little bit of a psychopath.

Are you saying that I put an abnormal brain

into a seven-and-a-half-foot long,

54-inch wide...

-(GASPING) -(SHOUTING) ...gorilla?

-(CHOKING) -Is that what you're telling me?

-Quick, quick, give him the-- -INGA: What?

It's up there with some of the greatest performances

in any movie, in any genre.

It's just tour de force.

-(SPEAKING SPANISH) -♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

-Yes! -♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC STING) ♪

And it was you

who left my grandfather's book out for me to find.

-Yes! -♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC STING) ♪

I think it's the funniest thing I have ever been in in my life.

Then you and Victor were...

Yes! Yes! Say it!

He was my boyfriend!

I was lucky.

I found Cloris in a bar, half shy-- Yeah.

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -And...

(APPLAUSE)

And... And then, you know, um...

Gene told me about this Teri Garr person.

Elevate me.

Now, right here?

I said, "She's absolutely beautiful. Can she act?"

And Gene said-- Gene said, "Who gives a shit?"

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

I thought I told you

never to interrupt me while I'm working!

INTERVIEWER: What do you play in the film?

I play the part of Igor.

No, it's pronounced I-gor.

Actually, a hunchback.

I don't have the hump with me at the moment.

Where's your hump?

Never with tails.

-(BELL JINGLING) -(GROWLING)

-Thank you, Lord. -MEL: When we were casting,

Gene Wilder called me and said,

"What do you think of Gene Hackman

for the blind man?"

And I said, "What about Orson Welles for the squirrel?"

-You know... -(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

"What do you mean? Gene Hackman, he gets a million bucks.

You can't... Gene Hackman."

He said, "Gene Hackman wants to play it."

-Mm-hmm. -BLIND MAN: Wait.

(SLURPING)

A toast.

A toast to, yes, long friendship.

-(CUP CLATTERS) -(GROANS)

-How hungry you must have been. -(GRUNTS)

And now, and now, now for a little surprise.

For a special occasion, I've been saving...

cigars.

I can't imagine making movies

without having watched his movies,

because as a kid...

Just hold it right there.

...Young Frankenstein...

Don't inhale until the tip glows.

...it was just the funniest movie ever.

(SCREAMS)

(GROANING LOUDLY IN PAIN)

(SCREAMING)

When I went forward and started making stuff,

you know, that was sort of the vernacular.

MAURY BALLSTEIN: You're the laughingstock

of the entire fashion world.

BEN STILLER: When I started on Zoolander, I think...

What do we do when we fall off the horse?

...Young Frankenstein was very clearly in my mind.

We get back on.

Sorry, Maury. I'm not a gymnast.

That's how I convinced myself

how to commit to the tone, I was thinking,

"Well, if Mel Brooks could do that...

(GROANING)

-...I could try to do that." -Calm down.

BEN: And then I remember just like the sex jokes...

I'm a... I...

...that were happening for a kid at that time.

Oh, my God.

Woof!

Like, I remember it was very confusing

when Frankenstein,

when Peter Boyle would get aroused.

I'm engaged. And once, he took my...

But I didn't... It was never... All the...

(MOANS) Oh, I... (MOANING)

(SINGING) ♪ Oh, sweet mystery of life ♪

♪ At last I found you ♪

-MEL: And action! -(GROWLING)

BEN: And I've seen some of the outtakes.

(GROWLING)

-Stop that! Now just stop that. -BEN: You know, it's so much fun

to see them cracking each other up.

Drop it!

(CAST LAUGHING)

But there was an incredible commitment...

-(ROARS) -...to the genre.

Everybody was playing it so real.

Let me out. Let me out of here. Get me the hell out of here.

And for the next, like, 20 years,

it affected everything.

-♪ (PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ -MEL: And action!

FRANKENSTEIN: Five, six, seven, eight.

MEL: The one thing I wouldn't do...

Ladies and gentlemen, up until now you've seen...

...with Young Frankenstein was "Putting on the Ritz."

...the creature perform the simple mechanics of motor activity.

MEL: He thought it was a great idea.

I said, "No, it will tear it.

It's over the top."

Into the realm of genius.

GENE: And Mel said...

May I now present

a cultured, sophisticated

man about town.

"Are you crazy?

You're going to have all of our work

go down the drain?"

And I argued why it was valid.

I was close to rage and tears.

And right in mid-sentence, Mel says, “Okay, it's in.”

And I didn't know if he was joking or not.

And I said, “What do you mean?” He says, “It's in.”

“What, why did you put me through this?”

And he said, “I wasn't sure

if it was right or terribly wrong.

I didn't know.

And I wanted to see how hard you'd fight for it.

And I knew if you fought hard enough,

it was right.

And you did. So it's in.”

And it was never mentioned again.

♪ If you're blue And you don't know ♪

♪ Where to go to ♪

♪ Why don't you go Where fashion sits? ♪

(IN STRAINED VOICE) ♪ Putting on the Ritz ♪

♪ Different types Who wear a day coat ♪

♪ Pants with stripes Or cutaway coat ♪

♪ Perfect fits ♪

(IN STRAINED VOICE) ♪ Putting on the Ritz ♪

♪ Dressed up like a... ♪

In one year, 1974,

Blazing Saddles and Young Frank--

both of them number one in movie charts.

It was just...

it was a miracle year, 1974.

Very good for me.

Not so good for Richard Nixon.

(IN STRAINED VOICE) ♪ Putting on the Ritz ♪

♪ (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

NICHOLAS BROOKS: When Blazing Saddles

and Young Frank hit,

it transformed my dad

from "Mel Who" or...

"I... I think I know you,"

to "Mel Brooks."

♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪

NICHOLAS: But for our family,

those movies changed the picture entirely.

Because when he went out to L.A. to work on Blazing Saddles,

he moved out there.

Max was two or something like that

when they moved.

But, you know, my dad had been this presence,

this physical presence in our lives,

and then suddenly the visits stopped.

I think for a while I was a little angry.

Occasionally he would fly in, or we would fly out to L.A.,

but, um,

it wasn't the same rhythm of connection.

♪ (UPBEAT JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

Mel Brooks.

MAX BROOKS: The truth about my childhood was

it was an immigrant community.

Immigrants to California.

Most of them were also first-generation Americans.

So it really was about people

setting up a life

in this new city.

But anxiety was constant.

And I think part of it was when you spend

your formative years with nothing,

you assume

that the nothing is always there.

So there was always that fear

that it was going to be taken away.

And it was the 1970s.

This is when

a whole new generation of celebrities around them

sometimes got caught up in the bad press.

So my parents were very much about,

"Be careful who you associate with.

Know people, trust people.

It's always better to have a few very close,

deep friendships."

Where the hell are you going? Here, there...

MAX: But my dad was always my dad.

Why are you so busy? Why don't you stand still?

MAX: And I got extremely lucky that

the kind of craziness that you see

in the character of Mel Brooks

was exactly what I got at home.

INTERVIEWER: I know your mother lives on Miami Beach.

Would you like to say hello?

Hello, Mother. How are you?

Hello. And my brother Lenny lives in Fort Lauderdale.

Leonard Kaminsky. Hello, Leonard.

Thank you for-- Thank you for for not changing the name.

Somebody had to keep the name.

And my mother, Kate Kaminsky.

Oh, wait a minute.

Can you bring the camera down a little bit? Look at me.

Now that's a little better. Hello, Mom. Now she can see me.

Hello, Mom. How are you? I love you.

Thanks. Thanks for producing me.

(CREW LAUGHING)

JUDD: How long did your mom live?

MEL: Not bad. Ninety-two.

JUDD: So, she got to see it all.

MEL: She got to see a lot of it.

How excited about your career was she?

MEL: She was very excited.

-Every time I won something... -JUDD: Mm-hmm.

...whether it was an Emmy or an Oscar,

or whatever that I won,

I would send it to her.

Yeah.

MEL: She'd put it on her TV set.

The whole building would come through her apartment,

she served tea and cookies,

-to see the Emmy or whatever. -Yeah.

And I once went down there.

I had a very strange, very weird, strange incident.

Anne and I went down,

and I hired a big, beautiful Lincoln Town Car.

This car... (LAUGHS)

It makes me laugh.

This car pulls up,

and the driver's wearing a little cap.

And he says to me,

"Who you got?"

(JUDD CHUCKLES)

I said,

"What do you mean?"

"Who you driving? Who you got?"

And I said, "Oh." I got it right away,

so I said, "Mel Brooks."

-He said, "Wow... -(JUDD CHUCKLLES)

... Mel Brooks.

Is he a good tipper?" I said, "The best."

(MEL AND JUDD CHUCKLING)

♪ (SOFT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

MEL: I started life as a drummer.

I'm sorry I stopped.

Because it was the best and the loudest way

of calling attention to myself.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

MEL: But I think I'm primarily an observer of life

who formalizes the observations by writing them down.

Some of us have no ego or other need

to tell anybody else about those observations.

But I needed to pronounce myself.

A film has to be about something.

I used a western to say other things.

I did use Young Frankenstein to say a lot of other things.

Everything I have to say,

every serious comment I have to make

on the human condition, our behavior,

I can make through comedy.

Um, now I'm going to tell you something

I shouldn't tell you.

There's a girl in Cleveland, her name is Sheila.

No, no, I made-- That--

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Is this sort of humor of yours, is it a fixture or is it a fad?

I hope... (CLEARS THROAT) ...that my contribution,

cinematically, comically, to the world

will be durable.

As a matter of fact,

um, comedy as an art form is not saluted, really.

The Academy Awards, they--

it's Towering Inferno time, do you know what I mean?

And, uh,

comedy is never even listed as the best picture.

And the ones, the films that seem to live

for 40 or 50 years

are comedies,

are the Chaplin, the great Chaplin comedies

and W. C. Fields and--

INTERVIEWER: What's the title of your next film?

Silent Movie Madness.

And that's completely silent?

It's a very noisy silent movie.

♪ (LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

MEL: Gene Wilder was busy,

so I said, I'll split leading men.

It'll be me, Marty Feldman,

and Dom DeLuise.

I even stuck Sid Caesar in the movie.

♪ (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪

MEL: Silent Movie made a curious comment

on Hollywood,

on the usurpation and the swallowing up

of small artistic film studios

by corporate giants

who make baked potatoes,

rubber tires, and movies.

So Silent Movie gives me a chance to vent

my hatred for these corporate pirates.

Mel wrote a book a couple of years ago

and he gave me credit

for bringing him the idea for his silent movie.

He also said

he had a stroke of genius

when he thought of Marcel Marceau.

Non!

RON CLARK: So I called him.

I said, "Mel, you mentioned

Marcel Marceau as your idea.

Don't you remember

that when I had the idea for the film,

it was... Marceau was the key?"

And he said...

He said, "It was such a good idea.

I figured it had to be mine."

♪ (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

JUDD: Was it fun to suddenly be the lead of the movies?

MEL: It was great. It was great. I was so happy.

JUDD: I mean, I was trying to explain to my daughter

that era this morning.

I was like, "Mel Brooks in that moment

-was like Beyoncé." -MEL: Yeah.

JUDD: You became the superstar.

(APPLAUSE)

Will you take your seat, please.

(MEL MUMBLING INDISTINCTLY)

It's all right.

-(INDISTINCT CHATTER) -(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

-Just a joke. -Okay.

You have fans all over the world.

They're waiting every year to see a new Mel Brooks film.

But you take such a long time

-to make a film. -Well, you know...

INTERVIEWER: Where is it?

-To make a good film... -INTERVIEWER: How do you do it?

To make a good film, here, here's how you do it.

You take... You're... you're doing it--

You take your sugar, you take it like this,

put it all together.

Then the bones tell you.

(IN EXAGGERATED YIDDISH ACCENT) Yes, yes, a gypsy.

I do a film, a gypsy.

The government... There's two governments.

The French government, Romanian government,

Hungarian government.

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -Here is three government.

I take the government, I make a film. I make three government.

The common market is a government.

(IN NORMAL VOICE) See, it's more complicated than that, I assure you.

What I'm trying to illustrate in the very comic sense is

that the planning of a film is often the largest part of it.

That is the writing.

A concept,

uh, captured in a script

is the most important part of a film.

The rest of it is important too,

-but the script is 90 percent. -Yeah.

Yeah, I know a lot. I've been around.

-I'm very sophisticated. -Are you sure?

Yes, I drink white wine with fish.

-I know everything. -(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

There's nothing more delicate in certain ways than a comedy.

I mean, it's very delicate,

'cause you can take a particular joke,

and if it's not presented in the proper way,

it doesn't work.

♪ (PLAYFUL TUNE PLAYING) ♪

BARRY LEVINSON: I'd say on one particular gag

in Silent Movie, I think we must have recut it

-about ten times. -(CHOMPS)

-(LOUD BOING ECHOING) -(SMOOCHES)

(SOFT BOING ECHOING)

You know, it's a little laugh. It's not big enough.

It's a big laugh.

-There's a big laugh here. -(SPRINGS BOINGING)

And then he would go, "What about," et cetera,

and then suddenly...

♪ (MUSIC STOPS ABRUPTLY) ♪

There it was.

Not a little... (CHUCKLES HALF-HEARTEDLY)

JUDD: Yeah.

(CHUCKLES) You know, he always...

He wanted...

"I want to see people doubled up,

that they can't breathe."

I do remember once on High Anxiety,

I was thinking in terms of Psycho.

(GLASS SHATTERING)

Do you fellas want to see your rooms or not?

Barry Levinson, who looks just like you,

-I swear to God. -Yeah?

Barry Levinson, who is the bellboy.

Here's your key. I'll bring your bag in a minute.

He's the bellboy in the hotel,

and he attacks me in the shower, like Psycho.

I was making fun of it one day,

and I was saying, like-- the bellhop was going...

(HIGH-PITCHED SCREAMS)

(HIGH-PITCHED SCREAMS)

(HIGH-PITCHED SCREAMS) With the newspaper...

(SCREAMS) Here’s your paper, here’s your paper,

here’s your paper!

(SCREAMING) Happy now? Happy? Happy now?

BARRY: If it was a worthwhile idea,

then he would run with it.

If it wasn't,

then you'd move on to something else.

But he was very open to that.

That kid gets no tip.

BARRY: We didn't just write it.

We were there on the set when it was being shot.

So we were there every day of the shoot.

There'd be a moment and you thought,

"Well, maybe that could be better," you know,

and you go over to Mel,

"Mel, I was wondering..."

And then he would go like, "Hold it, we're not moving on.

Barry's not happy."

You know, and so you feel embarrassed.

(CHUCKLES)

ANNE BANCROFT: What kind of roles do you think

you would have gotten if you weren't writing your own?

MEL: Oh, my favorite roll

would be the King of Germany, the Kaiser roll.

-(ANNE LAUGHS) -MEL: That would be-- No.

♪ (PIANO MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

♪ High anxiety... ♪

I made myself a leading man in High Anxiety

because I always wanted to imitate Frank Sinatra.

♪ High anxiety... ♪

I guess I made myself a leading man because...

in real life I knew I could never be a leading man.

♪ My heart's afraid to fly ♪

♪ It's crashed before ♪

♪ But then you take my hand ♪

♪ My heart starts To soar once more ♪

♪ High anxiety... ♪

JUDD: Where you grew up, there weren't a lot of Jewish kids.

So, what did it mean

that there was the guy like Mel out there,

just this Jewish performer, writer,

director, producer?

There's not anybody our age or up

that didn't have the pride of Mel being Jewish

and being like,

"You know that dude you quote all the time?

He's one of us."

♪ High anxiety... ♪

SARAH SILVERMAN: I had just never seen anything like it.

You know, like being Jewish in a lot of communities

is like something that you come out.

It's almost like being gay, you know, like, uh...

to be...

proud of it, it would be-- is like-- seems crazy.

He was so Jewish, but he was kind of cool.

Like, he was cooler to me than,

like, Woody Allen,

uh, for any number of reasons.

But, um... (CHUCKLES)

He didn't... You know, he looked the way he looked,

but he had so much charisma and he was very confident.

That's the thing I got from him.

He was super confident,

and he had no problem going for it.

MEL: ♪ That I blame... ♪

Mel was the kind of guy

that you felt like Sinatra would be like,

“Holy shit. Let me say hi to Mel Brooks, man.”

He just was the shit.

♪ I've got to give in ♪

♪ High anxiety ♪

And remember, folks, be good to your parents.

They've been good to you.

♪ You win ♪

♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

DINAH SHORE: I didn't talk to you about working in a movie with Mel.

ANNE: For years, we never wanted to work together,

'cause we thought it would be terrible.

-♪ (MUSIC CUTS OFF) ♪ -(SHUFFLING)

It wound up being two weeks, the happiest of my whole life,

'cause I loved working with him.

-Yeah? -Oh, I... Yes, I just loved it.

You hear that, honey? Write me a part. (CHUCKLES)

♪ (TANGO MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

(CRASHING)

(LAUGHING)

♪ (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪

MEL: (CHUCKLES) Oh, God.

It's hard for me to watch her.

She was so good.

Look at her eyes. She does it.

She matches him.

She's amazing.

And she did that as a favor to me.

-JUDD: Yeah. (CHUCKLES) -♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪

That's probably why you fell in love with Annie.

You didn't know that she could do that weird...

No, it's true. I found that out much later in our marriage.

One day, she was putting on her makeup,

and I was like, you know how men like to do that,

to watch how they do it so they can do it later

-when women go out of town. -JOHNNY: That's right.

So, I was...

I was watching, and she was doing everything,

and then suddenly she did that.

She crossed her eyes, and I said,

"One day I'm going to do a movie,

and you're going to do that in the movie."

And she said, "Oh yeah, sure." You know.

-JOHNNY: And she did it. -And she did it,

and it was really incredible. We couldn't believe it.

Marty couldn't believe it. Marty Feldman,

who has one eye-- one in Chicago, one in Cincinnati.

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

-Oh! -Oh my goodness.

-(APPLAUSE) -Anne Bancroft.

-(WHOOPS) -(APPLAUSE CONTINUES)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

-Are you coming for dinner? Yes. -Yes!

-Did you see... -Anne Bancroft!

Did you see me?

(LAUGHING)

I mean, all of you out there who are married know.

This is the first time we've ever been on television together.

No. No, on The Carson Show

they always point to you in your seat.

But never talking like this, and close like this.

-We don't allow you. No, no, no. -Never. Yes.

-(INTERVIEWER SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) -This is history.

-Yes, history. -My darling.

-(LAUGHING) -(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

INTERVIEWER: You didn't know that your wife was coming on here, did you?

I had no idea. I had no idea my wife was coming on,

but it's always a pleasure to see my wife.

You want to do, uh...

-What was the-- -(LAUGHS) Oh, no!

No, what was the big one we used to do years ago?

The, uh...

♪ They say They're falling in love ♪

-We never did that. -No, no, no. Uh...

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -♪ (SCATS MUSIC NOTES) ♪

♪ (VOCALISING) ♪

Oh, that's so-- That key is so high.

-That's your other wife. -That's-- No, no.

Now, we can do a little of "Bells Are Ringing."

(CLEARS THROAT) Okay, here we go.

-♪ The-- ♪ -♪ The bells are ♪

-It's me. It's my part. -You did... But I'll do the...

We got a microphone here.

You mean I've been doing this without a microphone?

No, no. But you're in here.

♪ The bell ♪

(BOTH) ♪ The bells are ringing ♪

♪ For me and my gal ♪

-♪ The birds are singing ♪ -♪ Singing ♪

(BOTH) ♪ For me and my gal ♪

INTERVIEWER: This is the end of the doubles match

which pitted Penny Marshall and Mel Brooks

against Carl Reiner and guess who?

(EXCLAIMS)

(CHEERING)

UMPIRE: Point, set, match.

Marshall and Brooks,

they win four games to three in the tiebreaker.

-INTERVIEWER: Could I ask you a question? -What?

When you and Mel spend a quiet evening at home,

is it as animated as I see you?

When I talk to Mel, it's very animated and you..

I don't think we've ever really talked.

You know what I mean? We never sit down and say,

"Well, what did you do today?"

INTERVIEWER: How do you know the marriage is working?

I don't. I don't know.

-Tell me, is it? -(LAUGHS)

I don't even know if he likes me.

Oh! Ooh!

I'll sell you his interview. You want to buy it?

Oh!

INTERVIEWER: Oh, does he like you.

Well, that's so nice to know.

(SPEAKING ITALIAN DOUBLE-TALK)

He said--

He says the girl took the fuzz off the ball.

(SPEAKING ITALIAN DOUBLE-TALK)

...topspin, topspin...

(CONTINUES ITALIAN DOUBLE-TALK)

Ball, the ball, the ball!

He says because he is bald, he has no topspin.

(SPEAKING ITALIAN DOUBLE-TALK)

(SPEAKING ITALIAN DOUBLE-TALK)

Sexual activity in room 412.

-(BYSTANDERS LAUGHING) -(APPLAUSE)

ROB REINER: My father used to refer to him as a doctor

because he read more medical journals...

I mean, if you didn't have the money to go visit a doctor,

you could go to Mel.

And I always thought, even though,

Mel was only like four years younger than my dad,

I think he looked to my dad as like a father figure.

JUDD: Rob was saying that he thought in some ways

Carl was almost like a father figure to you.

Yeah, well, I lost my father when I was two years old.

JUDD: Yeah.

And I was always, I think, unconsciously

searching for some guidance from an older man, you know.

JUDD: Yeah.

And Carl was nice and tall.

(JUDD CHUCKLES)

-I literally looked up to Carl. -JUDD: Yeah.

And Carl, for all his...

schtick and insanity, was wise...

-JUDD: Yeah. -...and loving.

And I just said, "That's my father."

JUDD: Wow.

I just felt that Carl was there and I was very close to him.

JUDD: And then when you hear all these stories about Mel

with your dad and Norman Lear

and Dom DeLuise and Larry Gelbart

and this incredible group of people

-who hung out. -ROB: Yeah, yeah.

And they would spend weekends together

and they each had their own comedy skill set that would...

It was like, you know,

"Just let's make each other laugh and have fun."

CARL REINER: It was the most laughter

I've ever been involved with,

ever, ever, ever in my life.

Nobody ever laughed like that.

And we realized there's a club.

We decided to call ourselves Yenem Velt.

Yenem Velt,

which is a Yiddish term for "the other world."

I knew the guy who had the houses

and invited us to take them anytime.

I put it together.

Five bedrooms.

And one bedroom was about four inches larger

-than the other bedroom. -(INTERVIEWER LAUGHS)

MEL: It was much bigger.

NORMAN LEAR: And I took that bedroom.

He never stopped resenting it.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

-All right. -He told us--

He told me at lunch just a few years ago.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Mel thought when he got slapped on the ass

by the doctor who delivered him

that that was applause.

And he has not stopped performing since.

There was not and there is nobody like Mel.

INTERVIEWER: What do you think of Mel Brooks?

I can say that I think

he is the only

authentic genius

that I've ever met.

The reasons why...

(SMACKING LOUDLY)

But I'm not here.

(CHUCKLES)

I had the greatest

theatrical experiences of my life

working with him.

MEL: And sexual.

And sexual experiences.

And, um,

on Young Frankenstein,

we did something that was unique.

We both wrote,

he directed, I starred.

And I feel that now, with Mel

directing and acting,

the scripts that he's written,

he is gearing those scripts

for himself as a performer.

So those scripts are shaped according to his talent,

what he wants to do as a performer.

For me to just step in,

it would be a little bit crazy

because it wouldn't be right for me.

And I've come to the conclusion

that the only way

that it will be right for us to create magic again

will be for us both to write,

him to direct, and me to star.

And since I'm one of the few people in the world

who want nothing from him,

I'm going to wait until that day comes

when he says, "I'm ready."

I've come on the most urgent of business.

It is said that the people are revolting.

You said it. They stink on ice.

No, Your Majesty, this is a very serious problem.

The peasants feel you have no regard for them.

What? I have no regard for the peasants?

They are my people. I am their sovereign.

I love them.

Pull!

-(GUNSHOT) -(MAN SCREAMING)

Drifting to the left.

You must always go for the essence of the film.

Pull!

-(GUNSHOT) -(MAN EMITS SHORT SCREAM)

Fell like a stone.

What is the film about?

Shall we continue

to build palace after palace for the rich?

Or shall we aspire to a more noble purpose

and build decent housing for the poor?

GROUP: Fuck the poor!

The next movie I'm making, it's behind me on the wall here,

is Mel Brooks's History of the World, Part I.

♪ (ADVENTUROUS MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

This will be the Stone Age.

And the first man will masturbate.

(MEN GRUNTING)

MEL: We will freeze the frame and say,

"Our forefathers."

(GRUNTING CONTINUES)

All pay heed!

The Lord, the Lord Jehovah,

has given unto you these 15...

♪ (MUSIC STOPS) ♪

Oy.

Ten! Ten commandments!

MEL: And then we'll land and the next bit

will be the Roman Empire.

-CLERK: Occupation? -COMICUS: Stand-up philosopher.

I coalesce the vapor of human experience

into a viable and logical comprehension.

Oh.

A bullshit artist.

(GRUMBLES)

MEL: And we continue to show that the administrators...

Oh, Caesar!

(BURPS)

...the leaders, the kings,

are animals and brutal.

That's just a little philosophical point.

Say when.

8:30.

MEL: We move from the Roman Empire...

For now begins the Inquisition.

...over to the Spanish Inquisition.

♪ ("THE INQUISITION" BY MEL BROOKS PLAYING) ♪

-♪ The Inquisition ♪ -♪ Let's begin ♪

-♪ The Inquisition ♪ -♪ Look out, sin ♪

♪ We have a mission ♪

♪ To convert the Jews ♪

♪ Jew, Jew, Jew, Jew Jew, Jew, Jew... ♪

MEL: It was a man called Torquemada who came and took Jews,

put them on racks, broke their bones.

And we're gonna make a Busby Berkeley musical number

out of the Spanish Inquisition.

-♪ Confess, don't be boring ♪ -♪ Confess, confess ♪

-♪ Say yes, don't be dull ♪ -♪ Say yes, say yes ♪

-♪ A fact you're ignoring ♪ -♪ A fact you're ignoring ♪

♪ It's better To lose your skullcap ♪

♪ Than your skull ♪

♪ Oy oy gevalt ♪

♪ The Inquisition, yeah... ♪ (SINGING INDISTINCTLY)

Oh, "The Inquisition." Shit, we didn't talk about that.

This is fucking batshit,

and it is the most delightful thing

I've ever seen in my life.

It's full-on, truly brilliant musical theater Broadway level.

♪ (LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

♪ Scit, scat, and voodoo-lee-vat And doodle-dee-day ♪

♪ Will you convert? ♪

♪ No, no, no, no ♪

♪ Will you confess? ♪

♪ No, no, no, no ♪

♪ Will you revert? ♪

♪ No, no, no, no ♪

♪ Will you say yes? ♪

♪ No, no, no, no ♪

♪ Now, I asked in a nice way I said pretty please ♪

♪ I bent their ears Now, I'll work on their knees ♪

♪ (DYNAMIC MELODY PLAYING) ♪

-(SCREAMS) -Ha-ha!

♪ (UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

He got bad reviews, of course.

You know, you just, you don't hear that.

You know, like the Beatles got bad reviews.

History of the World was a really big deal in my house.

The jokes about the Spanish Inquisition

-and "It's Good to Be the King." -It's good to be the King.

-♪ The Inquisition What a show ♪ -♪ What a show ♪

AMY SCHUMER: Even as that grotesque character,

you still loved Mel Brooks.

Death, hump, death, hump, death. Your time is running out.

'Cause he was making fun

of ultimate privilege and power.

Oh, please. Listen to me.

I'm not the king!

CROWD: Bullshit!

It's a very hard crowd.

♪ Because The Inquisition's here ♪

♪ And it's here to ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ (SONG CONCLUDES) ♪

You know, and the eunuchs, castrated men.

Well, wait, the eunuchs...

Is it-- That's not castration

if you just cut their balls off, is it?

That's still castration?

JUDD: I think that is castration.

God, I've been doing it wrong all these years.

We had hoped to have,

and I think I mentioned this last night,

Rex Reed of the New York Daily News,

who hated Mel Brooks's picture.

And Rex, I thought it might have been nice

if Rex had been here to confront Mel

and give him face-to-face his review of the picture,

The History of the World, Part I.

But we had a call from Rex Reed today,

and unfortunately, he is not able to make it.

Something about a toothache, or...

I wished... Oh, I wanted Rex Reed to be here tonight.

Oh, so, so much. But...

-(TOM SNYDER LAUGHS) -(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

TOM: You mean for a little conversation,

a little chat. Exactly.

I like face-to-face confrontation.

I don't like writing things, scrawling little hate messages.

"How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways."

But I mean, sometimes the critics put things down

because it puts them up.

It is self-righteous.

They're hypocritical.

They don't break wind.

-They don't... -(AUDIENCE MEMBERS LAUGH)

I mean, they don't have sex.

People laugh at Jew jokes, Polish jokes,

passing gas jokes,

going to the bathroom jokes, all that stuff in private.

And then we get to the movie theater

and we're supposed to make believe

that nobody ever does that. It's ridiculous, frankly.

I'm writing a movie to please the critics.

People will have no orifices.

These...

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

TOM: How are we gonna breathe?

Things will... Everything will be sealed.

Everything will be clean. We will...

You will not hear the sound

of breaking wind across the prairie.

It will be the cleanest, nicest movie.

And only the critics will see it,

-unfortunately. -TOM: Yeah, yeah.

I don't think we'll get an audience for it.

-Yeah. -I'm a rum runner.

I'm a rum runner. I have terrific rum.

It's 110-proof rum.

It's funny rum. It's good rum. It's hot rum.

Some people like that kind of rum.

I gotta get that rum to the people.

I'm trying to get it.

Now, there's a picket line, a picket line of critics.

"It stinks. It's tall. It's short.

It's Jewish. It's funny.

It's smart. It's twisted. It's a bagel.

It's a tagel. It's a ragel."

I mean, they don't... They don't let you...

But for some reason,

the initial basic wonderful contract

is with the filmmaker and the people.

And the only thing

that makes a picture live is time.

We will outlive all the critics.

♪ (MELANCHOLIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

MAX: My father is beloved by the people

and he is worshipped

by comedians.

NARRATOR: Here, in a cave

somewhere in the North American continent,

the first artist was born.

MAX: But the intelligentsia

never really embraced him,

never saw him as a genius.

(GRUNTING)

MAX: He was never wise, he was never insightful.

He was always just commercial and silly and slapstick.

NARRATOR: And of course, with the birth of the artist

came the inevitable afterbirth.

The critic.

(GRUNTING)

There is a production number

in History of the World, Part I that...

It is, I think, the highlight of the movie.

Now, everybody has different-- I was... I was...

I think it is a stroke of genius.

Some people hate it.

I loved it.

Short, dumb people hate it.

(LAUGHS)

Tall, interesting, handsome people

like it.

MAURY POVICH: There are people who got disgusted,

walked out of theaters.

Some gossip columnist

said that you were making terrible fun...

-Right, they-- -...of a tragic time in history.

Exactly.

They thought that the Inquisition

was not the subject matter for comedy.

And I maintain seriously that

there is nothing that is not the subject matter for comedy

because comedy is a sensational

and sometimes spectacular political weapon.

Pauline Kael, a great critic of The New Yorker

who had disliked his earlier films,

came around on this one

and said, "This is brilliant."

Her opening paragraph in The New Yorker was,

"If Mel Brooks doesn't go too far,

he hasn't moved."

It shocked me. I panned the movie in 1981

in New York magazine

'cause I thought it went too far.

And when I saw it again and again,

it struck me as this is the most daring,

the craziest thing he's ever done.

It pushes art

in almost a kind of modernist way,

like theater of cruelty way,

push the thing as far as it can go.

And it's borderline hostile to the audience

until you realize

what he's doing and you reset.

And then after you see it...

the second and third time,

I think there's an immense release,

the release of anguish.

Um, "Yes, I can laugh at this."

CHARLIE ROSE: How much of comedy

comes out of anger, out of your own anger, your rage?

You're right. A lot comes out of passion.

-What are you angry about today? -A lot.

Where's the rage today when you look at America?

Not your movies,

but when you look at America and say,

"That is wrong and that's going to take America to the..."

What gets me crazy and angry

is that a couple of guys in Washington

will sit around a table and decide

to spend billions and billions of dollars

for an antique aircraft carrier

while truly needy programs

have been completely wiped away

by an administration that is not...

-(APPLAUSE) -A woman.

A woman doing the same job as a man

gets a raw deal because she's a woman.

There are many real horrible things.

A person, because of the color of his skin

or because of his religious beliefs,

is put down. I mean, there are many things,

that we're not addressing ourselves to,

that have to be addressed in some artistic form.

If the government's not gonna pay attention,

art must pay attention.

As a comic, uh, as an artist

yeah, you have to be a little bit fearless.

You have to be a little bit fearless.

When you feel you have to say something,

you gotta say it.

And you gotta be able to live with the consequences.

Like, if you're gonna do it,

you have to go hard in the pain.

Right? You can't half-ass political satire.

Like, what's the point of that?

If you're gonna do it,

if you're gonna say something about awful people,

you have to go all in.

I think that's one of the big things

that separates satire from just yelling in a crowd

is you have to be... Go hard,

but you have to make sure it's also funny.

(FILM REEL WHIRRING)

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

VIEWER 1: Is that who I think it is?

VIEWER 2: Yes, that's Adolf Hitler in a home movie.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

VIEWER 1: Looks a little like Mel Brooks.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

MAN 1: Who's taking the picture?

MAN 2: Eva. Eva Braun.

And not too many people know it,

but he was a secret admirer of Charlie Chaplin.

Now this is extremely rare footage.

At least with sound.

-(SPEAKING GERMAN DOUBLE-TALK) -Mm!

(SPEAKING GERMAN) That?

-Apple sauce. -Apple sauce. Apple sauce...

(SPEAKER GERMAN DOUBLE-TALK)

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Danke.

♪ (WHISTLING "SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER") ♪

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

JUDD: What do you think was his instinct

to go hard at Nazis so much?

Well, I think it's what we Jews do

as survival.

You know, it's you take...

He had in Twelve Chairs,

I think there's a line where he says, um,

"Hope for the best, expect the worst."

And it's this thing... It's a survival mechanism

of comedy.

Humor is a way to keep you going and keep you, uh...

keep those Nazis at bay.

It was a bug.

A bug. You killed a bug.

A bug, a living thing, you just take its life away.

Boom, that's it, it's over. Boom.

CONAN O'BRIEN: People have been critical...

You just don't kill things. What's the matter with you?

...about Mel putting a comb under his nose

and pretending to be Hitler or making light of the Nazis

or making light of all this.

And I always remember

he could hear German soldiers across the river.

He was fighting the Germans.

If you fought the Germans in World War II,

you're allowed to do whatever the fuck you want.

And what better way

to overcome a tyrant than to ridicule him?

When people are doing

cruel and crazy and terrible things,

it's important to remind everyone

that they're cruel and terrible things.

And if you don't,

perhaps we become acclimated to it.

And, you know, for me,

I do feel like it's a little bit of a release valve

for people to, um,

see the powers that be made fun of,

but also I think it's a good reminder.

It's good to remind people that this isn't normal.

The greatest threat to these types of people

is to not be taken seriously.

Vladimir Putin

does not allow comedians to make fun of him.

That is an arrestable offense.

You don't get arrested for that

because he doesn't like the joke.

You get arrested because

he knows the joke is dangerous.

Comedy helps minimize terrifying things

so that you can move forward

in the face of something terrifying.

It feels good to say those things.

It feels good... to hear those things.

MEL: See "Hitler on Ice!"

♪ (WALTZ MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

MEL: Sometimes my comedy

is just to celebrate the joy of being alive.

Here comes the mustache. Here is the face.

MEL: And sometimes it is philosophical

and ideological,

and I use it as skillfully as I know how.

Comedy ridicules.

Comedy demotes.

Comedy destroys

the dignity of the enemy.

ALAN KING: Does Mel Brooks want to be taken seriously?

On occasion, I do. Yeah, on occasion.

I would like to have the largesse, the ability

to do a profoundly serious movie,

as well as an antic, silly comedy.

Our business is a very tough business,

and once you gain a reputation for something,

the public and the critics stick a siphon into you,

and they say, "Give us that, give us that."

They want nothing else,

and they'll drain that until you're dead.

And I said, "There's more to me than just being a zany comic."

So, I created a company called Brooksfilms.

The patient has been called "The Elephant Man."

MEL: When I read this wonderful story

of the Elephant Man,

I knew that under the banner of Brooksfilms

I could make

this beautiful picture.

(APPLAUSE)

After I finished

my first feature, Eraserhead...

-♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYING) ♪ -(HEAD BOINGS)

...I got a phone call from a guy named Stuart Cornfeld.

And Stuart Cornfeld

worked for a man named Mel Brooks.

And at that time,

I was getting married to my second wife.

And my new mother-in-law...

uh, told my then-wife,

"David isn't working much.

Maybe it's time to light a fire under this, you know, bozo

and get him to make some money, right? And take care of you."

So, I called Stuart.

And I just wanted...

I don't know why, I just took a chance.

I said, "Stuart,

do you know of any films that I could direct?"

And he said, "The Elephant Man."

And a bomb went off in my head.

And this bomb had been off in my head

a couple of times before in my life,

but it's a huge thing.

From that millisecond on,

I said, "That's it, that's what I wanna do."

But what happened was

they called me and said,

"Mel wants to see Eraserhead."

And I got the gist,

if he didn't like it, I was out.

And I said,

"Well, it's been great knowing you guys."

So, Mel set up a screening at 20th Century Fox,

and the film ended, and the doors blew open,

and Mel came rushing toward me.

He embraced me and said,

"You're a madman. I love you. You're in."

And that was it.

INTERVIEWER: Did you pick the director for The Elephant Man?

MEL: Absolutely. I found him.

INTERVIEWER: That was a stroke of genius.

MEL: There's a great deal of beauty in him

and a great deal

of understanding of the grotesque.

And he has great compassion for the grotesque.

And I knew he would be the perfect director.

(GASPING)

We've decided.

We're gonna get out of here, all right?

Oh, Mr. Merrick,

you're not an elephant man at all.

DAVID LYNCH: Anne Bancroft

was like working with royalty.

You're Romeo.

DAVID: And Mel is a smart fellow.

He knows about human nature

so much.

And he's just...

Mel's got...

a lot going on in that mind of his.

He's real, real...

um, busy

and sees so much.

And, somehow,

he saw this in Eraserhead.

He's the perfect person to see that film.

And it... Now, it makes sense to me

that he liked it and would pick me,

but it doesn't really make any sense.

And Mel put me on the map with that,

you know, offering me to direct The Elephant Man,

and backing me up all along the way.

I didn't have final cut with Mel Brooks,

but in a sense, I would say he gave it to me.

I am not an animal!

I am a human being.

To me that's the most selfless act of producing

anybody's ever done.

The fact that Mel, you know,

said that if people see "produced by Mel Brooks"

and The Elephant Man, they're gonna expect a comedy.

And he wanted the movie to stand alone.

And so he took his name off it. And that's, I mean,

that's such an amazing thing for a producer to do.

That is Mel sort of at his...

sort of financial deal-making peak,

when he can pull strings and make stuff happen.

And the fact that he went to the mat

for this goofy kid out of AFI

-who had made a midnight movie. -Yeah.

And basically, going to the studio

saying, "I'm gonna back him.

And you can trust me,

the movie won't spin out of control,

-but the kid is directing this movie." -Right.

It's astonishing, and in black and white.

LARRY KARASZEWSKI: In black and white, yeah.

I mean, wow. I mean, that is awesome producing.

He's backing Cronenberg.

No one ever really thinks about that,

that we would not have the careers

of David Cronenberg and David Lynch

if it wasn't for Mel Brooks.

JUDD: The success rate at Brooksfilms is crazy.

Please don't kill me.

JUDD: The Fly is a classic.

Get your clothes on.

-JUDD: He did Frances. -You've got no right!

MEL: Frances was a beautiful film.

You know, 84 Charing Cross Road,

and My Favorite Year.

I am fat!

MEL: And Anne's picture, Fatso.

Beautiful, really rich, deep,

-serious comedy. -Fat! I am fat!

MEL: All of them had real merit.

JUDD: Were you super involved or controlling,

or how were you as a producer?

Hands off until

I saw something that I thought I could help,

then it was hands-on.

Brooksfilms is a company

that enables me to bite off and chew things

that normally the critics and the public

would not allow Mel Brooks to do.

So, I feel

I'm doing a great service to mankind

by bringing important ideas

in the form of great art to the public.

And in return, all I want is a lot of money.

He has this serious side.

He has this very deep thinking side of him.

And I think, like lots of creative people,

they're afraid to put that part of themselves out there

because, "That's not the brand.

That's not what people want from me.

But I can do it in things like The Elephant Man

and Frances."

That's the way he found

to express himself in a different way.

TERRY WOGAN: You are known as the master of bad taste.

-Yes, I am, I am. -(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Is this justified, or are you sorry now?

No, no, no, it's justified. And I...

I am known for my exquisitely bad taste.

In America, people say,

"Mr. Brooks, you are in bad taste."

I say, "Up yours."

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

You know, I've been watching this show from the wings.

I'm not going to criticize it. I love it.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

The cameras seem to have some problems knowing when

you are going to speak

and when your guest is going to speak.

So, it occurred to me

to warn them, so that they don't come in

on a second syllable or a second word.

If you say, "Ba-ba" and then talk,

on the ba-ba, they will cut to you.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

If I'm going to talk, I will say, "Ba-ba"

and they will cut to me.

Of course, this is where you--

That's why you're a director and producer,

and I'm just a common or garden...

Ba-ba! I'll tell you, Terry...

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

(APPLAUSE)

Ba-ba!

I hadn't finished.

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -(LAUGHS)

You know what Jewish foreplay is?

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Let me tell you what Jewish foreplay is.

-May I? -TERRY: Please.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Twenty minutes of begging.

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -TERRY: Ba-ba.

And yet you married an Italian.

Ba-ba, yes.

How did you lure this actress into this kind of dross...

With a giant Jew magnet.

I said, "Come this way.

You're mine.

You're mine." Ba-ba, schmuck. "You're mine."

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

She adores me because I'm the other side of her life.

I'm merriment. I'm fun.

I'm silly.

When are we going to see that side of you?

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -(LAUGHS)

Yes, miss.

I've heard that you're married to

the most beautiful woman in the world.

Is that true, Mr. Brooks?

No, I'm married to Anne Bancroft.

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -(APPLAUSE)

My beautiful wife.

Thank you.

-In... -(APPLAUSE)

We are starring together,

starring together in a major motion picture

for the first time.

A motion picture called To Be or Not to Be,

which should be in your neighborhood theaters

in about an hour and a half.

Why don't we sing...

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

...a little Polish for these--

Yes.

Let me get up there.

Come on, folks, let's encourage her.

(APPLAUSE)

Yes.

-(ANNE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY) -Yeah.

Don't worry, don't worry, you can do it.

ANNE: No, I can't.

I got cue cards. What are you worried about?

Remember, it’s not so important, just a TV show.

It doesn't have to be good, they're not paying for this.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

♪ (LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

♪ (SINGING IN POLISH) ♪

♪ Sweet Georgia Brown ♪

♪ (SINGING IN POLISH) ♪

♪ Sweet Georgia Brown ♪

MEL: For years, I had been looking

for a vehicle that would contain...

Quick! Let's rehearse the scene.

-...the majesty... -Hail Hitler.

Heil Hitler. All right, I've got it.

...of my talent

with the tap-dancing ability of my wife.

♪ (SINGING IN POLISH) ♪

Do we love each other? Tell them. I mean...

Well, I mean, do you know what it means anymore?

All we know, all we know is that

we are rafts in the ocean

and we swim to each other and cling

because life is filled with all kinds of fraught,

with all kinds of disaster and certainly unhappiness.

And at least we have each other to...

Look, as far as I'm concerned...

Is that how you feel?

Marriage is a retail store.

Somebody has to watch the register.

(CHUCKLES)

And somebody has to get the pretzels down for the kids.

I mean, it's hard. I mean, look, life is very hard.

I think you need a partner that you love and who loves you

to get through it.

INTERVIEWER: But you're content to be with each other.

I'm more than content.

I mean, when he comes home at night,

when that key goes in the door, I mean, my heart starts fluttering.

-I am so happy he's home. -You're so nice.

-(CHUCKLES) -You know, I mean,

it's like the party's going to start, you know?

And I get my hat.

I get my party hat from New York.

-(LAUGHS) -I throw confetti, and I run in.

-(LAUGHS) -(VOCALIZES)

And we dance all night.

MAX: My parents always had a rule.

Never go to bed angry.

Get it all out.

So, they got it all out.

What happens if you have a disagreement of some sort? I've got to know.

She goes after me with a half a scissor.

What do you mean?

INTERVIEWER: With a half a scissor?

Yeah, you know, the Italians.

(SPEAKING ITALIAN)

Oh, yeah. What do you do? You run?

-No, no, no. We sit and we talk. -That's right.

We sit and we say,

"Darling, if there's any problem,

you know, let's talk it out."

And we talk for about two minutes,

and then she goes... (SPEAKING ITALIAN)

They fought about a lot of little things,

a lot of big things.

Sometimes she would just yell at him,

especially with his career,

because she was very much about

making him do what she knew he wanted to do.

My dad is a procrastinator.

And so my mother was very clear about like,

"Mel, go write that."

I don't think I can do it.

I don't think I can get away with it.

Yes, yes, yes, yes. You can. You can.

You can, you can, you can and you will.

You're a great actor. You were born to do it.

You even look like Siletski. Big nose, beady eyes.

You'll be a better Siletski than Siletski.

I hope so. He's dead.

Beady eyes.

Sorry, sweetheart.

MEL: She's always pushed me.

She's always been an inspiration.

She always thought I was talented.

And she believed in me right from the beginning,

whatever I wanted to do.

She said, you can do it.

MAX: When I was growing up, that was at his height.

So, even though I saw him constantly,

he was busy being Mel Brooks.

Hiya. Wie geht's?

This is my little cottage.

This is my bathtub.

It's a whirlpool bath.

It has 17 jets.

The jets of water hit you...

everywhere.

It's a pleasure. (LAUGHS)

Ah!

We are now in my son Max's room.

I have a son, Max.

He's 11 years old and he needs a room.

Come here.

MAX: My dad had no idea how to be a dad.

He can have all this space here.

MAX: And was very honest about that.

We only made one small mistake.

We didn't build Max a toilet,

so he will have to go outside.

MAX: And my dad was very nervous and very protective,

even in places he had no right to be.

I'll never forget the phrase,

"What if I wake up tomorrow and you're dead?"

This was when I wanted to go camping in the backyard.

And we had to, like, meet with the family shrink,

and the shrink had to talk to my dad.

"Well, Mel, what do you think would happen?"

"Well, I don't know. How do I know?

What if I wake up tomorrow and you're dead?"

So, yes, there was always those fights.

And eventually I won

because I'm here in my own house.

(BEEP)

Flamethrowers!

(AIR HISSING)

Flamethrowers!

Yeah, now it works.

And last but not least...

dolls.

Here's a new one of me and I talk.

Let's ride your bike.

Blow it out your ass.

(CAST LAUGHING)

Cut.

♪ ("SPACEBALLS" THEME PLAYING) ♪

Spaceballs?

Oh, shit.

There goes the planet.

I said I've satirized almost every kind of--

but I have not done space.

If you're gonna do space, you better do Star Wars.

(GASPS) I can't breathe in this thing!

MEL: In Spaceballs,

we have used up the air.

There is no air left on Planet Spaceball.

Because of an ignorant and foolish president.

-What's the combination? -One, two, three, four, five.

-One, two, three, four, five? -Yes.

That's amazing. I've got the same combination on my luggage.

He doesn't care about the environment.

He doesn't care about people.

He doesn't care about trade deficits.

He is just a good looking...

He's kind of an actor.

You know, he smiles a lot and...

But-- And that's the guy I'm-- I can't think of who I...

I am, you know, modeling the role after.

I mean...

-President Skroob. -What is it?

ZIRCON: I have an urgent message from Lord Helmet.

He's lost the princess.

-Where? -Somewhere in the sands of Vega.

Tell him to comb the desert, do you hear me?

Comb the desert!

Found anything yet?

Nothing yet, sir!

DARK HELMET: How about you?

Not a thing, sir.

DARK HELMET: What about you guys?

We ain't found shit.

NARRATOR: Another jab at movie clichés

from a 60-year-old actor,

writer, producer, director, and comedian

by the name of Mel Brooks.

Helmet, what's going on?

Sandurz, what's going on?

It's Mega Maid.

-She's gone from suck to blow. -(GASPS)

NARRATOR: Spaceballs is another example

that with Brooks,

there are no sacred movie cows.

Stand up!

Captain, we've got them!

Spectacular stunt, my friends.

But all for naught.

Turn around, please.

So, princess,

you thought you could outwit

the imperious force of... (GASPS)

You idiots!

These are not them!

You've captured their stunt doubles!

INTERVIEWER: You're parodying Star Wars,

and many of the characters are very similar.

DARK HELMET: I see your Schwartz is as big as mine.

So, you knew George Lucas's lawyers

might even be able to stop this movie.

You didn't want that, so...

Lucas liked me, he liked my work,

and he said, "Mel, the only thing you can't do.

You can't do the merchandising."

What is it that you do here?

Merchandising.

To this day, I haven't.

But in case there's another Spaceballs...

Who knows?

I mean, that's an old contract, you know?

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

YOGURT: Walk this way.

Take a look.

Merchandising,

merchandising.

Where the real money from the movie is made.

Spaceballs the T-shirt.

Spaceballs the coloring book.

Spaceballs the lunchbox.

Spaceballs the breakfast cereal.

Spaceballs the flamethrower.

-(GASPING) -The kids love this one.

I was doing a play, and Mel and, uh,

Anne Bancroft came to see the play

while they were considering me for Spaceballs.

So, I had done one movie,

which was Ruthless People in a small part.

He was... is quite bl-- you know, direct and everything.

He said, "You know what? We tried to get a Tom.

We tried Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks,

but instead we got a Bill."

(CHUCKLES)

♪ (ADVENTUROUS MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

BILL PULLMAN: You know, it was clear that John and Rick

had established careers,

and that they were the money cast,

you know, the ones

that helped make the movie happen.

At that point, there was a lot of discussion, I remember,

about old comedy and new comedy,

and Rick and John were new comedy,

and Mel was the old one.

He was able to kind of include them,

and I remember Rick Moranis working out a lot of business.

Now you are going to die!

Pfft. Oh!

Doing the dolls.

DARK HELMET: (IMITATING PRINCESS VESPA) Oh, your helmet is so big.

And John, too.

And that allowed us to kind of improvise

a lot of things that weren't...

-Clapping! -...planned.

About to clap!

BILL: You know, like our little handshake.

(WAILING)

That was not, you know, Mel's style,

but he was incorporating John Candy's instincts.

Oh, you were the worst on that take.

CREW: He always does that.

I don't know, Mel. You must not have been directing as good.

DAPHNE ZUNIGA: That atmosphere,

you sort of, like, by osmosis, take in

like, what would work, what wouldn't

for your character.

I'm not shooting this thing. I hate guns.

DAPHNE: In the script, I was just meant to say,

"I hate guns," and then I escape into the Winnebago.

Well, I was like,

"What if I say, 'Ew, I hate guns,'

and then they shoot my hair?"

He shot my hair!

Son of a bitch.

(RAY GUN POWERING ON)

Holy shit.

MEL: And action.

I am the writer, the director, the producer, and the star.

Sometimes I have a little problem.

INTERVIEWER: Why is that?

As the actor, I ask for a little more money.

As the director, I say, "What, are you crazy? You stink.

I'm not going to pay that kind of money."

And as the actor, I say,

"I'm walking." The director says, "Walk.

I don't have to take that junk from you."

And we fight a little bit. I send myself a dozen roses.

I make up. I come back on the set.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

♪ ("SPACEBALLS" THEME PLAYING) ♪

MEL: Spaceballs went on

to become one of the biggest hits

in the Mel Brooks cinematic universe.

I think I've autographed more Spaceballs posters

than for any other Mel Brooks film.

JUDD: That one's really...

turned into a big thing over the years.

It seems like it gets bigger every year.

I know.

You never know what's gonna blossom

and spread its wings and fly.

Will we ever see each other again?

Who knows?

God willing, we'll all meet again

in Spaceballs II: The Search for More Money.

MEL: I'm still not ruling it out.

♪ (DRAMATIC MUSIC INTENSIFIES, CONCLUDES) ♪

LARRY KING: Is it harder to do a Young Frankenstein

than an Elephant Man?

MEL: Yes, it is. Because you've got to do the same thing.

The dramatic structure is the same.

And then on top of that, you have to make people laugh.

It's a lot easier to make them cry

than to make them laugh.

To make them cry,

what we gotta do is step on their foot, hard.

And boy, they cry.

But making them laugh is very hard

because it's at what moment

they will give themselves to you.

What moment?

What is the critical moment that the audience will abandon

its dignity and its self-respect?

Young Frankenstein,

right on this street.

See?

Authorized personnel only.

I can go in here. They know me. I am authorized.

I live at Fox. I work at Fox.

I'm very important at Fox. Wait here.

(MEL SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY)

Fuck you... Don't tell me...

-(MEL SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY) -(BANGING)

Fuck you. Never mind.

When I did The Tracey Ullman Show at Fox,

he was on the lot.

Get off the fucking curb!

And he would come around

when you're eating in the Fox commissary.

"Hey, how you doing?"

And he would come up to you and just say something funny,

and then he'd go, "Nice working your table."

(CACKLES) In the commissary, we loved that.

We'd go, "Oh, he's gonna work our table."

Hey, Miranda.

TRACEY ULLMAN: He asked to be on my show

when I started out.

-How do you do? -How do you do?

I decided to be Kathleen Turner.

It's so hot.

Let me just say,

I have enormous misgivings about your talent.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

TRACEY: It was almost like he had a comedy tape measure.

He'd look at the distance from the window to the chair.

If he had a prop, if he went, "I want a chair that slips."

Miranda, I assure you, I--

(EXCLAIMS)

(EXCLAIMS)

And he would just have things on his desk,

like he had a dog poop.

And I went, "Ugh!"

You know, as me. I went, "Ugh, Mel, that's horrible."

He went, "Don't knock a classic."

You can forget about my promise to help you.

No, wait, wait, wait...

TRACEY: So, when he asked me to be

in Robin Hood: Men in Tights,

I knew I wanted to play the part,

because he showed me a bit of the script,

-and he says... -Such an unusual name, Latrine.

And then I say, "Oh, I used to be called Shit House."

Yeah, used to be Shit House.

(CHUCKLES) It was a terrible big joke.

(CACKLING)

ALL: ♪ We're men We're men in tights... ♪

"We roam around the forest looking for fights..."

♪ We're men ♪

♪ We're men In tights, tight tights ♪

GROUP: ♪ Always on guard ♪

♪ Defending The people's rights ♪

♪ When you're in a fix ♪

♪ Just call For the men in tights ♪

♪ We're butch! ♪

♪ We may look like pansies ♪

Yeah, I remember I was embarrassed.

But also, it was so silly,

and Mel got a kick out of it,

which also made it more fun.

We all grew up on Mel Brooks.

That's no different in England.

Yeah, everyone thinks it's a uniquely American phenomenon,

that Mel Brooks is not a worldwide phenomenon.

He's a worldwide phenomenon.

You know, in England, we were learning his movies,

and learning the dialogue, and repeating it back,

just like Monty Python.

Mohel, he's a very important guy.

He makes circumcisions.

What, pray tell, sir, is a circumcision?

It's a snap.

I take my little machine...

I take your little thing, see?

I put it into this little hole here,

and... nip the tip.

(GROUP GASPING)

I remember my first take.

He comes up to me and he goes, "Okay, that was good.

In this next take, suck less. All right, let's try it again."

MEL: You're all quiet now.

CARY ELWES: And not much time to learn archery.

Suddenly, Mel's like,

"Uh, we're gonna do the bullseye next."

I went, "What? What?"

"Just remember, we have to break for lunch,

so we have to get this quickly."

No pressure.

Goodbye.

CARY: I fire the first one,

misses the target altogether.

And Mel goes, "Cut, cut, okay.

Another one, just another one.

Just remember, everybody's hungry.

Okay, let's go again."

I do the second one.

-That misses. -(GROANS)

"I'm hungry."

-GROUP: Oh! -CARY: Thank God

the third one

landed in the bullseye,

and you can see the shock

on my face.

Hey, wait a minute, Robin, you just said that you--

-MEL: Cool it. -Chilled.

MEL: I need time in between. Don't say "chilled" so fast.

Yes, yes, sir.

MEL: Okay. And next, we pick it up.

DAVE CHAPPELLE: When I was on set, I was 19.

Mel Brooks was one of the first famous people

I ever spent time with.

And he was a good shepherd.

You know, like a lot of times, while he was directing,

he'd be like, "Dave, come on, have a seat."

And then he would just do the takes.

This was on scenes that I wasn't in.

But I didn't realize the gift that he was giving me.

He was letting me watch him cook.

We didn't land on Sherwood Forest.

Sherwood Forest landed on us.

CROWD: Yeah!

DAVE: You know, sometimes,

he'd take me to lunch,

and his old friend, Carl Reiner,

was directing a movie on the next soundstage.

And then at some point, and he knew that I'd be like...

The two of them started doing The 2000 Year Old Man.

The greatest comic routine by two of the greatest comics,

and me as the audience.

I'll never forget it.

And then I met his wife.

She comes, and she says,

"Oh, Mel says so many wonderful things about you."

She goes on and on and gushes about how much he likes me.

And then I go,

"You're not trying to seduce me, are you, Mrs. Robinson?"

And not thinking that she's heard that joke a million times,

nothing, silence.

And all you could hear was... (CHUCKLES)

Dom DeLuise's labored breath.

(WHEEZES)

That was really fucking terrible and hilarious.

A new sheriff of Rottingham.

CROWD: A Black sheriff?

And why not?

It worked in Blazing Saddles.

CROWD: Oh, yeah.

This is wonderful.

(GROUP LAUGHS)

L'chaim and cut.

♪ (MELANCHOLIC MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

-INTERVIEWER: You're back. -MEL: Yeah.

INTERVIEWER: Where did you go? Did you slump? Did you--

MEL: No, no, no! What I tried to do is

I tried to marry Brooksfilms with Mel Brooks.

JUDD: Life Stinks, what made you write that?

MEL: Nobody had done a movie about homelessness.

Look out, sailor.

Well, there goes the neighborhood.

(OVERLAPPING CHATTER)

MEL: I said if I could show their plight

and make it funny...

Yeah, that better?

...maybe the message would get through.

It didn't get through.

And I made one giant mistake.

The title, Life Stinks.

I should have said, "Please, don't come."

Silly, stupid.

INTERVIEWER: Do you then put more pressure on yourself?

MEL: Yes, of course.

INTERVIEWER: So, when you were doing Robin Hood,

were you saying to yourself, "It's gotta be good. It's gotta be good?"

"Gotta make it, gotta make it, gotta make it."

Come on over, you look like Donald Trump tonight.

Things haven't been good, John.

-What are you do-- -Things have not been good.

I'm telling you,

-I'm very unhappy. -(JOHNNY LAUGHS)

I'm very unhappy ever since Spaceballs.

I mean...

-(JOHNNY LAUGHS) -(AUDIENCCE LAUGHING)

MAX: His career plateaued.

But my dad never stopped fighting.

Whenever he'd get a bad review,

whenever movies didn't do as well as he wanted,

he was always thinking, "I'll show 'em.

I'll show 'em next time,

or I'll find a way to make this a hit."

Wait!

Now!

Oh, my...

God!

MAX: My father would never tell me about his bad days.

He never liked to dwell.

So, my mother would always be there

to explain why he was in a bad mood,

and it wasn't my fault,

it wasn't anything I said or did.

She would say, "Listen,

he just went into a meeting to try to get a movie sold,

and there's a new studio head who is younger than him

and doesn't respect him and doesn't know him."

But people were still pushing him

to do something.

I've got something I want you to see.

What? Oh, no!

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

This is a contract.

It's for The Producers.

We're taking it to Broadway, and I want...

(AUDIENCE CHEERING, APPLAUDING)

NATHAN LANE: ♪ I wanna be a producer ♪

♪ With a hit show On Broadway... ♪

NARRATOR: It's the hottest ticket in town

with an all-star cast

starring Tony winners

Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.

Brooks wrote the music and lyrics

based on his 1968 cult classic film.

Let's hear it for Mel Brooks, folks.

(CHEERING)

NATHAN: ♪ I wanna be a producer... ♪

WOMAN: So, is anybody waiting to see Mel Brooks?

CROWD: We want Mel! We want Mel!

It sounds like a sure thing in a way now,

but I think at the time,

nobody was sure it was gonna work out

-making a stage version... -NATHAN: Right.

...of this beloved thing.

Matthew said

that we came off stage after the first show

and he said, "Well, they even liked the bad stuff."

♪ I'm gonna be a producer... ♪

MEL: Thank you.

These people have no taste at all.

(LAUGHTER)

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY) Aren't you happy?

-Look how happy they are. -Hello.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

♪ (SONG CONCLUDES) ♪

MEL: My uncle Joe was a cab driver.

And one day, he came to me

and said, "Melvin, listen, I got two tickets

to the matinee of Anything Goes

with William Gaxton and Ethel Merman."

-♪ ("YOU'RE THE TOP" BY ETHEL MERMAN PLAYING) ♪ -I'm nine years old,

and I'm listening

to just the overture,

it's fantastic.

Ethel Merman comes out and sings,

"You're the top, you're the top."

And we're about three miles away,

she's still too loud.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

ETHEL MERMAN: ♪ You're the top... ♪

MEL: When I left the theater, I said,

"Uncle Joe, I'm gonna write a Broadway show."

And 60 years later,

here we have The Producers on Broadway

with an entire score...

♪ (GLISSANDO PLAYING ON PIANO) ♪

...by Mel Brooks.

♪ Oh, it's bad luck To say "good luck" ♪

♪ On opening night if you do ♪

You're serious, this is the way you write?

I write into a tape recorder.

NARRATOR: And into his tape recorder,

he has sung the music and lyrics to some 16 new songs,

and along with his collaborator, Tom Meehan,

he's written the script for the show.

Last December, in a Broadway rehearsal hall,

the cast and crew gathered for the first time.

MATTHEW BRODERICK: Matthew Broderick, Leo Bloom.

Nathan Lane, Max.

Mel Brooks, Jew extraordinaire.

(CAST LAUGHING)

I got the call about meeting him.

I didn't really know what it was about.

And there was a knock on the door,

and I opened the door,

but instead of saying "hello,"

Mel launched into a song.

♪ That face, that face That fabulous face ♪

And he walked right past me,

down my hallway,

into my living room, singing that song full out,

ends up on top of the sofa,

looks down at me and says, "Hello, I'm Mel Brooks."

Is it "Wanna be a producer," or, "I'm gonna be"?

MATTHEW: I think it's "wanna be a" there. I'm never sure.

It should be "Wanna be" there, because it's everything I'm not.

SUSAN STROMAN: Let's do "wanna" there. I think we might...

♪ I wanna be... ♪

SUSAN: My husband and I, they came to us as a team first,

but soon after they came to us,

Mike was diagnosed with leukemia,

and...

we thought he would get over it,

we thought he would get through it.

But after he was diagnosed,

he passed about 18 months later.

We had worked on the show, but then it stopped.

Two months after Mike passed,

Mel and Tom came to my door.

Mel said,

"You've got to do this."

He said,

"You have to do this.

You will...

cry in the morning,

and you will cry at night,

but in between, you will laugh, and I will make you laugh.

That's why you have to do this."

So, uh, after he said that, I...

I said yes, and we were off.

Stop. Keep your feet still. And then we'll go ahead.

And he was right.

I would cry in the morning and cry at night,

but from 10:00 to 06:00 in that rehearsal room,

I would laugh

with Mel Brooks,

and the funniest cast on Broadway.

MEL: In between takes, Matthew likes to work out.

(CAST LAUGHING)

SUSAN: And it ended up saving me.

Totally saving me.

♪ I used to be the king ♪

♪ The king! ♪

♪ The king of old Broadway ♪

It's good to be the king.

NATHAN: ♪ My praises... ♪

MAX: The best moment of his career, for me,

on the sidelines,

was watching him do The Producers.

It reminded me of the Mel Brooks that my mother told me about

when she first met him,

the guy who was just excited

to create something from nothing.

It was the first time in my life I saw Mel Brooks, the artist.

ALL: ♪ We believe each word We've heard ♪

♪ There was a time When I was young and gay ♪

♪ But straight... ♪

I was able to have

a third-row seat to The Producers,

and it changed my life.

It showed me the potential

of what musical comedy could be again.

NATHAN: ♪ I touched Would turn to gold... ♪

JOSH: Without The Producers, Book of Mormon doesn't exist.

It was built on the back of,

once again, Mel Brooks taking a sledgehammer

to what we understood musical comedy theater to be,

and showing us a whole new way.

NATHAN: ♪ That's the time To stand up on your two feet ♪

♪ And shout ♪

♪ Who do you have to fuck To get a break in this town? ♪

CROWD: Yeah!

JUDD: Was that more fun than everything you ever did?

MEL: It was downright thrilling. Thrilling.

JUDD: Isn't it just months and months

of rewrites and previews, and...

Yeah, well,

I'm very talented.

When you got a talented guy like me,

you don't need many rewrites.

The true payment is never money.

It's the joy of seeing your show on the stage,

and having people laugh and cry and applaud.

I mean, there's no greater payment in the world.

And I realized

that my true passion,

the reason I got into show business

was for that.

♪ Bialystock will be on top ♪

-♪ Again ♪ -♪ Fame is in his sights again ♪

♪ He'll take Those fancy flights again ♪

♪ He's gonna Scale the heights again ♪

-♪ I'll be on top again, hey! ♪ -♪ I'll be on top again, hey! ♪

By the way, The Producers won a few awards.

It actually has 12 Tonys.

Still more than any other Broadway show ever.

JUDD: Hamilton got close.

Eleven. Scared me.

(JUDD CHUCKLES)

MEL: The other night,

I sang at the karaoke club, and then you got up.

Yeah, he was-- Right.

MEL: And the audience went pretty wild for me.

And then you sang "Swanee,"

and they went crazy.

I want you, Larry David,

to be the next Max Bialystock on Broadway.

MEL: After we laughed... Thank God.

Thank God what?

Thank God this show is coming to an end.

-This show is coming to an end. -Oh, God, yes, right.

-Oh, honey. -What?

-ANNE: Stick that hair up. -Oh.

-(CREW LAUGHING) -CREW 1: Here we go.

-Is it there? Still there? -ANNE: No, it's gone.

-CREW 2: Ready? -CREW 3: Ready.

-(MEL CHUCKLES) -CREW 1: Action.

(MEL AND ANNE LAUGHING)

Did you see the look on their faces?

(LAUGHING)

When Larry David forgot every line, he...

-(ANNE LAUGHS LOUDLY) -...he went up in smoke.

Oh my...

Thank God. Thank God this show is gonna be over.

Thank God. Oh, God.

CHARLIE: You and Mr. Brooks

have one of the great relationships.

Oh!

CHARLIE: You had-- No one's ever mentioned this to you?

-No. -CHARLIE: That there is this assumption?

-Let me tell you something. -CHARLIE: All right.

-You know what magic is? -CHARLIE: What?

-Hard work. -CHARLIE: It is?

That's what magic is.

Yeah, it's hard work.

We'll be able to sleep in, you and me together, babe,

-like it used to be. -Yes. Yes.

-Without calls late at night. -Oh, God.

-(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) -(ANNE LAUGHS)

ANNE: You have to be aware,

and you have to want to say, "How are you?"

And really wanna listen

to what he's got to say.

You can't just say, "How are you?" (HUMMING)

You know, and go off and do something else

-while he's telling you. -CHARLIE: Yeah, right.

You really have to care, and you have to be interested.

And I think I am. I'm very interested in him.

And he's... I hope, very interested in me.

The marriage itself,

people would have bet against it.

-Right. -Jewish lunatic.

-Yeah, right. -Right?

An Italian tempestuous woman who's a great--

-Absolutely. -LARRY KING: Great actress.

-Right. -But it's worked.

-MEL: It's worked for-- -What's the secret?

MEL: We fight, we yell at each other, we get it out.

We never go to bed angry.

And we love each other.

She's the greatest woman that ever lived.

Here's to the death of The Producers.

-To the death! -Thank you, Larry David.

(CHUCKLES)

-(SIGHS) -(EXHALES DEEPLY)

(BOTH LAUGHING)

(ANNE LAUGHING)

ADAM: I was in a movie

that Anne Bancroft was in, Spanglish.

I got to know her, rehearsed, did lots of rehearsal,

and then lots of shooting.

And she knew Mel.

There was something extra about that.

It's like, "You get to hang out with Mel every day,

and he loves you?"

And, "Wow, man."

JUDD: It gives us hope, a woman like that loves Mel?

Yes.

Yeah, he opened the door for all of us ugly guys,

especially you.

(JUDD AND ADAM LAUGH)

ADAM: But then Anne got sick.

And, um, Cloris Leachman ended up

taking over for her part.

And that was devastating.

JUDD: She didn't know she was sick

when you guys started?

Started, everything's fine,

and then something over the weekend,

had some tests and stuff,

and then that was-- It was...

better for her not to be there anymore,

and just be home with the family.

MAX: She had had cancer.

She beat it.

It came back.

It was a slow, horrible, lingering time,

and anybody who's ever lost a loved one

to cancer knows exactly what I'm talking about.

The peaks, the valleys, the false hopes,

the waiting for tests,

the horrible despair

when your tests come back, and two things lit up.

That's what my dad...

That's the phrase he always repeats.

Two things lit up

when they were talking about one of her scans.

"We got a bad break."

And that's how he refers to it.

"We got a bad break."

EDDIE BROOKS: Oh, all the light went out.

I mean, he was not in a good place.

You know, we just... we never dreamed that

Anne would either get sick,

and ultimately pass away, and...

he just worshipped her.

She was incredibly supportive

of these chances that he was taking,

and she was the one to say,

"I believe in it, and I believe in you.

Of course you can write the songs.

You're a songwriter."

And he'd be like, "Oh, yeah, I am a songwriter."

And so, if it came from her,

then it was like the Gospel. "Okay, I can do it."

♪ (SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

She was his best friend.

It was the two of them against the world.

My dad was the water, my mother was the glass.

And when the glass shattered,

I was worried the water was gonna go everywhere.

NATHAN: There was a memorial for her.

People spoke very movingly about her.

And he came out, and he said,

"Thank you very much for being here."

He said, "It was...

she would have really loved this."

And he said, "Some people spoke beautifully.

Some people talked a little too long."

(BOTH CHUCKLING)

And he said...

"Do me a favor.

If you see me...

uh...

don't come up and tell me... don't cry and don't tell me,

uh, how terrible you feel because...

I have enough fucking tears of my own."

Hello.

MEL: Okay.

JERRY SEINFELD: You're ready for Jeopardy, I can see.

ALEX TREBEK: (OVER TV) We're gonna take a break.

-CARL: Did you bring food? -JERRY: I did.

-Look who's here, Mel. -Hi, Mel.

-What did you bring? Come on. -JERRY: I don't know.

Relay.

They know Jews are eating it, so they give you extra napkins.

-And look... -MEL: Is that true?

JERRY: Hey, look at this.

There's Mel on the cover of the DGA Quarterly.

Ah, see, I put it there thinking you might--

What a great shot. You gotta love that.

MEL: I have never been recognized

by the DGA, or by Hollywood as being a director.

I'm always recognized as a comic,

as a producer, as an entrepreneur,

as a pain in the ass.

I have never been, ever,

recognized as director.

They finally came... have come to their senses,

and realized I've directed a couple of dozen movies.

-JERRY: Yeah. -So, maybe I'm a director too.

JERRY: Does it mean anything at this point or screw them?

I can get a job. I can get a job as a director out of that.

Where's the mustard?

I don't see any mustard.

SARAH: Mel lost his wife, and then Carl lost his wife,

and every night,

they spent together at Carl's in his little living room

with TV trays, eating dinner,

and watching a different movie every night.

I just love that kind of friendship.

Hitler had that mustache because he admired Chaplin.

-Is that possible? -Oh, yeah, Chaplin had it first.

I would say that statement is utter nonsense.

SARAH: When people go, like,

"Where do you see yourself in five years and ten years?

What's your goal?"

I wanna be able to have that kind of community

with comics that they had with each other.

Mel, tell me about this ritual a little bit,

because I have to say, just personally,

I find it fascinating and comforting

that you have this routine.

I think men

are very comforted by their routines.

Especially their bowels.

Yeah. (CHUCKLES)

We always used to go to Carl's house, right?

And they'd just fall asleep, but never at the same time.

So, one would fall asleep,

and then the other one would go...

-(MEL SNORING) -Jesus Christ.

-(MEL SNORING) -(JERRY CHUCKLES)

Then they'd fall asleep,

the other one would wake up, and go...

(MEL SNORING)

-All right, well... -Okay.

It was a little invasive on my part to ask,

but what a great thing that that exists, you know?

You get to see what they did,

where a lifetime of gigantic achievements

leads you.

A living room with deli sandwiches,

watching Wheel of Fortune.

That's where you get

if you succeed in every possible way in life.

Okay, turn it off already.

-CARL: Turn it off. -(LAUGHS)

We're following him out. Come on, Carl, let's get...

CARL: He's got a good-- Mel, did you see his green car?

♪ I've been away from you A long time ♪

♪ I never thought ♪

♪ Somehow I feel Your love is real near you ♪

♪ Is it really? ♪

♪ I wanna be... ♪

JERRY: Let's go, everybody out.

MEL: No, no, no, wait.

CARL: Well, we have to sing L'chaim first.

♪ L’chaim! L'chaim! ♪

Jerry, what's the difference between a Jew and a Frenchman?

A Frenchman leaves without saying goodbye.

-JERRY: Yeah. -CARL: And a Jew...

-Says goodbye and never leaves. -JERRY: Says goodbye and...

JERRY: (CHUCKLES) That's great.

MEL: Carl, where did you hear that?

JERRY: That was great. Did you ever hear that joke?

CARL: Mel, we have to watch Jeopardy.

MEL: Okay.

CARL: That was a perfect ending.

There was no question that he's gonna--

Whatever he decides to do, when he decides to do,

it's gonna work,

because there was a, what I call,

he hates the word, is a genius mind at work.

And I use the word "genius" not lightly.

I understand the word.

Genius has to not only produce

something really good,

but a volume of it.

And Mel, look at the volume he's produced.

Goodnight, everybody. Wonderful working with you.

CARL: And if somebody wants to argue,

they can, but they won't win.

Sooner or later, you've gotta stop.

And you know what? It's like an addiction.

ROB: Mel was there when my dad died.

My dad was in the bathroom,

and he just collapsed in the bathroom.

And Mel came back and realized, "Uh-oh, something's wrong."

And my dad died, like,

right after that.

For months, months, months,

he would come to the house

after my father died.

He would come to the house,

sit there, watch television, and have dinner.

And he did that for months.

And he told us, the family, he said,

"You don't-- Let me know

when you're gonna sell the house."

I mean, you know, at some point we're gonna sell the house.

And I said, "Yeah, yeah." And then I said,

"Well, maybe it's better you just...

you know, we'll stage the house with you in it, you know?

Maybe it'll up the value.

You know, you get-- Mel Brooks is sitting here, you can..."

But he was that close to my dad where he kept--

He wanted to be close to him even when my dad was gone.

You were with Carl in his final moments.

That's a beautiful thing for Carl, isn't it?

I was still hoping that they would,

you know, put the stuff on him,

-and boom, you know, and... -JUDD: Yeah.

...get him up.

And I kept...

I kept yelling at them, "Keep it up, keep it up."

And they thought I was crazy

after an hour of yelling at them,

"Keep it up. Keep that machine on him.

Keep it up."

I wouldn't--

-I just didn't want him to go. -JUDD: Yeah.

I just couldn't-- Well, I wouldn't accept it.

I loved him so much.

INTERVIEWER: You said a lovely thing once,

"Comedy is the opposite of death."

What did you mean by that?

Well, when you're dead, you're very... it's very quiet.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

It's very-- You can hardly-- You never go anywhere, you know?

-No one could. Yeah. -MEL: You never see anything.

But-- I mean-- But comedy is lively.

Comedy is joy, you know?

And that's what keeps us going.

I mean, we've gotta look forward to...

to little happinesses, you know, little joys.

My very first question.

Samantha's my granddaughter, by the way.

Right, yeah. We're also very good friends.

Yeah, and we're good friends, and we like each other.

(SIGHS) Do I call you enough?

Um, when you call me, you talk a lot,

and it's great.

But I would like more calls,

and I don't get a chance

to see you... enough of you.

What he loves so much about being a grandparent,

which he tells me all the time, is that

your grandchildren love you no matter what.

They love you unconditionally, which is true, we do.

What is your dating advice for me, your granddaughter?

If you got a smart guy with looks, great.

-But looks second, looks third. -SAMANTHA BROOKS: Yeah.

Creativity, humor,

joie de vivre, you know, "love of life,"

that's who you should be attracted to.

People who could see that in you,

'cause you got it. You know, they gotta see it in you.

My grandpa talks about Annie, my grandmother,

a lot more now than he used to.

When she passed when I was quite young,

it just wasn't something anybody really talked about.

And, recently,

my grandpa and I

were just sitting on the couch at his house, and he said,

"I wanna show you the movie To Be or Not to Be."

And we watched it together,

and we got

to watch her singing and performing,

and being herself together.

And that felt like it

healed something I didn't even know was broken.

My grandmother's presence in that home

is such a sacred space.

And Carl's home was that too.

And that's the hard part about living that long is

he's lost so many friends.

JUDD: Where does your strength come from?

You've had a lot of loss in your life.

Where do you go to handle all of that?

There's no answer to that.

You just find something in you...

-JUDD: Yeah. -...that gives you the grit

and the courage to get through...

JUDD: Yeah.

...the bad times that come

after somebody you love passes away.

JUDD: What do you miss most about Anne?

-Too many things. -JUDD: Yeah, just everything.

Things that nobody in the world would understand.

-JUDD: Mm-hmm. -Uh...

When faced with...

an unhappy moment

the look on her face.

When making up her mind to go somewhere,

how fast she turned and moved.

It's hard to explain. I mean, you just--

JUDD: Yeah.

There are some things that stay with you forever, you know.

You can't indulge yourself in being

incredibly unhappy and miserable...

JUDD: Yeah.

...'cause it doesn't make the pain

go away or... or better.

You don't have to pay...

God, or the world, or spirits

-for losing somebody great. -JUDD: Yeah.

You don't have to pay for it.

♪ (ZANY PIANO MUSIC PLAYING) ♪

Hey, hello.

MAX: My father is having a wonderful

fourth or fifth act,

depending on how you judge it.

Would any of you like to see Spaceballs 2?

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

MAX: Because there's now all this interest

in redoing his former projects.

We asked,

"What do the fans want?"

But instead, we're making this movie.

MAX: So, he's having this amazing

career renaissance.

It's the most powerful Jewish person

in the universe, Jesus Christ!

Well, the second most powerful.

Also, I brought cream cheese.

♪ (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪

BARACK OBAMA: He was born Melvin Kaminsky,

or as Mel Brooks explains it,

"Look at Jewish history.

Unrelieved lamenting would be intolerable."

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

"So, every... (CHUCKLES) Every ten Jews,

God designed one to be crazy and amuse the others."

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

OBAMA: He's described his work as

"unearthing the truth

that is all around us."

And by illuminating uncomfortable truths

about racism and sexism and antisemitism,

he's been called our jester,

asking us to see ourselves

as we really are,

determined that we laugh ourselves sane.

I love it.

OBAMA: Writer, director, actor, producer, composer.

Okay, okay.

OBAMA: For his success and for his psychoanalysis,

we honor Mel Brooks.

(APPLAUSE)

MAX: My dad's story is the story

of everything America could be.

You've got this kid from an immigrant tribe

who lost his father, grew up in poverty,

fought in a World War,

came home,

and built one of the great pillars

of American culture.

Comedy.

(APPLAUSE)

MAX: And he gets up every day...

So, this crazy audience has asked you some questions.

And there's somebody waiting to talk to him

about being Mel Brooks.

-Keith wants to know... -Yes.

...where did you get your sense of humor?

From a guy in New Jersey.

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -I mean, when...

They're pretty funny guys.

I've learned that people are dying for communication.

They're dying for a brush stroke of sweetness in their lives.

When are you gonna play Max Bialystock for me?

And when you give it to them, they really respond.

I mean, the biggest laugh I ever got

was, I was on stage,

and I got a question from the audience.

"What do you wear, boxers or briefs?"

Boxers or briefs?

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

The answer, Joanne, is...

depends.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Gotta be safe.

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -(APPLAUSE)

That laugh will stay with me forever.

It was the greatest, biggest laugh I ever got.

HOST: The one and only, Mel Brooks.

MEL: So, it's quid pro quo.

You give them a little sweetness,

you get it back.

I wasn't sure

when they said, "You've won a Peabody Award."

I said, "Oh, no shit."

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

MEL: I'd like to say

I humbly acc--

But I'm not humble.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

JUDD: You've said to me before,

like, your main advice is to be kind.

MEL: Yeah, just be kind.

That's enough advice for anybody.

You know, and it's so easy to hurt people.

Just-- We, you know--

Don't, you know?

But do you ever just, like, look at everything and go,

"What the hell is going on with all of this?"

Yeah, "What are we supposed to do here, you know?"

Well, I found out

I'm supposed to make people laugh, so...

I do that, you know?

No salute to Carl Reiner or his career

would be complete

without a few words from his illegitimate son,

Mel Brooks.

(APPLAUSE)

Well, let's tell the truth, huh?

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

The truth is, ladies and Jews, you know the truth.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

The truth is,

I don't know if he deserves this, do you?

A lot of people don't agree with this.

I'd like to cut right now.

Cut outside

and see the demonstration against Carl Reiner.

Go, cut outside now. Let's see the truth.

Damn it, let's see it.

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -(CARL LAUGHING LOUDLY)

That's what's really happening here. This!

And now,

while we're telling the truth...

-(AUDIENCE LAUGHING) -(CARL LAUGHING LOUDLY)

...let's tell it all.

For 25 years,

he made me out to be The 2,000--

to be this Jewish person.

And there was money in it, and I went along with it.

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

Hold it, hold it.

And now, tonight, here, in this stupid place...

(AUDIENCE LAUGHING)

...I'm gonna re... I'm gonna reveal.

I am really a Gentile born in Waco, Texas.

This is not my nose.

Look carefully. Watch. Watch me.

This is not, this is not, this is...

Twenty-five years, I'm wearing this nose.

-(APPLAUSE) -(LAUGHING)

MEL: I've put up with this.

I love you. I love you. (MUMBLES INDISTINCTLY)

That's the best I've ever seen, Brooks.

That's the best I've ever-- It was worth it.

It was worth it. Oh, God.

♪ (JAZZ VERSION OF "SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER" PLAYING) ♪

♪ (SONG CONCLUDES) ♪