When Mel Brooks was a boy growing up in Brooklyn, he would climb onto the roof of his apartment building with a battered radio and listen to live broadcasts of vaudeville acts from Manhattan, imagining that one day he would stand on a real stage making thousands of people laugh. He later said the distance between that tenement roof and Broadway felt smaller every time he heard the roar of the audience through the crackling speaker.
He was born on June 28, 1926. Today, he is turning 99 years old, and admirers everywhere are celebrating this milestone. Mel Brooks came into the world as Melvin James Kaminsky, the youngest of four brothers in a struggling Jewish family. His father, Max Kaminsky, worked as a process server but died of kidney disease when Mel was only two. His mother, Kate, took a job sewing garments to keep the household together. Even in those hard years, humor was everywhere in the Kaminsky home. Mel loved entertaining his family with impressions, and he quickly learned that laughter could soften any hardship.
He attended Public School 19 in Brooklyn, where he earned a reputation as the class clown. At Eastern District High School, he decided he would someday work in show business. He briefly enrolled at Brooklyn College before World War II changed everything. Mel enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he served as a combat engineer, defusing land mines in Germany. The experience taught him that fear had to be faced directly, a philosophy he would carry into his career.
After returning home, Mel started performing as a drummer and stand-up comedian in the Catskills resorts. His fast-talking style and boundless energy impressed everyone he worked with, and in 1949, he became a writer for Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows.” The team included Carl Reiner and Neil Simon, and together they revolutionized television comedy. Mel quickly earned a reputation as a master of the quick punchline and the unexpected twist.
In 1965, he co-created “Get Smart,” a send-up of spy thrillers starring Don Adams. The series won Emmys and became a cultural touchstone, but Mel was eager to bring his voice to movies. His first feature film, “The Producers,” appeared in 1967. It told the story of two Broadway schemers trying to stage the worst musical ever made. The film earned Mel an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and proved he was unafraid to take risks.
He followed with a remarkable run of films. In 1974 alone, Mel released “Blazing Saddles,” a Western parody that tackled racism and hypocrisy head-on, and “Young Frankenstein,” a black-and-white homage to classic horror that starred Gene Wilder. Both films became massive hits and demonstrated that comedy could be subversive and intelligent.
Mel’s personal life included two marriages. In 1953, he married Florence Baum, and together they had three children before divorcing in 1962. Two years later, in 1964, he married Anne Bancroft. She was his greatest supporter, always encouraging him to trust his instincts. They had one son, Max Brooks. Anne’s faith in Mel helped him pursue bolder ideas, including “Silent Movie” in 1976 and “High Anxiety” in 1977, a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock’s thrillers.
In 1981, Mel made “History of the World, Part I,” a sweeping comedy covering everything from Moses to the French Revolution. In 1987, he directed “Spaceballs,” lampooning science fiction blockbusters like “Star Wars.” He returned in 1993 with “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” poking fun at adventure epics.
In 2001, he adapted “The Producers” for Broadway, where it became a sensation and won 12 Tony Awards. A film version arrived in 2005 with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. Even in later years, Mel remained busy, lending his voice to “Hotel Transylvania 2” and appearing in documentaries about the history of comedy.
Today, at 99, Mel Brooks continues to share stories and remind audiences that humor is a way to defy fear. His determination to create joy out of every challenge stands as an example for anyone chasing a dream.