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It’s Good to Be the King

By Robert Gable

Comedy comes in many different forms—satire, slapstick, parody, stand-up, situation comedy. All require creativity and vision to succeed. Whether on stage, on TV or in the movies, a truly funny joke is hard to come by. (Hence the saying, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.”) When it comes to making laugh-out-loud comedies, Mel Brooks makes it look easy. He’s been in the funny business for decades, and All About Me! is the story of his rise to comedic legend.

Brooks starts with his childhood in Brooklyn and goes to his current projects. Ninety photos, spread throughout the book, portray the man born Melvyn Kaminsky in June of 1926. It was during the the Depression, as an escape, that he discovered the movies. At 9, after seeing Cole Porter’s Anything Goes on Broadway, he decided he wanted to be in show business. After serving in WWII, he came home ready to make a living doing comedy but took a winding path to success. His failures taught him what works and what doesn’t “… because nothing helps you to succeed like failure.”

He covers a lot of ground here, going through a lifetime in show biz. The chapters are brisk and he moves quickly because he’s been involved in so many movies. He tells the story behind each movie—how they were written, how they were made, and what happened as production went along. He was wacky and unpredictable—Brooks knew if something made him laugh, he would use it. He didn’t want to use archaic or inaccessible references. He says, “The only requirement for a Mel Brooks film is that you come in ready to laugh.”

For him, comedy is a juxtaposition of textures. He considers what he does to be New York humor, not just Jewish humor. It takes timing, a certain rhythm, a certain intensity and a certain pulse to make his comedy work. Part of his formula is evident in his observation about the difference between comedy and tragedy: “If I cut my finger, that’s tragedy. Comedy is if YOU walk into an open sewer and die.”

Throughout the narrative he sprinkles in some discussion on the art and science of comedy, some of the guiding principles he employs and has learned from others. Brooks also made it a point to spoof different genres of movies. Westerns, horror films, silent films, Hitchcock movies—Brooks wanted to parody the movies he loved to see. He says, “When you parody something, you move the truth sideways.” And when it came to the writing of Blazing Saddles, he told his co-writers, “Write anything you want. We will never be heard from again. We will all be in jail for making this movie.” He was always looking for that joke-of-all-jokes, and that search kept driving him.

When he mentions working with someone throughout the book, he’ll end by saying “…and to this day a wonderful friend.” He has nary a bad word to say about anyone. Maybe that is the ticket to a long, happy life: Make yourself laugh and get along with everyone you meet.

Brooks can claim to be an EGOT—the rare talent to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. (Anne Bancroft, his talented actor/wife of 45 years, won everything but a Grammy.) He’s rubbed elbows with just about everybody in Hollywood. And he’s not just a funnyman, as his company Brooksfilms enabled him to make serious movies, too, such as Elephant Man and Frances. And when he reworked his first movie, The Producers, into a Broadway musical, his life as a writer, composer, producer, actor, and director came full circle. The play won 12 Tony Awards in one night—still a record for a Broadway play.

Brooks is slowing down only a little these days. He’s currently working on History of the World, Part II. Now 95, sharp and vital, his book looks back at a life full of highlights and accomplishments. (Demonstrating the full range of his comedic timing talents, Brooks even reads this book for the audio version.)

He says, “…Even though it seems foolish and silly and crazy, comedy has the most to say about the human condition. Because if you can laugh you can get by. You can survive when things are bad if you have a sense of humor.” If laughter is the best medicine, Mel Brooks is more than happy to deliver the dose.

All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business

By Mel Brooks 460 pages, Ballantine Books / $29.99

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Robert Gable worked in book publishing for 18 years before going into the golf industry. He lived and worked in Pinehurst for five years and still misses it. He currently lives in Queens and works as an assistant golf pro at Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, New York.