Mel Brooks At 100: 8 Scenes That Define A Comedy Legend

Mel Brooks turned 100 connected Sunday. To nan 2000 Year Old Man, that astir apt wouldn’t look for illustration a large deal. For nan remainder of us, it was.

Few filmmakers successful Hollywood history person remained this funny — aliases this applicable — for this long. Brooks’ improbable career, chronicled past twelvemonth successful a two-part HBO documentary, took him from defusing onshore mines during World War II to penning for Sid Caesar and reinventing movie drama pinch hits for illustration “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Spaceballs.” Along nan way, he conquered Broadway and became 1 of nan fewer entertainers to triumph an EGOT — an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.

Even astatine nan period mark, Brooks doesn’t look particularly willing successful slowing down. A “Spaceballs” sequel is group for merchandise adjacent year. Asked by The Times successful 2016, erstwhile he was 90, whether status held immoderate appeal, Brooks joked, “Well, first of all, I don’t cognize really to play golf. I could play tennis if it was triples — not doubles. But if location were 3 connected each side, I could screen my spot.”

Every Brooks instrumentality has a favourite scene, and there’s a bully chance yours isn’t connected this list. That’s OK. We weren’t trying to settee nan argument. These aren’t needfully Brooks’ funniest scenes aliases his astir celebrated — he didn’t moreover nonstop them all. Instead, we’ve highlighted 8 moments that show his different sides, whether it’s his fearlessness, his showmanship aliases nan warmth that truthful often ran beneath nan anarchy. No fistful of moments could show nan full story. But these are a bully spot to start.