One look at Mel Brooks’ wallet will make anyone dizzy. The entertainment veteran has fulfilled a multitude of responsibilities since the early 1950s. Mel is an infamous director, producer, actor, screenwriter, comedian, composer and lyricist.
On top of all that, Mel is also an army veteran and a former musician and instrumentalist. Among his early works, he wrote for the comedy series Your Show. As a director, he is known for working on projects such as Young Frankenstein, The Producers, and Blazing Saddles. Mel has also written and produced numerous Broadway musicals and non-comic films under his own label, Brooksfilms.
He received the AFI Life Achievement Award and also received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010. Read on to learn more about the entertainment veteran.
Mel Brooks Bio, Age
The multifaceted artist was born MelvinJames Kaminsky, on June 28, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York. Her parents were Kate and James Kaminsky. Due to their heritage, Mel was raised in a Jewish family with his three older brothers, Lenny, Irving and Bernie. The family suffered a tragedy when their father, James, died of kidney disease. Mel was only two years old at the time.
For his secondary education, he attended Abraham Lincoln High School. He only stayed there for a year before transferring to Eastern District High School and then to Brooklyn College, where he earned a degree in psychology.
By the age of 14, he was working as a pool hanger, and American jazz drummer Buddy Rich taught him how to play the drums. He made his acting debut two years later, at the age of 16.
After passing the Army General Classification Test, he was admitted to the Army Specialized Training Program. Mel Brooks served as a Corporal in the United States Army during World War II. He joined the army in 1944 and was demobilized in 1946.
After his time with the military, he began working as a musician in clubs and discos located in the Catskill Mountains. During this period, he also became a regular comedian at the same venues.
His first TV gig was in 1949, when he was asked to write jokes and one-liners for NBC. Admiral Broadway Review. He was hired by his friend Sid Caesar and was paid $50 a week. The following year, Sid again engaged Mel to co-write his new comedy series called Your Show The series was a smash hit and ran into the early 1950s.
Mel also teamed up with his Your Show co-writers to write for Caesar’s Hour from 1954 to 1957. He then wrote his first Broadway musical titled Shinbone Alley. In the late 1950s, Mel Brooks teamed up with former co-writer Carl Reiner to develop their own show. 2000 year old man. It became a cult hit in New York. Mel Brooks and Reiner expanded the show and it quickly caught on in Hollywood and became a mainstay on The Steve Allen Show.
During the 1960s, Brooks wrote it into his musical compositions, animated shorts, and television series. For his writing on All Americans, The Critic, and Get Smart, he won two Tony Awards, an Oscar & & Emmy Awards.
In 1968, Mel made his directorial debut with the film The Producers. The film was a huge success, winning an Oscar and then 12 Tonys for its musical adaptation. Four years later, the director and screenwriter signed a contract with Warner Brothers to rewrite the screenplay for Selles Blazing. By the end of the year, the film had recorded the industry’s second-highest gross for that year.
In 1974 he directed Young Frankenstein and had actors like Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, and Marty Feldman on set. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars and was the third highest grosser of the year. During the 1970s, he continued to write and direct for different projects such as When Things Were Rotten, Silent Film, and High Anxiety.
For someone who was known as a comedian to many in his career at that time, Mel Brooks took the unexpected route when he started Brooksfilms, a production company dedicated to developing non-comedy content. Under Brooksfilms he produced The Elephant Man, History of the World Part I, and To Be or Not To Be. For the latter, he also played the role of Hitler.
In the 1990s, Mel Brooks worked on projects such as Life Stinks, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Dracula: Dead and In Love, all direction efforts.
In the 2000s, he started appearing on TV like Mad About You, The Simpsons, Comedians in the Car Get Coffee, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. More recently, he has done numerous dubbing or animation projects such as Dora the Explorer, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, The Guardian Brothers, Toy Story 4, and The Hotel Transylvania franchise.
Mel Brooks’ family: wife and son
On the family front, Mel has been married twice, with both unions producing a total of four children. He was first married to Florence Baum in 1953. The couple had three children together, a daughter Stephanie and two sons, Nicky and Eddie. The marriage ended after almost a decade together.
By then he had already met actress Anne Bancroft who would become his second wife in 1964. The pair met while they were both attending a rehearsal for the band. Perry Como Variety Show. On August 5, 1964, they tied the knot. They had a son, Max Brooks, who is also an actor like Mel and an author. Mel and Anne remained married until his death in 2005.
Is he still alive?
During his active career, theactor-producer-director appeared in more than 150 projects. In recent history, however, he hasn’t been as visible on screen as you would expect of someone in the later years of their career and life in general.
The veteran instead opted to focus more on roles such as Vlad the Vampire in Hotel Transylvania. Even though his last directed work was Dracula: Dead and in Love in 1995, he announced his last production, a film called Blazing Samurai ( 2021).
What is his size?
Mel Brook’s huge career success is not reflected in his physical build. The movie veteran remembers being bullied by other boys while at school because of his short stature. The bullying was part of the reason he transferred to another high school. Fortunately, that didn’t stop him from having a magnificent career.
Brooks stands at a height of 5 feet 5 inches which is 165cm.
What is his net worth?
Mel Brooks is a highly decorated producer, director and actor. Throughout his career, he has starred in many critically acclaimed films and television series. Mel has also won everything including the Grammys, Oscars, Tonys and Emmys. Not to mention his lifetime achievement award and star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The New York native also has his own production company and has produced over ten films to date. Naturally, many online sources put his net worth at $85 million.
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