Mel Brooks has been around a long time.
He's 82 years old now. He began his career as a comedian, then found his niche behind the scenes, writing for Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner (who supposedly based the character of Buddy Sorrell on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" on Brooks). He went on to create the popular TV show, "Get Smart," before moving on to full-time film work.
His best films were often irreverent, and one of them, "Blazing Saddles," will be shown tonight on American Movie Classics at 9:15 p.m. (Central). But AMC, as I have noted here before, edits the films it shows so many of the best moments may be cut or bleeped or whatever. For that reason, I have attached a clip of one of the funniest sight gags at the start of this post.
As far as I'm concerned, though, no discussion of Brooks' work is complete without a story about Brooks, preferably one that is told by Brooks himself.
And here is one of the best, from May 1992, when Brooks was a guest during the final week of Johnny Carson's tenure on "The Tonight Show." Watch it, enjoy it, then watch "Blazing Saddles."
