Mel Brooks

After serving in World War II, Mel Brooks began performing as a drummer and pianist in Borscht Belt resorts in the Catskill Mountains before working as a stand-up comic and tummler at Grossinger’s. In 1949, he was hired by Sid Caesar to write for The Admiral Broadway Revue. In 1950, he joined the writing staff of Your Show of Shows, where he worked alongside Carl Reiner and Neil Simon until the show ended in 1954. He continued with Caesar on Caesar's Hour (1954–1957). In 1960, Brooks and Carl Reiner released the comedy album 2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, which sold over one million copies, followed by additional albums in 1961 and 1962 and later revivals.

Brooks co-wrote the Broadway musical All American (1962) and conceived the Academy Award–winning animated short The Critic (1963). With Buck Henry, he co-created the television series Get Smart, which aired from 1965 to 1970 and won multiple Emmy Awards. He made his feature directorial debut with The Producers (1968), winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He followed with The Twelve Chairs (1970).

In 1974, Brooks directed and co-wrote Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, both commercial successes. He directed Silent Movie (1976) and High Anxiety (1977). In 1980, he produced The Elephant Man and directed History of the World, Part I. He directed Spaceballs (1987), Life Stinks (1991), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), and Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995).

In 2001, Brooks adapted The Producers into a Broadway musical, winning three Tony Awards. A film version of the stage adaptation, The Producers, was released in 2005. He created the Broadway musical adaptation of Young Frankenstein, which opened in 2007. Brooks voiced characters in Robots (2005), Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015), and Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018). In 2023, he wrote and produced the Hulu series History of the World, Part II. In 2025, he announced development of Spaceballs 2, targeted for release in 2027.

Brooks has received an Academy Award (1968), multiple Emmy Awards (including 1967 and 1997–1999), Grammy Awards (1999, 2002), and Tony Awards (2001). He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009 and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2013.