by Mel Brooks
First published 2021
Mel Brooks opens his memoir at age 95, looking back on a career that transformed American comedy. The EGOT winner traces his path from a poor kid during the Depression through his World War II Army service to his breakthrough in the Catskills as a teenage comedian. Brooks reveals how he mined every experience for material, always hunting for the perfect joke. He takes readers inside the legendary writers' room of Your Show of Shows alongside Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, and Larry Gelbart. The book follows his creation of the 2000 Year Old Man albums and Get Smart, then his move into filmmaking with The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and Spaceballs. Brooks shares stories of his collaborations with Gene Wilder, Madeleine Kahn, and Alfred Hitchcock, plus his marriage to Anne Bancroft. The memoir concludes with his Broadway triumph adapting The Producers for the stage. Brooks offers readers an intimate look at the creative process behind his comedy empire.
Genres: 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: memoir, rags-to-riches
Period: The Depression, World War II
480 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books