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Mel Brooks

Celebrity

Mel Brooks: Biography

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Birth Name: Melvin Kaminsky
Birth Place: Brooklyn, NY
Date of Birth / Zodiac Sign: 06/28/1926, Cancer
Profession: Actor; director; producer; writer; comedian

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Mel Brooks Fast Facts:

At 14, learned to play drums from jazz legend Buddy Rich.
After serving in World War II, began working at Borscht Belt resorts in the Catskills, serving as a stand-up comedian, jazz drummer, handyman and social director.
Auditioned as a writer for Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows by performing a self-penned song titled "Here I Am, I'm Melvin Brooks."
His legendary 2000 Year Old Man was created when he quipped to Carl Reiner following painful gout surgery that he felt "like a 2000-year-old man."
Created, along with Buck Henry, the sitcom Get Smart before writing and directing his first feature film, The Producers.
1974 saw the release of his two biggest hits: Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.
Formed Brooksfilms in 1979 to produce The Elephant Man; other movies produced include The Fly and My Favorite Year, which is based on a personal experience with Errol Flynn.
His 2000 Broadway production of The Producers received 15 Tony Award nominations and won a record 12.
Is one of only a few artists to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

Mel Brooks Relationships:
Eddie Brooks - Son
Kate Brookman Kaminsky - Mother
Max Brooks - Son
Florence Baum - Ex-wife
Nicholas Brooks - Son
Stefanie Brooks - Daughter
Anne Bancroft - Wife (deceased)
Max Kaminsky - Father
Mel Brooks Awards:
1969 Golden Globe: Best Screenplay - Motion Picture - Nominee
1956 Emmy: Best Comedy Writing - Nominee
1958 Emmy: Best Comedy Writing - Nominee
1957 Emmy: Best Comedy Writing - Variety or Situation Comedy - Nominee
1997 Emmy: Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series - Winner
1998 Emmy: Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series - Winner
1999 Emmy: Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series - Winner
1966 Emmy: Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy - Nominee
1967 Emmy: Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety - Winner
2001 Grammy: Best Long Form Music Video - Winner
2001 Grammy: Best Musical Show Album - Winner
1998 Grammy: Best Spoken Comedy Album - Winner
1974 Oscar: Best Achievement in Music (Song) - Nominee
1974 Oscar: Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) - Nominee
1968 Oscar: Best Writing (Story and Screenplay--written directly for the screen) - Winner
2001 Tony: Book (Musical) - Winner
2001 Tony: Musical - Winner
2001 Tony: Original Musical Score - Winner
2006 Golden Globe: Best Original Song - Motion Picture - Nominee
1974 BAFTA Awards: Best Screenplay - Nominee
1977 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
1978 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
College:
Attended Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA