All About Mel
Jack of Clubs Recommends All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks
I grew up on Mel Brooks’ movies. It all started one afternoon in 1987 when my father took my brother and me to see Spaceballs in the local movie theater. We were all fans of Star Wars and had been begging dad to take us to see this. Dad, having cut his own teeth on The Producers & Blazing Saddles happily obliged. And thus began my love of Mel and his movies.
I went on to watch Young Frankenstein, History of the World Part 1, High Anxiety, and the aforementioned Producers & Blazing Saddles, plus nearly all of his other films1. Any time a special was announced on HBO I would tune in. In middle school, we were assigned the task of writing to a celebrity we admired to ask for a signed photo. Who do you think I chose?
So it makes sense that when Mel decided to write his autobiography during COVID that I would jump on that too. I bought a copy for my father as a birthday gift, and for myself downloaded the audiobook version narrated by none other than Mel Brooks, himself. I can not recommend highly enough reading or listening to this book. Hearing his voice talk about his early life to his days doing stand-up throughout the Borscht Belt, writing for Sid Caesar, and ultimately to making his own movies is pure bliss. I especially adored the parts where he would be describing a song from a movie, and would then break into song. You can’t get that from the hardcover version of the book. Not that there’s anything wrong with using one’s imagination.
Whether you’re a casual fan, or simply want to learn more about this fascinating and funny national treasure of a man, I highly recommend picking up this book.
I’ve still never seen Life Stinks or The Twelve Chairs. Not sure why.
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