Laughing At Power: The Enduring Genius Of Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks didn’t just make people laugh—he taught us how to look straight at the things that scare us and still find air. We dive into his arc from a Brooklyn childhood and Catskills hustle to a war-time mine-sweeper, a writers’ room whip at Your Show of Shows, and the fearless architect behind The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein. The new HBO two-part biography sparks a bigger journey: how satire can punch up without cheapening the target, why the strongest jokes are sometimes the ones you cut, and how collaboration turns a funny idea into a classic.

We trade favorite scenes and the hidden craft inside them—Gene Wilder’s slow-burn “pressure cooker” meltdowns, the top-hat routine he fought to keep, and the sly Wonka entrance that rewired an audience’s trust. We unpack the Blazing Saddles debate with real context: Richard Pryor’s imprint in the writers’ room, Cleavon Little’s pitch-perfect sheriff, and how casting itself was a statement. Beyond parody, we spotlight Brooksfilms backing The Elephant Man and Mel’s unlikely bet on David Lynch, proof that a comedy legend also expanded the edges of prestige cinema.

There’s a human core to all this: Anne Bancroft’s steady, loving push that kept the pages moving, a Jewish identity celebrated with warmth and self-satire, and a mentoring spirit that welcomed new talent. Dave Chappelle’s memories from Men in Tights sit alongside Spaceballs lore, where John Candy and a new generation blended improv with old-school timing. The through line is simple and brave—use laughter to name the absurd, relieve the pressure, and bring people back into the same room.

If Mel Brooks shaped your humor—or if you’re meeting his work for the first time—press play, laugh with us, and tell us your top three Brooks films. If this conversation made you smile, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a quick review so more people find the show.

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Transcript

Setting The Stage: Why Mel Brooks

SPEAKER_02 0:00

So for us, we were watching a man make fun of the world and it was hilarious. Welcome to studios. It's T Jake. Good evening, gentlemen. Good evening. How are you tonight? Good. I said, gentlemen, our topic tonight is about a young man who was born in Brooklyn, Williams Burger. Melvin Kaminsky, also known as Mel Brooks. Yes. I watched the HBO two-part series. It was great. There was nothing about it that I didn't like. It was just all around when you watch him, he's just like you can't help it. He's always fun. Yeah. But he's serious at the same time when he needs to it was really a good biography. You learned a lot about him that you didn't know. Right. About him, the movies, the other actors and actors that always did with him. Yeah, I'll screw him up with him. Right. Who was in it with him that you didn't know that was that helped you know write a script. Yeah. It was good. But he was so for us, older, we were watching a man make fun of the world, and it was harass. He spoofed on everything in everybody. He spoofed on the racism. He spoofed on just another move. He didn't hit it on all the times. Oh man. And he was saying that I would get letters from rabbis and people talking, why would I do this? And in his mind, it's like this is the best way to beat them.

SPEAKER_03 1:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:37

It's because you you know they don't want to be cold fired. And the egos can't handle it. And that's what makes it so much better. Right. Because you're making fun of them. Right. You're not laughing with them, you're laughing at them. Right. Certain things that he does, he makes it, yes. That's what you loved about his humor because it was just so a matter of fact. He he was born in Brooklyn. And then then he wound up going to the Cat Skills and working there. Right. Um I believe he was in the service first. And he used to talk about he would check for mines. Yeah, I know. He would stick his knife in the ground until he heard like I want it. That's what I wanted. Yeah, seriously. Is that not? I mean that doesn't make sense. There could have not been all these anything will be. Yeah. But yeah. That's a fucked up job to be doing. That's a dangerous job. Yeah. Wow. Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

That's not that's no post.

War Stories And Finding Gallows Humor

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Yeah. You know what? That's probably that that thing in the back of his head that made him fun. Him living and having to do that. Like, dude, you're on the verge of death every single day. Every time you're poking your knife, you're walking on whatever, you're poking your knife into the dirt. Because that's how you check the minds. Those who didn't know, walking with the bayonet and just push it to the, and then you get that feel like you said, you that think, or like that's a mind. And that's a mind. Then you have to turn it around and clean it up or flag it and then have everybody step over it or walk around. Whatever it is. Yeah. The fact that you're even looking for it, it's just it's it's not a job you you volunteer for. Yeah. So they tell you to do it. Right. So then now, think about it, bro. Now you're living in fear. Now that you have to have an outlet, your therapy is the funds. So he came up with all the that's what I'm gonna assume. I'm not saying it's a definite thing and didn't say it in the documentary. Right. You know, but I'm just saying it's like that's gotta be one of those things in the back of your head that's gotta make you funny. You know, you can't stay angry. You have to laugh. You have to go. Well, I definitely know where his gallows are coming from about the Spanish Inquisition. Yeah, Spanish Inquisition. Yeah, yeah. His movie looked freaking. And that was in the biography, too. They talk about it. Like, so he first started out, the first movie he had um was the producers in. And there was the 12 chairs. Yeah. Twelve chairs didn't do that well. But it's actually doing better now than it did when it first came out. Right. Because it's such a cult classic almost. Yeah, well, because it's him. You know what I'm saying? Like it's him, and like, oh snap, I missed that. I love Mel Brooks. Let me watch this. Click and I you watch him. You know what I mean? It's like idea, like us. We're sitting here and we're talking about Mel Brooks, a handful of people like, oh yeah, I've heard of him, but I've never really really watched any of his stuff. Now we just did the Inquisition, Inquisition. But then now somebody's like, well, history of the world. You know what I mean? Yeah. And then like, well, what else did he do? And then, you know, we'll end up talking about other movies that he did. Well, so what so it was what? So it was the 12 chairs. That did better later on. I would have produced this, because then he'd wind up having it on board, but yeah. I'll made a musical. You know what? Yeah. So he showed that one scene from the producers. I laugh every time it's when they're auditioning for the Hitler part. And they're all like doing different things.

The Producers, Twelve Chairs, Cult Status

SPEAKER_03 4:41

That one he did they're all doing different things. Yes, yes, it just looks so fucking absurd. What are they doing?

SPEAKER_01 4:52

Because everybody's practicing. Yeah, practicing the Hitler. Yeah, buddy show. You know, yeah, yes, you know the one that you said. And that's what's great about it, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:06

Just so fucking as bad as that is. He pokes fun at it and he makes the he makes it fun. Yeah, but now here's the I'm gonna ask a solid question. Is it really bad? No, I don't because I'm saying, so hear me. Humor is not the best thing ever. Well, I'm saying, so you're making fun of him, you know what I'm saying? You're not bringing them to the forefront, like, yo, they would have gone. Well, you think it's fun and not just in general, but of course, yeah, definitely not fun all the time. Right. But I'm saying, like, that was is it a bad thing to make fun of this dude? Like, you know, bring him down, you know, a few eggs because you know, he ain't producers, I think it was. I think it was producers or um, no, maybe it wasn't producers, to be or not to be. And he's dressed up like Hitler. And he says, I'm about to find us by why he goes, hi Hitler, hi Hitler, okay, we're on. Yeah, we're on Hitler. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:49

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

It's fucking great, man.

Satire, Offense, And Punching Up

Blazing Saddles: Casting, Cuts, Legacy

SPEAKER_02 5:52

I know, it's great, it's it's hilarious because even in um in what you'll call it, Blazing Saddles, when they were rounding up everybody, he had the Nazis and uh oh, everybody was in bikers, yeah. Yeah, the bikers with that. The clan was in it. Yeah, the clan was in it. Oh god, and it's it's the Mexican gang. But yeah, there were the bikers, right? Then you had the the the what it the Mambolians, like uh uh what's his name from back in the day? I forgot. Uh Shigengis Khan. Like they had all that dressed up, you know what I mean? And you know, he it it was he picked on anything and everything. And he and he made it look funny. Right. He he showed it how ridiculous it was when we when we were really looked at it. Yeah. You know what I mean? It's yeah. Because, you know, again, it's that hate that people had that he was making fun of and made it into a funny. He always had like a message that came through something that was coming through. Yeah, it was the way it's my work. It was incredible. I mean it is super incredible, but even now, I mean, he's so funny. Like he was sitting in the audience when they were interviewing him, not to jump ahead, but they said, Do you uh do you wear tiny white ears or do you wear boxes? He goes, pens. Yeah, but pens. Exactly right. That's what he said. Yeah, it was the whole place left, yeah, hysterical. Right. Yeah, because it's funny, man. Yeah, it is. You know, you can't be mad, can't be subtitled. But like the thing that really put him off is like this whole bit he did with uh the the the 2,000-year-old man. Carl Reiner. Carl Reiner, yeah. The whole him and Carl Reiner that opened the 2,000-year-old man. Like that was. Yeah, he started off television. And it wasn't even like something like it was something they used to do amongst themselves. Right. A joke. It wasn't even something they had an idea of. Right, and they just did it. Um like recording. There was just like a bit that they did like as a joke between friends. Right. And I think that's what's even what makes it even better. Yeah, you know what I mean? Because so much of this stuff was like from their imagination. Right, yeah. You know, like, oh, what if we did this? Oh, you know, it'd be funny. What if we made fun of that? And then Carl Rainer, hello, dude. He was always straight man, though. Yeah, that's what and that's what made it even better. But he would throw those jokes in every so often, but it's like make you aware of it. Right, exactly. But yeah, they were great together. He didn't just do comedy. Right, and yeah, that's the thing that a lot of people forget like they had Brooks films, too. Right, that's what I'm saying. The Elephant Man. Elephant Man. Yeah, David Lynch. I never even realized that movie. I've never seen that. I wanted I saw that on the Lois Oriental. Oh no shit. Yeah, he saw that movie in the Louis Oriental David. But yeah, David movie, yeah. He cut he vouched for David Lynch, and that's he he kind of like David Lynch was kind of like not just like an independent like director. Like he wasn't like and David Lynch thought he wasn't gonna get the parts of all. He watched the reason why he did it again. And he's like, he went to go almost hug him, you know. Like he was like, Yeah, you're my guy. Come on, let's go. He was like taken back, yeah. It's crazy how he was such an influence because now, you know, us talking about it watching documentary, it's wild because we didn't know that he was involved in so much. Like, you know what I'm saying? We didn't know that he had that influence on so many people, you know. Well, later on, yeah, especially. Well, that's what I'm saying. Just add, I mean, you know, we know, and then just everything like, oh well, Mel Brooks and he had that that thing, and he was just getting to do it. And um, like there were some things that he didn't put in because he was afraid, like in the movie Blazing Saddles. And when she says it's true, it's sure it's true, it's true. I love it. Man, you're biting my arm or something like that. Right, yeah, right. Yeah, that was cut out. That was cut out. I'll probably say that seemed a little too far. He said like those like flobbering noises. Yeah, that's what he left it at. It's true, it's true. Yeah, and then you your imagination with the zipper. That was that idea. I think that was that was safer. That was probably because then the next morning that's when she's feeding him the the sausage and uh and onions uh on the sauerkraut, then she's putting it on his plane and freaking sausage like this freaking thing. And he's like, Well, thank you very much. Shaking all over him when she's walking out the door, then they could make a German spectacle out of you. So Blazing South was like people, a lot of people say, like, oh, you couldn't make that movie today. No, somebody said you couldn't even make that movie back then, but Mel Brooks could. Because that's the thing then, right? He was clacking fun at him because it was so ridiculous that we wouldn't even do that then. Yeah, if it somehow did it. Because it was because they I think because they made it as a comedy. I think you know, those movies, because it was a comedy, and it was um, you know, they say jokes are based on some truth, the stereotypes, the things that people thought of other people, that's what he poked the fun the fun at, as far as I'm concerned. Yeah. And and I think, yo, basically is definitely where it was in my top three best buddy movies of all time. I could watch that shit like three times in a row, and no problem. That's the interesting part I didn't know is that Jane Wilder was like a last minute. Last minute thing. Yeah. Original actor was like kind of San Abby. Uh probably he was gone right on the flight, still out there. Yeah. Yep. Right. Which I probably was supposed to do. Right, he helped Reggie, right. The movie company. Right. Did not want to see the religious with him. Yeah, because they let him stay on as a right. So we say supposed to play the part of the sheriff. But it's a what that went to Clebon Little. And up to the city. No, it was meant to be, I think it was meant to be the way it was. I think it was okay. Did you imagine if that movie was a retro prior, though? I think if I saw Richard Pryor now, I wouldn't be it wouldn't be nearly as funny because all these years I've been used to doing that one, and it was always funny to me the way it was, whatever that scene might be. With all right, the sheriff. Question for the audience. Okay. Do you think blazing saddles would have been better with Richard Pryor as the sheriff? Or with the never know. Clevon Little, the guy who did it. We will never know. So it's only Clevon Little. That's it. Yeah. It's only him. He knows it. Yeah. And he was fucking damn funny in that. Was he Richard Pryor? Yeah. Listen, Clevon Little, an amazing actor, you know, as a whole. And him doing this, man. I'm telling you, it was a great flick. It's such a good movie, man. Such a good movie. That movie from beginning to end, ridiculous. At the end, with them in the street and breaking into other studios.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

Oh, yeah, that was the end. Yeah. Wait, wait, wait. Not the face. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:36

But uh, it was uh Dom De Luis. Yeah, so many funnies, so many funnies. Another one of my favorites was uh young Frankenstein. Oh yeah, I love Young Frankenstein. So my stepdad, we used to watch it together when uh he had Frankenstein come up and dance on stage. Like if you don't know where to go.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

Dude, that right there, man. We used to do that. Me and my stepdad, we used to, that was our comedy skip, bro.

SPEAKER_02 13:07

And they talk about that in the country is how that was all Gene Wilde. Yeah, right. Melbrooke said no. So Gene Wilder said he was gonna put that, want to put that in. Melbrooke said no. And Gene Wilder fought. Gene Wilder even said, like, they showed an old interview with Gene Wilder, and how he was like really upset and really went to fucking battery. Right, right. Melbrooke said, okay, no problem. I mean, he's like, wait, wait, what? He goes, Well, you fought for it, so that means he must have liked it. And that is really the most logical way. Because if it sucked, and Gene Wilder thought it sucked, if he just thought you want to do the scene, you're like, No, it's stupid, we don't want to do that. Yeah, and then you just walked away, he knows you're not. Because that whole that whole scene make that movie. It was just him up there singing it, and then when he sees the fire and like, ooh, and he's backing up instant.

SPEAKER_03 13:55

No, no, no, calm down.

SPEAKER_02 13:58

Just stop the fire. That whole scene was amazing. For me, the whole movie was crazy. So for me, like saying the scene, because in the rest of the movie, it was the little things that were set that made the that you know made the funnies. But for me, that whole scene, just being on the stage and the way that they were there was so much in the beginning that you missed. There's so much before that scene even comes on. The beginning of that movie is is classic from beginning. Oh, yeah, no, no. So then from when he gets on the train until he comes to Transylvania, walk this way and go through the whole movie. But it was that that's what I'm saying. It's the little things, like the little funny, like walk this way, and then you go, he's doing that. That was that little clip.

SPEAKER_03 14:42

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

Like, you know what I'm saying? Like those rules are like the little one-liners that made those all those parts. For me, like I said, the whole scene of him coming out, he got him to come out onto the stage. They were doing their whole routine, like you said, you know, stuff like that, huh? Like that. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like that whole thing, you know, brought it back to what Frankenstein was supposed to be, and that it was still funny. So that was his kryptonite. Right. You know what I mean? It was a good movie, man. That was another really good movie.

SPEAKER_03 15:12

It was a great idea to do something like that.

SPEAKER_02 15:15

That was great. You know, produces alone, the movie produces when he did that. When you watch that movie, when you watch it, you're like, wow, this movie was off the hook. Right. Fucking funny. Yeah. Because you can identify it. It may be from a different time period, but regardless, it's still funny because the whole idea um of the movie, you know, making a movie that sucks so bad that you make so much money on it. Yeah. You know?

SPEAKER_03 15:38

Yeah.

Gene Wilder’s Brilliance And Bits

SPEAKER_02 15:39

Yep, definitely. They pointed out during the documentary um that Gene Wilder, one of his something he really excelled at was this thing that he did in a lot of movies where he would it would be like a built-up, like a pressure cookies like with the art where he's like a lot of energy. Like, no, that part where he's like where um Marty Feltman, you know, he's going, uh, oh yeah, we got it from the Abbey.

SPEAKER_03 16:03

Abbey normal goes you put in Abbey Normal Ab normal brain.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Yeah, don't worry about it.

SPEAKER_03 16:11

And you have you know that whole like thing.

SPEAKER_02 16:18

Was that Han's don't bring that one in? Yeah, yeah. Who's praying? Yeah, he's does it uh Abby someone. Yeah, Abby someone abbey normal. I believe that was the name. Yeah, yeah. You need to tell me I put brain inside of an abnormal brain inside of a seven foot?

SPEAKER_03 16:43

Seven foot and a fifteen inch wide guru. Yeah. But you know what? That was just first word. The way G Wilder does that, though, that build copper is like that was that was Gene Wilder's stick.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

You know what I'm saying? That he was nailed that style with that pressure hooker. Yes, exactly. Yeah, he did. Yeah, so many. Like I said, I was perfect for that part. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

He even did that in um Charlie and Chocolate Factory.

SPEAKER_02 17:16

Yes, he did. He was pretty much that part at the end of the scene. He fought for that one too, believe it or not. If we went on with Gene Wilder real quick, he wanted to put a move in the movie, do something in the move in the beginning of the movie, just walking up to the gate and he just momentum falls and rolls up. Right. Yeah. And then he just normal. Right. The pain just stays where it is. Yeah. You know, oh that's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he was the one who came up with that idea. No shit.

SPEAKER_03 17:43

Yeah.

Comedic Craft: Pressure Cooker Scenes

Brooksfilms And The Elephant Man

SPEAKER_02 17:43

And the guy was like, why? It was because he's a guy who's, you know, he's has this whole mysticism to him efforts to he could do this. He I had to make you believe something, and you did. Right. And then I wasn't, kind of thing. Yeah, that I didn't know that. That's crazy. It was a good movie. Yeah, that is a cool movie. That was that was great. My son says to this day that that was probably one of the previous movies I've ever seen. Oh, definitely. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a scene when they're driving the boat and he sings that song. Oh, yeah. It's so freaking you know that Marilyn Manson recited that whole thing of his first album. That's freaking great. You know what? I think Mel Brooks was. I think he was someone who had a hell of a sense of humor as a kid. Hell yeah. And then just took it and didn't stop. He went to Cat's Hills. He was a drummer. And they made him do a part once he didn't know the words, and he even told him, Hey, this is my first time. What? You know, you learn a lot of stuff about him when you're watching this thing. And you're like, wow, this guy's had a real interesting life. I think everybody should watch that, bro. Like, all jokes aside, people who didn't know Mel Brooks, that young, like our younger viewers, you know, watch it. But then what who was asking for the movie? Millet 30 and be the youngest? No, not at all. You think the people who wanted to do it with them were younger comedians who wanted to do it. Well, I'm talking about called him and said, hey, we should do this. And he was like, All right, let's go ahead. Well, I mean, yeah, comedians, I think all comedians would know, you know, Mel Brooks, because comedians, they're gonna know their comedic lineage, I guess I'll call it. You know what I mean? Like you're gonna turn around and know who the greats are. People know, like, you know, the Richard Priors and the Mel Brooks, and you know what I'm saying, the Gene Wilder, you know, that Dave Chappelle, like they know all the old greats. Now, all those people are in the movie except for Richard Pryor, of course, that they talk about. Right, yeah. But and that's what I'm saying. So, you know, I'm talking about I'm talking about, like I said, the younger people, you know, just regular general public. You know what I mean? Right. Not a lot of people know who Mel Brooks is. You know, I don't know, man. A lot of people know why worldwide know who Mel Brooks is. They have what they had a lot of people from Europe who were big Mel Brooks fans from the period time they were very young. You know what? You know, people who were uh, you know, just he definitely was one of those people who got around. He's very he's famous, Mel Brooks. He but it took him a while. Right, because in the beginning of the biography, it shows you how he had some ups and downs, he struggled for a little while, right? He met uh his wife. Right, yeah, right. Well the second wife. The first wife is the one that he well, they talked about that in the beginning. But he met Ann Bancroft yeah, right later on, and then and he was broke and he was doing whatever he could, and she took him under the following wherever she wedded, right? Follow wherever she went, she really believed it. Yeah, cyclist like she stood up in the middle of the thing, said I'm Ann Bancroft, I'm Mel Brooks. Yeah. So it's like, wherever I go, he's there. You know what I'm saying? But she was beautiful, she was really yeah, she really believed in him, you know. Yeah, she loved him, yeah. And even like, and she even got on his ass because she knew he was a procrastinator. She I remember about it. She always got on top of me about things because she knew I I you know, she's best friend. Yeah, sure. That's a that's a good partner to have, you know. Yeah, absolutely. Especially something like that. Because you know, you talk in the nice movies back in the day, you know. If you didn't stay in, you know, on top of it, you would just disappear into the rest of the crowd. You know what was an interesting thing he talked about too is how like when he started Mel Brooks films, like he moved to California and it was like they were all like immigrant to California. Right. Because they were all from like the East Coast, right? Right. They were the first generation Americans, but they were like yeah, and they were all like first generation Americans. Yeah. But he says they were almost like immigrants to California in the in the sense because they were all from the East Coast, and they all moved out to California to make movies. Yes. Everybody wanted to be rich, yeah. Everybody wants to be Hollywood. Yeah. It's crazy, right? Yeah, it is so insane that yeah, just transplant that you get that oh, yeah, oh, oh, wait, oh, wait, oh, and you know. It wasn't like that. It wasn't like it. I mean Jackson. You can't go anywhere. It was Williamsburg. It was back in the day. Right. This is in the beginning almost. But it doesn't matter. When you're from the East Coast and you go anywhere else, everyone was. You know, uh it was uh Williamsburg. It was so much different than it is now. Right. You know, it's the opposite, right? So um so for him, and he talks about growing up and being in the apartment and you know brothers that he had, right? And he went into war at the minor. And then he came back and then he just started getting into it. Sid Caesar was the guy I was talking about earlier. Yeah, Sid Caesar was a good one. Sid Caesar was the beginning one that he did, he did a lot of stuff with Sid Caesar. Yes, you know, later on. And he tried to get into movies with Sid Caesar, but it it didn't work out. They wound up offering Sid Caesar more money to continue the show. Right. And he he told her he took the money and he told him, you know. So they did that for a little while longer, and then he just, you know, and then eventually, you know, he made the movie, you know, that just like, what the fuck did I just see? Now I saw that movie. My mother took me to that movie. Which one? You know, correct you're saying Blazing Saddles when I was a kid. I was definitely not a babe, you know. I was an adult I was with an adult. I went going, right. Yeah, I didn't go in. So I did. And there was a lot of course. Back then I didn't understand. There were some things I did understand. That's right. And now, you know, when to watch it now, I'm like, I get it. Yeah. Like you will see things that you miss, even cartoons, too. Right. The Looney Tuds, when you see certain things, you go, Oh, all right, I get it. Yeah, you know. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that shit. So yeah. That's funny, bro. That baby saddles in the movie must have been uh I didn't see it in the theater. Uh, but I know that movie was it must have been crazy. Me and my brother, my mother, I think Barber probably was too one, you know. Yeah. But yeah, I remember going there, and we weren't even home either. I I I remember this. I think we were on vacation or something. Oh, okay. So yeah, isn't that weird that that in memory came out? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely. So yeah, no. And so, of course, because of my parents, or I should say my mother, not mostly my father. Now, my father liked Mel Brooks because of my mother. Okay. You know what I mean? Because she introduced him to that. Oh. He never would in a million years would have fucking watched that. Yeah. Uh, but he wound up and then he did it. And then like Neil Dianin and all that, you know, right. But comedy was always a thing that was I grew up with. Right. I'm thankful for that. Because that was always around. You know what I mean? Hell yeah. You could just uh you know laugh and watch funny shit, you know what I mean? Yeah, that I'm telling you, man, it it go produced the shit. Comedy last year is definitely the best medicine. Like hands. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. And my friends, all of my friends, love notebooks. Yep. And everything that I I pretty much love, most of my friends were into the same shit I was growing up, as far as like science fiction, whatever it was. We all had our own opinions, of course, that's what I'm saying. But we all pretty much were all that's why we hung out with each other. You know, I mean, we all had differences, but not like that. You know what I mean? So when it came to TV, we all pretty much were watching the same shit every fucking night that everybody else was watching before we went to bed. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what's interesting too? It was when they were talking to Dave Chappelle, and he was talking about how um Mel Brooks would when he there were scenes that like Dave Chappelle wasn't in, Mel Brooks said, Oh, come sit down, come sit down with me while I'm directing, and like kind of showed Dave Chappelle how he cooked. So to speak, that in Justin Turbons. That's what he said. That's exactly what he said. And um, you know, eight years later, he made the L show. So maybe that kind of taught him a little bit, yeah. When when it came to like producing and directing. And of course, Mel Brooks recognized something right away. Talent Tannic. This guy is funny. Yeah, Tanner knows Talent. You know what I mean? He just knew that he was raw because he was so young. Right. So he was just doing it. Yeah. Yeah, Dave Chappelle was. Dave Chappelle loved it. He was fantastic. Yeah, that that happened. It was Mena Tights. That is, because corrected in Mel type, you know, uh Ronald with uh tights. Right. Right? She's like, no, wait, do it this way. And you have Mel yelling from the back, right? Yeah, yeah. Just yelling. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, okay. Yeah. And then they just do it again. Yeah. That was and that that that was another good thing with with uh Men and Tites. Right. That you know, it was all it they were listening to, you know, behind the camera and then doing it. You know what I mean? Like Lou just said, you know, they were doing things over again. They were talking to the camera, like, you know, do it already, do it already, hurry up and say it, you know, because like just it I that was a really good movie, bro. That was the biography, you mean? Yeah, the biography. Yeah, that was our biography, yeah. It's just it was really cool to see like a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff, you know. Oh, are you talking about the scene with the guy from uh I forgot the actor's name was Clint Robert or the English actor? Yeah, and they're like, and Mel Brooks is like, everybody's hungry. Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:09

And like go to the pink, he's like everybody was like, yeah. Yeah, that's right. That's what I'm saying.

Boundaries, Edits, And Taste

SPEAKER_02 27:18

Like, we just say, yeah. Because the guy had to shoot a bowl now. Yes. That's why, right? Yeah, and it could be and he couldn't think about it. It took him a few shots before he got and balls up. He was close though. Yeah, same actor who was in the first swap movie. Yes, right. Yeah, I can't remember his name, but yeah, yeah. But you know what, bro. It was a good it was a good documentary. It was on somebody, it was on somebody and something that you're gonna smile. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah, you know, you get those hot seconds, like, whoa, no way, but you're still like, yo, I I don't I can let I love the way he bought his wife. Yeah. Him and his wife, when they got together, uh, they were just yeah, incredible. When you watch the biography, the way they would bounce off one another, you could just see it. Yeah, you know what I mean? It's like amazing. And then you when you w watch and talk about, you know, if he wants to watch something that I think he's doing sitting with the uh director anyway. Um uh what's his name? Hold on a second. Directed by that.

SPEAKER_03 28:25

Tom's got the glasses on. Sorry, it's right there.

Fame, Anne Bancroft, And Persistence

SPEAKER_02 28:27

Just right there. Directed by Mel Brooks, Michael Bontifagillo, and Vanguilla. Yeah. Alright, I'm glad I didn't say it myself. Sorry about that. Just said it this shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, the two gentlemen and Tom just struggled to tell you about. Right, right, right. And I probably would have too, by the way. Because I couldn't see shit. That's great. Um, you've talked between they're talking to one another. And he's like, you know, you could see Bel Brooks watching. Right. And Mancroft, he goes, I don't think he probably didn't see it. I don't know. But he the thing I got from him though was that he likes to being happy is important to him. Very you know what I mean? Even though he has a lot of loss, he still wants to make people laugh. Yeah. Because it's a better, you know, it's it's a better world. You know, you laugh and you smile. The way his mind works. Imagine a world incredible comedy. No, I couldn't need it, man. Yeah, no. I'm not gonna call out any other people. Look, you know the light mail brooks, so you don't like it. You the light and milk, you don't. You like Neil Diamond, or you don't, yeah. Right? Yeah, well, you just like to move so much. Some people like, really like Neil Diamond. I go like, yeah, you love Neil Diamond, right? You know people who love it, right? People know, and just the way he his band and the way he makes fun of certain things. Yeah, it just look you know, it makes you laugh, you know, and you're like, wow, that shit is funny. Yeah, because he's taking that he's taking what is right now yesterday. Yeah, he's taking you're a bullshitter. He's taking all the stuff that that and you said, like we said earlier, you know, he's taking all the quote unquote bad stuff, making it funny, you know, putting that twist on it because you're not like you have to take a step back and you know, reevaluate it and just make it happen. He doesn't get away with it because he knows how to to do it in a way where he get away with it. But then he also knows that if something's too far, he Yeah, well he yeah, you know what you said, what stuff is a little too much. Yeah, you know. I don't think that I don't think that he did anything out of taste, you know, even if some of the stuff hit the the the cutting room floor, you know, I don't think anything was super out of taste. I don't think that it was, you know, well no. If he would go back in time, he probably wouldn't have used the word in sound. Right. But he also says in the biography that he says, don't forget, I'm I'm gonna tell people that Richard Fryer was one. Exactly. Made me write this, you know, we wrote this together, this, that, and the other thing. So you'll take you'll get responsibility. Yeah, right. And that's the thing. It was it was again who he wrote it with that made it like, uh-huh. And now I get it. You know what I mean? It's like that, like in Blazing Saddles with the um, it was Indian Raw. When the Indian was used a lot, yeah. But when the few times, I should say a few times. Yeah, it was a half of the time. But that the Indians were coming, it was a wagon train uh coming through, and it was a black family that was at the end of the wagon train. And um the Indians were coming, like it did us. Yeah, talking about the American Indians, yeah. It was some guy because you say he's an Indian, but he's he's speaking English. Yeah, my brother broke through the the Indians. Oh my god. And you know, like wait, they're talking in us. That I understood a little bit about when I first saw that. Yeah, that I for whatever reason picked up because that's the kind of humor I grew up with. Right, you know what I mean? And um that just seeing all those movies, and we were always part of those movies. We always went to go see them. So I you know comedy was a big thing in my house, for sure. No doubt about it. I always loved how he always almost always. I can't think of a movie where he didn't play a character in the movie. And the only movie. Only one movie. What do you mean? Which one did he not play a character in the movie? Jon Frankenstein. Oh, he didn't have a partner. That's right, because she wild asked him not to do or make any type of intrinsic. That's right. Like a quick, you know, cameo kind of thing. And he said, All right, I won't do it. Okay. You know, one of my favorite ones is a problem.

SPEAKER_03 32:48

You probably put y'all thinking here, and I put my thing in here, and it's right here. Well, get push nickname. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:59

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 33:00

Yeah, man. No, listen, he is uh uh he's a comedic a comedic genius, but like you can't say it any and like you can't say it enough times. And he's and he celebrates his Judaism at the same time as well. Right. Yeah, right, right. That's always prominent in a lot of ways, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 33:18

Yeah.

East Coast Roots To Hollywood

Comedy As Medicine And Community

SPEAKER_02 33:19

Uh you know, in a positive good way. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Because he makes it fun. He even pokes fun at himself and his own, you know, he it's everything. There's nothing there's nothing that's out of balance for him. You know what I mean? Right. He knows how to approach it, and you're like, that's fucking stalking. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's just growing up like that and having that in my lifetime and having that introduced. Hell yeah. I'm so happy about that. Hell yeah. No doubt. I would say that Mel Brooks movies were uh definitely a prominent part of my life, childhood. Like when I was younger, like Facebook. That's what you just took it from the note. I must have watched Facebook. Yes, I must have watched Facebook. Yes. The point where, like, I wanted to watch it and I put it on with him, and I still remember every line. I remember the lines. Yeah, bro. Like riding a five medicine movie over 10 years, maybe maybe over 20 years. That movie's still huge. Yeah, that movie's huge all over the world. And then when I was a little bit older, Robin of Metates. Yeah. That was what I grew up the most with. Yeah. More than Blazing Saddles or not. Blazing Saddles would make when I was younger. I've I've seen it, and it's funny. I'm watching movies, but like I didn't grow up with that movie. I grew up with Space Balls and Robin Metates. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I grew up with you. Yeah, exactly. Made a sword. Why speed we made a short Star Wars as well. Yeah. Right. But Space Balls, the um the one of the things that that would really made that successful is because they were talking about in the documentary, they were talking about how um they had some newer com comedians, right? John like John Candy. Um, and basically he said like they kind of let them have their little free reign on things. Yeah. And it kind of blended the both types of humor together. And so that's another reason that made that so successful. Remember the one girl said, the actress who said there was a point where the bullet hits her hand. And she's like, Well, why don't I turn around even though I don't like guns? Because like she didn't even want to cut it. Well, indeed, it was supposed to be like, oh, I don't like guns, like guns. And then someone shot her head. He shot my head. I was taking everybody out one time. That was her idea. Yeah, that was her idea. Yeah. And and it was a freaking freaking hilarious. It was perfect. It was, yeah, it was great. It was a good cast. It was a great cast. You know what I mean? Who are usually and some of the people in that ball? Yeah, yes, Joe Rivers. But yes, I mean that was John Kennedy's man. But it was it was one of those things where uh a lot of straight-faced comedians were in there. You know what I mean? So then all the deliveries, you know, of all those jokes, like the delivery was like somebody, it was always somebody different. It was it was a good it was that we bell shit. Yes, dude. What movie would you say? Yeah, could you even say that he had any mediocre movies? Like I can't. Yeah, there were some that didn't do well. I mean, there was some that didn't do well in the box office. The story online about it. Does the 12th chair is the one about the Russian? Well, that one now is huge. Like everybody's a cult. Yeah, I think everybody came out, it didn't do well. No, but now it's doing better than it did when it came out. Right. And I mean we mentioned that earlier. Okay, yeah, you did say. But I mean, I don't know. I I guess But I think the one way he played the homeless person. I think that one didn't do well either. That didn't do really well. Right, right. So the idea, everything that he did, I don't know. I understood it, but it's for whatever reason it just didn't. And then, you know. Yeah. I think what that come did space balls come after or before that? It was after that. It was after that, right? I think it was the homeless man thing and then space balls. Right, right. And that's I hope all right. Yeah, I think so. I'm pretty sure. But yeah, bro, it's like you but I don't know. I I I I'll go say, yeah, right, cool. That means that that'll be the mediocre one, you know. Or good movie. I got a question for you guys. Uh-oh. What would be your top since we're talking about? I wrote it down so I can ask this question. Uh-huh. So, what would you be your top three movies? From Melbrooks yet. So I'll tell you mine first, okay? Hang on a second. Yeah. General McLean. You gotta see this. Alright. Now I could see. Funniest from history of the world part could be oh, yeah. So I was writing it all down. I can tell you right now. I Blazing Saddles would be my very first one. Yeah, okay. Blazing saddles. All right. And then, of course, it would be Young Frankenstein, and it would be History of the World. One, two, and three. Guys, here. And now all the other ones are like too. They're in the top five, of course. Right. So like Spaceballs and Yeah. And uh go ahead, I'm sorry. So for me, Space Balls, Robert Hermenites, and Metites. No shit. Yeah, that would be the top five. Well, I would mess it up. Yeah, I'm Blazing Saddles, young Frankenstein, and uh Manit, and uh Spaceballs. I get it. Blazing Saddle is a funny movie, but I didn't grow up with it at the time. Yeah, right, right, right. I watched it when I was like my 20s. Yes, right. So that's why I have funny movie. I love it. Yeah. But it's not on my top three just because I I don't have the style of the tractor. Yeah. But that's funny. No, not at all. Nah, because I saw it. Right. Yeah, no. Really? I get it. Yeah, no. Definitely young Frankenstein is is is my number two. Basic saddle because I just thought I like those kind of jokes. Telling those kind of jokes, those, you know, a little bit of uh seracity jokes. I love them. Yeah, yeah. You know, that's why I like the Basic Saddle. That's my favorite. Oh yeah, yeah. Yeah. The body finding it was. And it's like, so at the same we know, when you see that scene, it's like Yeah. Mm-hmm. It just pulls your mind. Yes. I know he totally did that. So I I I mean so for me, what it's not for my I'm gonna say like this a question. He and Mount and Monty Python were like kind of like both had that, yeah. They were fun at everything. Yeah. They're like that zany. Yeah, that crazy because like Monty Python a lot of people. He had the English humor. Right. Yeah, that's exactly what it was. He had the English humor, you know what I mean? He had those very close yeah, yeah. He was like the European version of Mel Brooks.

unknown 39:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:51

If that makes sense, you know what I mean? Yeah, because uh there's a lot of them. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Yeah, to put the Monty Python, um, I forgot that the Monty Python movement where the Holy Grail? The Holy Grail. And you turn them on and it's like the random.

Mentoring Dave Chappelle On Set

SPEAKER_03 40:09

Oh, that's just a it's a flesh moon. Oh, yeah, it's a flesh moon. Yeah, yeah, he's harvest. I just do fight. Are you shitting me? Yeah, it's what? Yeah, it was.

SPEAKER_02 40:19

That was a great movie, man. What about the rabbit? Yeah. And the rabbit's like, the rabbit, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:24

We are nights that same me do me. We have no lights that's saying, I say, how you remember certain things.

SPEAKER_02 40:40

Yeah, certainly. One of those things stick in your head. I grew up that way. Uh my best friend, Frank, you're in the in the in the uh Bolonies right now. Um so yeah, we're we're always bouncing that shit off each other, lines the movies different things a lot of the time, even now. Yeah, now we still do. Yeah, it's great. I grew that's I think growing up in a city with that was part of growing up in the city. Well, for us, yeah. For us, that's that's what bidding. I mean, I but again, you know what? This is one of those things, bro, where comedy is like it's that thing. It's that feel good, it's that you know, you say something out of a movie and run out of comedy flick, you know. I remember so fucking ridiculous. Like, remember the part where like the lady's like, me, me, it's like, ah, no, ah!

SPEAKER_03 41:24

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Men In Tights And On-Set Stories

SPEAKER_02 41:28

Yeah I'm telling you, man, it's it's those are the things that you sit back and you think about where you were, you know, you remember the smell of the popcorn, you know what I mean? Or whatever that just oh, I remember what I saw that, or you're hearing and you're like, wow. Like when you before you said you saw Blazing Saddles, you know, and but you remember where you were. I watched, you know. It was like that vacation, you know, watching the movies. Yeah, they were to the different theater. I I remember seeing movies going to comedy, and you know, well, just movies in general, and it was Lowe's or the Fort Way Theater. Yeah, always Fort Wicked or the Marlboro. Or the Marlboro, yeah. Or the Marlboro. Walk it Theater on 18th Avenue. Yeah. Walk it theater, we used to go to a lot. Oh no, it's down junior high. Wow, that's what it's hilarious. No, no, it's just funny. Like you just hear movies, you see movies, and like Tom, you know, you turn around and say Honor Schwatson again, it's over. You know, right. You turn into a sideboard. Right. You know what I mean? You see, you see, you know, and you can buy all the funny now. All the places that you were, yeah, I want to say a bumblebee. Yeah. This is uh the Tommy version. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. There's just so many, like I said, and I think for me personally, I appreciate, even though I'm not that kind of comedian or whatever, you know, I just think I'm a funny guy. Yeah, as I said, I think I'm a funny guy. But you know, I appreciate him being who he is, you know, what his name has brought to movies, what he's done to movies because it's made so many more uh because a lot of people, a lot of talent came from that movie. That's what I'm saying. They're in the movie, or they saw the movie, and because of that, they wanted to be all movies, and they became big. Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And he was all inclusive, bro. You know what I'm saying? He had everybody in his movies, you know what I'm saying? And you know, uh he listened to what everybody was saying, he he felt well, you paid attention to it. They were saying he went back in 20 producers that put it on Broadway. Yes, dude. That's erotic that's insane, you know what I mean? Like just to be erotic and Nathan Lane, I believe it was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, his this great man. I I appreciate it. Growing up with all that statue was always good because we always wanted to laugh. That's the one thing, even hanging out with my friends to this day, I remember the one thing we always loved doing was definitely laughing at him. Yeah, just laugh. Oh yeah. Reciting the movies, yeah. Good redoing scenes. You know what I mean? Just doing all those different things. When you recite it with your friends, you You're almost like acting it out. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? You're doing it. Like you're ready, like you have the like made a swart. My swart is bigger than yours. You know, like you're holding it up. He had a result of the ring, and you've like, you know, like Chase.

SPEAKER_03 44:13

I saw that the first time. Like last week.

SPEAKER_02 44:15

I touched it. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Chase saw it? Oh, the first time last week. Which one? No shorts. Oh, he loved it? Nice. How much of it do you think he understood though? Oh, yeah. He thought it was hysterical art where they put it next to me.

SPEAKER_01 44:28

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. My Schwartz is my Schwartz.

SPEAKER_02 44:32

My Schwartz is thinking about your Schwartz. Yeah. So Schwartz is a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 44:36

I see your Schwartz is as big as mine. Yeah. Yes. Perfect.

SPEAKER_02 44:42

Yes. I mean when they go ludicrous deep. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:46

She's gone. She's gone from suck to blow. Yeah. Ludacris.

SPEAKER_02 44:54

Well, Mel Brooks, he was there freaking flat. When he went flat. Yeah. Dude, now we're going flat you're holding on. And then he crashes into the thing.

SPEAKER_03 45:04

One, two, three, four, five. That's my luggage. Yeah.

Why The Documentary Lands

SPEAKER_02 45:10

That was a good thing. That was a good thing. That's the same. What did he say again when he remember when he crashes into it? You do it really well. When he crashes into the oh he goes. He's gonna be in the movie. That's gonna be gonna be. And John Candy's son is gonna be in the movie. That's gonna be freaking awesome. I can't wait for that. That's gonna be flat. Whoever can see who's still around, I believe, will still be in the movie. That would be cool. Yeah, how would you not want to do that? Oh, well, again, you know, yeah. It's it's because of Mel Brooks and him. They got just got done filming, actually. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. When's the um what's the quote coming out? The other one. It was history of the world that he was doing, right? Well, they did that one already. That one's done. Which one is but when did it? It didn't come out. Yeah, it did. It's been out. Part two? Part two's been out for a long time. I didn't even know that. Yeah. Oh shit. I have to watch it. I haven't even watched it. Yeah, see, damn. We already talking all this good shit. But I know what that, but I do know that it was out already. Yeah, okay, cool. I didn't even know that. So I need to watch it though, so I can see what it's like. Because I saw a couple of things that were hysterical on my face. Yeah, there we go. Yes, right there. Got it. Yeah. Mel Brooks. That was best. See, appreciate everybody for watching. Like, follow, comment, hit us out. Brian, that was good. Yeah, yeah. Thank you for watching. Love peace and hair grease. Live long and prosper. Keep on laughing.