Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man | Television tonight

Comedy legend Mel Brooks turns 100 in June, but HBO has a two-part special before that Mel Brooks: The 99-year-old man.

The title of this two-part profile is based on his famous sketches from 2000 Year Old Man, developed in collaboration with the equally iconic Carl Reiner. The pair would improvise the acts at parties in New York, where Reiner would record them on tape recorders, eventually releasing them as record albums and showcasing them on the radio. The Steve Allen Show.

Both had worked on Sid Caesar’s variety show Your show of showswhich ran from 1950–1954, and included Neil Simon, Woody Allen and Larry Gelbart. As Brooks tells filmmaker Judd Apatow, “If there was no Sid Caesar, there would be no Mel Brooks.”

Born Melvin Kaminsky, Brooks grew up in Depression-era Brooklyn, where he became “the comedic conscience of my neighborhood.” His path to showbiz, avoiding certain ruin in the local clothing industry, came via club gigs, drumming and replacing a local comedian. His early influences were Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Marx Brothers and the Ritz Brothers.

But there were earlier detours to the U.S. Army, where he first experienced anti-Semitism, and was stationed in Germany at the end of World War II.

Part I of this profile focuses on Brooks’ life to date Blowing saddles (1974), became part of the American Jewish comedy community and graduated from writing to performing. Writing has always been Brooks’ first love, and anarchy his driving comedic force, but performing also brought with it periods of anxiety, which were addressed with therapy (no doubt leading to High anxiety). Despite Your show of showsBrooks had ambitions for the longevity of film success.

His first marriage was to Florence Baum, a dancer in Men prefer blondes. Two of their children, Nicholas Brooks and Stefanie Brooks, participate in this doco together with Max Brooks, son of second wife, actor Anne Bancroft.

Mel met Anne at a vulnerable point in his life, some time afterward Your show of shows and in periods of creative drought. He even shares stories about Anne paying the restaurant bills and slipping money under the table to keep up appearances.

“I was without money for a while, but Anne kept me going,” he says.

They remained married for 41 years until her death in 2005.

Also featured in the doco are Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Nick Kroll, Ben Stiller, Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Patton Oswalt, David Chapelle, Robert Townsend, Jerry and David Zucker, Peter Farrelly and there is archival footage from television shows including The tonight show, the Dinah Shore show, British chat shows and even Enough rope with Andrew Denton.

Get smartwhich he co-created with Buck Henry became a commercial success for Brooks when he needed it most… yet it is given only minimal airtime here.

On the other hand The producers And Blowing saddles receive a lot of attention. For The producersthe role of Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) was originally intended for Dustin Hoffman, but it went to The graduate coincidentally next to Anne Bancroft. Although the film was largely critically panned, Peter Sellers took out full newspaper advertisements praising the film… which has since received widespread acclaim.

In Blowing saddlesBrooks tackled racism with Bart (Cleavon Little), a black railroad worker who becomes sheriff. The use of the N-word was abundant in the screenplay, co-written with Andrew Bergman, and provides plenty of commentary from reflections from 2025. Brooks remains unapologetic, using comedy to spotlight 1970s society.

“It’s your fault there are so many N-words in this movie…racial prejudice is the driving force behind this movie,” he suggests.

Much is also made of Brooks’ vision of breaking the fourth wall throughout the film, with cameras blatantly emerging from Hollywood sound stages and the studio…

“Let’s do everything we weren’t supposed to do… all bets are off….” –Mel Brooks.

Part II will likely document his other successes Young Frankenstein, silent movie (a personal favorite), History of the World, Part One, High Anxiety, To Be or Not To Be, Space Balls, Robin Hood: Men in Tights and more.

At over three hours, this is one for enthusiasts, and perhaps a shorter running time could have reached a wider audience?

But it is lovingly told, and long overdue, as Brooks remains a genius with a rare EGOT award (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award). It is indeed special to see his memories on screen in this chapter of his life.

It would also be remiss not to mention the recording of the late Rob Reiner, Carl’s son, who remembers Brooks as a family friend who dropped by when Rob was just four years old.

Even then, Mel was doing comedy, without cameras in sight. A born entertainer.

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man premieres Friday, January 23 on HBO Max.