Mel Brooks at the Los Angeles premiere of HBO Documentary Films’ “Mel Brooks: 99 Year Old Man!” held at the Tedd Mann Theater at The Academy Museum on January 20, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chad Salvador/Variety via Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks, the comedy genius behind such classic films as Young Frankenstein, The Producers, Spaceballs and Blazing Saddles, turned 100 on Sunday.
Born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, Brooks summed up his place in life in director Judd Apatow’s documentary mini-series Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! by simply saying, “I was born to make people laugh. So, I do that.”
Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man was released on HBO Max in late January, and five months later, the writer, director, producer and actor has officially made the 99-year-old title obsolete.
Brooks began his screen career as an uncredited writer on the NBC sketch comedy series The Admiral Broadway Revue in 1949, which featured comedy greats Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. The show led to his officially credited work as a writer from 1950 to 1954 on the NBC sketch-comedy classic Your Show of Shows, featuring Caesar, Coca and Carl Reiner.
In 1965, Brooks, along with Buck Henry created the legendary spy spoof Get Smart! starring Don Adams, which ran for five seasons through 1970. Amid the series’ success, Brooks wrote and directed the 1967 showbiz satire The Producers, starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder.
Brooks, of course, reteamed with Wilder in 1974 for two films — as the co-writer and director of the Western satire Blazing Saddles and horror spoof Young Frankenstein — and also wrote and directed the classic hits Silent Movie (1976), High Anxiety (1977), History of the World: Part I (1981), Spaceballs (1987), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) and Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995).
The filmmaker-actor has not only kept busy in the past 20 years in front of and behind the camera — he was the narrator of the 2023 Hulu series History of the World: Part II — he’ll reprise his roles of Yogurt and President Skroob in Spaceballs: The New One, which is set for a 2027 releas. Brooks is also producing the upcoming Young Frankenstein prequel series Younger Frankenstein.
To celebrate Brooks’ 100th birthday, here’s a look back at the showbiz legend’s life and career in pictures.
1950s
YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS — Pictured: (l-r) , Writers Joseph Stein, Mel Brooks, Imogene Coca, Sid Caesar, Mel Tolkin in 1951 — (Photo by: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
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From 1950 to 1954, Brooks was a writer on the NBC sketch-comedy series Your Show of Shows, where he joined the likes of Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca and Carl Reiner.
Promotional portrait of American comedians Sid Caesar (left) and Mel Brooks in ‘The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, and Howard Morris Special,’ which was originally broadcast on April 5, 1967. The special was a reunion of cast members from ‘Your Show Of Shows.’ (Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
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1960s
LOS ANGELES – JULY 13: Pictured from left are comedians Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. July 13, 1962. Hollywood, CA. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks and his longtime friend and colleague Carl Reiner on CBS Radio in 1962.
THE ANDY WILLIAMS SHOW — Episode 11/27/1966 — Pictured: (l-r) Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks performing their “2000 Year Old Man” skit — Photo by: Gerald Smith/NBCU Photo Bank
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Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks performing their famous 2000 Year Old Man skit on The Andy Williams Show in 1966.
Gene Wilder, director Mel Brooks, William Hickey, and Zero Mostel in the bar on the set of the film ‘The Producers’, 1967. (Photo by Embassy Pictures/Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks on the set of his 1967 film The Producers with Gene Wilder, William Hickey and Zero Mostel.
41ST ACADEMY AWARDS – Airdate: April 14, 1969. (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images) MEL BROOKS, WINNER BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY FOR ‘THE PRODUCERS’
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Mel Brooks holding his Best Original Screenplay Oscar, which he won for writing The Producers. Brooks was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Young Frankenstein and Best Original Song (along with John Morris) for the title song for Blazing Saddles. Brooks was also awarded an honorary Oscar in 2024 “For his comedic brilliance, producing acumen and expansive body of work.”
Anne Bancroft and husband Mel Brooks during “The Little Foxes” Broadway Opening Night at Vivian Beamont Theater in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft, appearing here in 1967, where married in 1964 and had one child together. Brooks also had three children with his first wife, Florence Baum, before they divorced in 1962.
Brooks and Bancroft were married until the Oscar-winning actress died of cancer in 2005 at age 73.
1970s
Actors Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman and Teri Garr in a scene from the movie ‘Young Frankenstein’, 1974. (Photo by Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks wrote and directed 1974’s Young Frankenstein, starring Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Madeline Khan, Teri Garr and Peter Boyle.
Actor Gene Wilder (right) puts his arm around the shoulder of Cleavon Little in a still from the film, ‘Blazing Saddles,’ directed by Mel Brooks, 1974. (Photo by Warner Bros./Courtesy of Getty Images)
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Also in 1974, Brooks wrote and directed Blazing Saddles, starring Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Madeline Khan, Harvey Korman, Slim Pickens and Alex Karras.
Actor Mel Brooks (left) sits on the floor beside Harvey Korman as Cleavon Little kneels atop a desk, in a still from the film, ‘Blazing Saddles,’ directed by Mel Brooks, 1974. (Photo by Warner Bros./Courtesy of Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks also starred in Blazing Saddles. In the photo above he is pictured with Cleavon Little and Harvey Korman.
CIRCA 1976: Actors Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman and Mel Brooks on set of the movie “Silent Movie ” circa 1976. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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In additon to co-writing and directing Silent Movie (1976), Mel Brooks played Mel Fun in the comedy classic. He is pictured above in a scene from the movie with Dom DeLuise and Marty Feldman.
Mel Brooks and Madeline Kahn looking up in terror in a scene from the film ‘High Anxiety’, 1977. (Photo by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks co-wrote, directed and co-starred alongside Madeline Khan, Cloris Leachman and Harvey Korman in 1977’s High Anxiety, which spoofs the Alfred Hitchcock thrillers Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds and Spellbound, among other films.
1980s
Mel Brooks, US factor, film director and comedian, brandishing a sword and dressed in a style of a Roman centurion in a publicity portrait issued for the film, ‘History of the World, Part I’, 1981. The comedy, directed by Brooks who also starred in five roles: ‘Moses’, ‘Comicus’, ‘Torquemada’, ‘Jacques’, and Louis XVI’. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks also wrote, directed and starred in five roles in the 1981 comedy History of the World: Part I. He played Moses, Comicus, Torquemada, Jacques and Louis XVI.
Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks in publicity portrait for the film ‘To Be Or Not To Be’, 1983. (Photo by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
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Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks starred in director Alan Johnson’s period drama farce To Be or Not to Be in 1983.
Mel Brooks’ spoofed Star Wars in 1987’s Spaceballs, where he starred as Yogurt and President Skroob opposite Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga, Rick Moranis and John Candy. Brooks also voiced the characters for Spaceballs: The Animated Series from 2008-2009 and reprise them once again for the Spaceballs: The New One in 2027.
1990s
Mel Brooks, Cary Elwes and Amy Yasbeck celebrate in a scene from the film ‘Robin Hood: Men In Tights’, 1993. (Photo by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks co-wrote, directed and starred opposite Cary Elwes and Amy Yasbeck in the swashbuckling spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993.
Mel Brooks holding cross in a scene from the film ‘Dracula: Dead And Loving It’, 1995. (Photo by Castle Rock/Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks co-wrote, directed and starred as Professor Van Helsing in the 1995 vampire parody Dracula: Dead and Loving It, starring Leslie Nielsen as the Count Dracula.
MAD ABOUT YOU — “The Penis” Episode 14 — Pictured: (l-r) Paul Reiser as Paul Buchman, Helen Hunt as Jamie Stemple Buchman, Mel Brooks as Uncle Phil, Lawrence Mandley as Leon, unknown, Eric Allan Kramer as Skippy — Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank
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Mel Brooks played the recurring role of Uncle Phil on Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt’s hit sitcom Mad About You in four episodes from 1996 to 1999. The role earned Brooks three consecutive Outstanding Guest Actor Emmys at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Comedian Mel Brooks points to his Emmy awardat the 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards 13 Sept at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Brooks won his Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Uncle Phil in “Mad About You”. . AFP PHOTO Kim KULISH/mn (Photo credit should read KIM KULISH/AFP via Getty Images)
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2000s
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES: Mel Brooks, the creator of the Producers, sticks his tongue out to photogrpahers as he holds his award during the 2001 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York 03 June, 2001. The Producers won 12 Tony Awards. AFP PHOTO/Timothy A. Clary (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks’s Broadway musical version of The Producers, starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, won 12 Tonys at the 2001 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks during Opening Night of “The Producers” at Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)
FilmMagic
Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks attending the opening night of The Producers in Hollywood. The West Coast production of the musical starred Jason Alexander and Martin Short.
WASHINGTON – DECEMBER 06: Kennedy Center Honoree, Mel Brooks attends the 32nd Kennedy Center Honors at Kennedy Center Hall of States on December 6, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
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Mel Brooks was honored for his career achievements at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009.
2010s
Max Brooks, honoree Mel Brooks, host of TCM Robert Osborne, actor Carl Reiner, President, CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Leron Gubler and guests (L) attend The Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony honoring Mel Brooks on April 23, 2010 in Hollywood, California. 19825_008_JS_0277.JPG
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Mel Brooks was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010, with his longtime friend and colleague, Carl Reiner, among those in attendance.
HOLLYWOOD, CA – JUNE 06: Honoree Mel Brooks speaks onstage during AFI’s 41st Life Achievement Award Tribute to Mel Brooks at Dolby Theatre on June 6, 2013 in Hollywood, California. 23647_002_MB_2523.JPG (Photo by Michael Buckner/WireImage)
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Mel Brooks was honored with a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 2013.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – APRIL 29: (L-R) Judd Apatow, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks participate in the Comedy Central #ComedyFest Kick-Off with Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner and Judd Apatow at The Paley Center for Media on April 29, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Viacom)
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In 2013, Mel Brooks joined Judd Apatow and Carl Reiner at the Comedy Central #ComedyFest Kick-Off to celebrate Reiner’s book I Remember Me.
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 12: Mel Brooks with his BAFTA Fellowship award at the 70th EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) at Royal Albert Hall on February 12, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)
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In 2017, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts honored Mel Brooks with a BAFTA Fellowship Award.
2020s
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 27: (L-R) Wanda Sykes, Nick Kroll, Mel Brooks and Ike Barinholtz attend the Los Angeles Premiere Event for Hulu’s “History of the World, Part II” at Hollywood Legion Theater on February 27, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
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In 2023, Mel Brooks attended the red carpet premiere of the Hulu mini-series History of the World: Part II along with co-stars Wanda Sykes, Nick Kroll and Ike Barinholtz. Brooks narrated all eight episodes of the series.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 09: Mel Brooks accepts an honorary Oscar onstage during the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ 14th Annual Governors Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom on January 09, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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Mel Brooks was awarded an honorary Oscar at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ 14th Annual Governors Awards in 2024.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 20: (L-R) Mel Brooks and Judd Apatow attend the LA premiere of “Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!” at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on January 20, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for HBO)
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In January, Mel Brooks attended the red carpet premiere of the HBO Max miniseries Mel Brooks: 99 Year Old Man! with director Judd Apatow.
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