All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks
 |
| All About Me! Photo of book cover taken by Kate Dorsey |
When
I put All About Me! on the library reserve list, it was the behind the
scenes of the films Mr. Brooks has created I wanted to know about. I understood
what I was reserving was an autobiography and there would be other elements to
the book besides the films. What I didn’t expect was there would be so many
other elements. Some I found interesting and read the entire chapter. Others
did not keep my attention and I ended up skimming. At first, I was going to
skip these chapters altogether, until I discovered there were small stories in
them I wanted to read about. One being Mr. Brooks’s relationship with Cary
Grant. That was a story I did not want to miss.
The
book starts, understandably, with Mr. Brooks’s childhood in Brooklyn, where he
went by his birth name of Melvin “Mel” Kaminsky. He was raised by a single
mother after the death of his father, alongside his three older brothers. Through
his early life, Mr. Brooks developed a love of movies and comedy. Two things he
was not able to pursue professionally immediately after high school.
Mr.
Brooks’s high school career ended differently than most people’s. He was
granted early graduation in exchange for military training. After the training,
Mr. Brooks went with the Army to Europe to fight in World War II. When he
returned to the United States, his comedy career began.
Early
on Mr. Brooks developed two big partnerships which created two big career
moves. First with Sid Caesar, then with Carl Reiner. Both of these men became
life-long friends, even after their comedy partnerships ended.
After
Mr. Brooks’s time with Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner, he moved onto scripted TV
with the show Get Smart. Then it was onto the movies, which is where my
interest in the story really kicked in.
The
Producers was Mr. Brooks’s first film. I have seen it a couple times;
although when I hear the title, I think of the stage musical. Still, I found
how the movie came together fascinating. Partly because I like Gene Wilder who
was one of the stars.
After
The Producers came The Twelve Chairs and Blazing Saddles. Then
Young Frankenstein, which was the film I really wanted to read about.
Young
Frankenstein is a film that is always fun to watch. Learning about how the
film was made from the start, and how the different cast members came to be
part of it, I really enjoyed. I was not surprised to learn everyone had a hard
time keeping a straight face during filming; which seems to happen frequently
on a Mel Brooks set. It is a funny film.
More
films are covered through the rest of the book. It also talked about Mr.
Brooks’s production company, Brooksfilms. It is a production company he created
so he could do other types of films without people immediately thinking the
film would be a comedy. The company has produced films such as The Elephant
Man and The Fly.
Near
the end there is a big chapter on adapting The Producers for the stage. The
reason this chapter sticks out for me is because the stage version of The
Producers is very personal to me. My mom and I wanted to see it during the
preview run in Chicago, but something (I’m not sure what after all this time;
it could have been a few things) kept us from doing so. I have seen the filmed
version of the stage musical, but it is not the same. That is why forever The
Producers will remain a bittersweet memory.
 |
| And the Winner is ... Artwork by Kate Dorsey |
Throughout
the entire book, through all his adventures, Mr. Brooks talks about the people
he has collected into his life. There are numerous people he has worked with
repeatedly, and more often than not, they become friends for life. Some of
those friends he meets every week for lunch, and he’s still adding more.
Mr.
Brooks is well into his nineties without any sign of stopping. The only time he
seemed even close to doing so was when his wife of forty years, Anne Bancroft,
died in 2005. Thankfully, he had good friends and family to help him through
that time.
I
am curious to see what Mr. Brooks is going to do next. I have read about something
involving a past film being in the works, but I do not know when that will come
out. Since I have enjoyed so much of Mr. Brooks’s other work, I will keep my
eyes out for it.
Comments