Keillor suffers stroke Sep 10, 2009
Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, rocker Bruce Springsteen, actor Robert De Niro, comic genius Mel Brooks, and opera singer Grace Bumbry will be feted Dec. 6 at the 32d Kennedy Center Honors Gala. The Kennedy Center Honors recognize performing artists for their contributions to American culture. (Boston Globe)
A game of adjustments Sep 4, 2009
As Mel Brooks said, "It's good to be the king!" (History of the World Part I-decent old school rental at your favorite video outlet. . (Cincinnati Sports -- Rivals.com)
'Hubby' opts to defend himself Aug 27, 2009
Turns out it was none other than Mel Brooks. At the dinner, he had the other guests practically rolling on the floor in laughter, thus giving me a new respect for the program. (Port Lavaca Wave, TX)
No. 1 Gators make preseason AP poll history Aug 23, 2009
" But as Mel Brooks said, "It's good to be the king. " Who's right? In the BCS era, The Bard gets the nod: The AP preseason No. 1 has ended the season ranked No. 1 only twice since 1998. Season Final No. 1 AP preseason rank 2008 Florida 5 2007 LSU 2 2006 Florida 6 2005 Texas 2 2004 USC 1 2003 USC 8 2002 Ohio St. 13 2001 Miami, Fla. 2 2000 Oklahoma 19 1999 Florida St. 1 1998 Tennessee 10 "I'd say in the passing game he can certainly improve some things," Meyer said. "Leadership-wise he used to... (ABC News)
Funk's comic relief for aches and pains Aug 22, 2009
At the Jeld-Wen Tradition, where Funk is the defending champion, he jokingly denied his gait - referencing the late comic Marty Feldman's portrayal of the hunchback Igor in Mel Brooks' classic comedy. "I don't have a limp! Everybody says that," he smiled. (MSNBC -- Sports)
Robin Hood in Hollywood Aug 11, 2009
The Costner version, and many other elements of the legend, were mercilessly sent-up in 1993 by the master of spoofs Mel Brooks in Robin Hood: Men in Tights. But since then, the story has lain mostly dormant. (Suite101.com)
Daily guide to television and radio Aug 8, 2009
Mel Brooks frenzied homage to Hitchcock. PG (1978). (Boston Globe)
Turner Classic Movies to Launch A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES, New Series of One-Hour Specials Focusing on Film Genres Aug 6, 2009
Series from DreamWorks Television to Kick-Off in October With A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES: THE SUSPENSEFUL WORLD OF THRILLERS, Followed by a Month-Long Festival Featuring Classic Thrillers Thrillers Special to Include Interviews with Ken Follett, Diablo Cody, Kenneth Branagh, Mel Brooks, Martin Landau and Many More ... The special will feature interviews with such figures as TCM host Robert Osborne; Ken Follett, author of Eye of the Needle; Bryan Singer, writer and director of The Usual Suspects and... (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will honor Mel Brooks Jul 22, 2009
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will pay tribute to funny man Mel Brooks on Friday ... July 22, 2009 It all started on Henry Street in Brooklyn for Mel Brooks. (Multichannel News)
If Life Was Like a Broadway Musical Jul 21, 2009
Mackey, whose Broadway credits range from being the assistant director of The Boy from Oz to Mel Brooks assistant on The Producers, started calling in favors from entertainment contacts and formed a non-profit group to raise money for the show. All the dancers volunteered their time. (CBS News)
Daily TV guide Jul 10, 2009
Mel Brooks s send-up of Hollywood Westerns. Cleavon Little. (Boston Globe)
Roundup: Celebs Bid Farewell to MJ Jul 8, 2009
" - Jim to Sheriff Bart in Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles by brianbwb-2009 July 7, 2009 8:54 PM PDT In his day, Don Rickles was quite entertaining, albeit on a different level. Anyone who can bring laughter to a generally non-funny existence is to be commended. As for Britney and Lindsay, I had a few laughs because of them too, so let us not totally trash them, ok? I mean there are worse ways to make a living, look at Bush. We could have laughed at him quite a bit, had the body count been zero. by... (CBS News)
Showtime for Hitler Jul 5, 2009
The Producers, which started life as a cult late- '60s film, became a Broadway musical in 2001 and is about to be a film (of the musical) again, bears the unmistakable stamp of Mel Brooks, Hollywood and Broadways king of schtick ... Indeed, The Producers' subtitle, carefully observed in all its promotional material, is "The new Mel Brooks musical" ... "I opened the door, ready to see this legend. Instead of shaking hands, his arms went up in the air, he launched into a song from the show, That... (The Age, Australia -- Features)
* [ART JOURNAL] The outsider Jul 1, 2009
Heres a good art-world quiz question, one that could stump many an astute insider: What do Sol LeWitt, Sonic Youth, Dean Martin, Mel Brooks, Merle Haggard, Hudson River School painting and mid-century New Jersey tract housing have in common ... Though many critics through the years have complained that Grahams work can be hard to love and too dryly pedagogical, he said he sees himself as a Jewish comedian working firmly in the tradition of Jewish comedy greats like Mel Brooks and Andy... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of L.A., Lights Up the Stage With 'Creature from The Black Lagoon - A Raging Rockin' Show,' A Broadway-Level Contemporary, Musical Adaptation of Universal's Cult Horror Film Jul 1, 2009
"Creature from the Black Lagoon - A Raging Rockin' Show" is being realized for the stage by Universal Creative and an award-winning theatrical production team drawing from the best of Broadway that includes, Tony Award-nominated Director and Choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett, whose credits include Footloose, starring Kevin Bacon, Bewitched, starring Nicole Kidman and Broadway's "Swing!"; Scenic Designer James Youmans, whose credits include Broadway's "West Side Story" and "Gypsy," starring... (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Mel Brooks Wants To Make 2000 Year Old Man Jun 29, 2009
MEL Brooks (above) and Carl Reiner are planning to resurrect the 2000 Year Old Man. The comedy routine, created in 1961, features Reiner, now 87, interviewing Brooks, who turned 83 yesterday, kvetching through the ages. (New York Post -- Gossip)
Today in History Jun 28, 2009
Comedian-movie director Mel Brooks is 83. Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich. (Yahoo News)
Celebrity birthdays for the week of June 28-July 4 Jun 25, 2009
June 28: Comedian-director Mel Brooks is 83. Comedian John Byner is 72. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
Funny ladies Jun 23, 2009
Other career highlights: A trio of Mel Brooks film comedies as Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein (1974), Nurse Diesel in High Anxiety(1977) and Madame Defarge in History of the World: Part 1 (1981); Ida, the Slavic granny on Malcolm in the Middle (2001-06); made it to the sixth round on Dancing With the Stars in 2008. Pet causes: Posed in a lettuce gown for a pro-vegetarian PETA poster this year; was Timmy's mom on TV's Lassie in the '50s. (USA Today)
This week's DVD releases (June 21) Jun 21, 2009
95; available now) SPACEBALLS (1987) The power of the Force - er, Schwartz - is twice as strong on Blu-ray for Mel Brooks s Star Wars riff. (MGM, $29. (Boston Globe)
Local writer gets promoted from 'The Office' to the big screen with the comedy 'Year One' Jun 20, 2009
Year One showcases the manic star power of Jack Black and features Mel Brooks-worthy scenes in which Black and fellow cave dweller Michael Cera stumble upon such Old Testament figures as Abraham and Isaac ... Ramis came up with the concept of Year One when he was in college and heard Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner doing The 2000 Year Old Man. (Boston Globe)
'Year One' Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know Jun 20, 2009
To pen the script, Ramis enlisted two writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg who work on one of the best comedies on TV today: "The Office." As , the references for the film skewed less toward the Old Testament and more toward comedy greats like Mel Brooks and Monty Python. "It's kind of like 'The Meaning of Life' or 'Life of Brian' a funny look at biblical tales," Black told us. (VHI.com -- Music News)
"Year One" Jun 19, 2009
Either way, there's nothing in "Year One" that's even half as funny as Carl Gottlieb's rapturously silly 1981 "Caveman" or Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner's genius "2000-Year-Old Man" (which Ramis has cited as an influence). "Year One" sets prehistoric comedy back at least 20 years. (Salon)
Allen's film, 'Whatever Works,' ideal for David Jun 17, 2009
On "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Larry David's alter ego has realized two fantasies: starring in a Mel Brooks production (as Max Bialystock in "The Producers") and acting in a Martin Scorsese film (as a Jewish gangster). Now, like a "Curb" story line come to life, David stars in Woody Allen's latest film, "Whatever Works.". (Erie Times-News, PA)
Preserving The Sounds Of The Century Jun 16, 2009
" The selections for 2008 bring the total number of recordings in the registry to 275. Additions to the registry also feature notable performances by The Who, the trumpeter Oran "Hot Lips" Page, the Andrews Sisters, Ray Bolger, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, and George Jones. For Future Generations The Library of Congress and its are required by law to identify and preserve the best existing versions of recordings on the Registry, to be stored at the Library's Packard Campus for Audio Visual... (CBS News)
Land Of The Lost Jun 16, 2009
Spoof is perhaps the laziest form of comedy anyway, unless in the hands of a master such as Mel Brooks. It's based simply on the audience recognising what's being parodied: the bond of shared demography, as in "I saw that show too!". (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Europe.view: Laughing matters May 22, 2009
Berliners are laughing uproariously at Mel Brooks s play The Producers (pictured), which has finally opened in a German-language production in Berlin. It satirises New York theatre-land, telling the story of two producers who want to stage a failure for tax reasons; they put on the grotesque Springtime for Hitler , only to find it becomes a raging success. (The Economist)
Whats in store for next years Oscars? May 21, 2009
A best-picture trophy for producer Mel Brooks would make a nice companion bookend for his screenplay Oscar on the 1968 original. Walk the Line Joaquin Phoenix is the man in black, Johnny Cash, with Reese Witherspoon as wife June Carter. (MSNBC -- Academy Awards)
Mark your calendar May 21, 2009
Local Search Site Search. THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING. (Boston Globe)
Tyrants In Therapy: Veteran L.A. Based Duo Brings Their Gleefully Defiant "Punk Cabaret" Vibe to a New Generation with 'High Class Trash' May 14, 2009
A Wickedly Witty, Socially Conscious Cross Between The Eurythmics and Mel Brooks, Tyrants In Therapy Have Been Public Access TV (and now YouTube) Sensations With Their Half Hour Comedy Variety Series Meet The Tyrants In Therapy ... LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tony Award winning musical satirist and comic legend Mel Brooks may have created the ultimate spoof on the Fuhrer with Springtime For Hitler. (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Blazing Saddles actor dies at 81 May 7, 2009
Korman, who appeared in a number of other Mel Brooks films, was also known for co-starring in US TV classic The Carol Burnett Show. He died in Los Angeles on Thursday after suffering complications from the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm four months ago, his family said. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
'The Producers' arrives in Germany May 7, 2009
" "The Producers" began as a film by Jewish-American comedian Mel Brooks in 1968 which he helped adapt into a stage musical in 2001. The plot revolves around two Jewish con artists on Broadway who figure that with a scam, they can make more money staging a flop musical than a hit so they set out to develop the worst play of all time. But the result, "Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp With Eva and Adolf at Berchtesgaden", is taken for a brilliant satire by the New York theatre crowd and the... (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
* Actor, comedian, chef Dom DeLuise passes away at 75 May 7, 2009
Writer, director and actor Mel Brooks particularly admired DeLuises talent for offbeat comedy and cast him in several films, including The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Silent Movie and History of the World Part I. DeLuise was also the voice of Pizza the Hutt in Brooks Star Wars parody, Spaceballs. Dom DeLuise was a big man in every way, Brooks said in a statement on Tuesday. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Sports)
Tributes paid to comedian DeLuise May 7, 2009
Dom DeLuise appeared in numerous successful Mel Brooks comedies. Mel Brooks and Burt Reynolds are among those who have paid tribute to actor and comedian Dom DeLuise, who has died in Los Angeles at the age of 75 ... DeLuise is best known for his roles in such Mel Brooks comedies as Blazing Saddles, Silent Movie and History of the World: Part I.. (BBC News)
The Parrots And People Paradox May 7, 2009
I saw him for the first time in Mel Brooks' "Silent Movie" (my first date, too) and was smitten. What a lovely man, with a big heart. (CBS News)
Comedy actor DeLuise dies May 6, 2009
DeLuise appeared in several successful Mel Brooks comedies ... DeLuise is best known for his performances in Mel Brooks' successful comic films, playing film director Buddy Bizarre in Blazing Saddles and Roman emperor Nero in History of the World: Part I.. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
'Billy Elliot' ties 'Producers' record with 15 Tony nominations May 6, 2009
By Elysa Gardner, USA TODAY NEW YORK Look out, Mel Brooks Billy Elliot has your number. AND THE NOMINEES ARE. (USA Today -- Life)
Changing Times: 'Springtime For Hitler'_ In Berlin Apr 28, 2009
Older people in the audience may "quarrel with the whole idea of having fun with what they thought was the most serious part of their lives," Mel Brooks, the musical's co-author, told The Associated Press. But for people aged 35 or 40, "I don't think there's any problem at all. ...They're hip, they're bright, and Berlin has always been a great theater town. They've always broken ground.". (CBS News -- World)
Actress Bea Arthur, Star of TV's Golden Girls, Dies at 86 Apr 28, 2009
Among the movies: "That Kind of Woman" (1959), "Lovers and Other Strangers" (1970), Mel Brooks' "The History of the World: Part I" (1981), "For Better or Worse" (1995). The plays included Woody Allen's "The Floating Light Bulb" and "The Bermuda Avenue Triangle," written by and costarring Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna. (Fox News)
A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD Apr 11, 2009
Shows include Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" (Oct. 13-25); "Chicago" (Jan. (Erie Times-News, PA)
A party with Marty, and a trip down memory lane Apr 1, 2009
In New York, Jiminy floored onstage guest Mel Brooks by blurting, apropos of nothing, What is your beef with Nazis. He does admit to having a hard time keeping up with current comedy. (Globe and Mail)
PREMIERE: 'Love' was a funny thing at 'Man' debut Mar 19, 2009
Saturday Night Live's Samberg shared his own male-bonding techniques, perfected in summer camp: "I wouldn't know anybody and I'd have to casually pick up on a dude to hang out with, usually whoever was the most nerdy. I would look at a guy and ask, 'What are the odds he spent most of the last five years watching Mel Brooks and Monty Python?' If the answer was close to yes, I would give it a shot.". Mather Zickel (the rehabbing best man from Rachel Getting Married), plays one of Rudd's man-dates... (USA Today -- Life)
Paul Rudd, no longer a sidekick, stars in a 'bromance' Mar 16, 2009
Growing up, he was a fan of Steve Martin, Mel Brooks and George Carlin. But he decided to pursue classical theater at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. (International Herald Tribune)
Are The Peasants Truly Revolting? Feb 28, 2009
During the French Revolution portion of Mel Brooks epic comedy History of the World, Pt. I , Count de Money no, no you fool, Count de Monet de-Mon-A approached King Louis XVI to inform him of an against the crown. It is said that the people are revolting the Count, (portrayed brilliantly by the late Harvey Korman), tells him. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Sports)
Robin Hood Republicanism? Feb 27, 2009
The idea that the GOP's Nottingham Sheriffs have genuinely become Robin Hoods might be plausible in a burlesque subtitled "Men in Tights" - but this is real life, not a Mel Brooks spoof. Then again, politics is theater of the absurd, featuring everything from a draft dodger posing as a "Top Gun" pilot to self-proclaimed "fiscal conservatives" repeatedly voting for deficit-expanding tax breaks. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Opinion)
Wide world of theatre Feb 19, 2009
For something completely different, there's Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. Based on the maestro's own cult comedy classic, this zany song and dance version recreates all of the original's film highlights, including the Monster tapping his way through "Puttin' on the Ritz.". (Toronto Star)
It's Friday ... again Feb 13, 2009
SHOWCASE :: Erie's Entertainment Web Site. Music as a Weapon tour with Disturbed, Killswitch Engage, Chimaira, Lacuna Coil to visit Tullio Arena on April 20; tickets on sale Feb. 14. (Erie Times-News, PA)
Army Archerd Feb 10, 2009
The return to favor couldn't have come at a better moment-she had been assured to costar in "Young Frankenstein" on B'way but after her tryout, Mel Brooks decided against her. He reminded, "I don't want her dropping dead on stage -- eight shows a week!" he allowed to me. (Variety)
