Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks is truly an original, a one of a kind, and one of the few entertainers to win an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy. I had the opportunity to talk with him at length on March 27, 1978. He was promoting an album that featured both the soundtrack to his latest film High Anxiety and musical highlights from his earlier movies billed as his “Greatest Hits.”

What a night – spending the evening as the straight man with the original “Two Thousand Year Old Man”, creator of Get Smart and the director/writer of Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles and so many more. Of course we talked about The Producers and it’s interesting to hear what he thought the future of it might be, more than two decades before it became one of the most successful Broadway shows ever. As the interview began, it was obvious he had gotten some background information on me that still makes me (and my Mom) smile.