Mel Brooks Celebrates 90th Birthday


The great Mel Brooks turns 90 on Tuesday. A WTTW11 crew met him in February 2001 when this genuine genius of entertainment was just a babe at 74 years old.

The occasion was a press junket at the Oriental Theatre in Chicago to promote the pre-Broadway tryout of the musical version of “The Producers.”

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Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick were also at the junket, but the actors portraying the characters Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom looked like they wanted to be somewhere else. They weren’t rude, they just seemed exhausted. They didn’t have nearly as much energy as the man born Melvin James Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York on June 28, 1926.

(Angela George / Wikimedia Commons)(Angela George / Wikimedia Commons)

Brooks could give a master class to other celebrities on how to handle the media. He looked you in the eye and listened to what you said, made you laugh, sang songs and sent every reporter home with a quip or an anecdote that was theirs alone. His salesmanship was nearly as impressive as his comedy.

We were there to do a story for WTTW’s “Artbeat Chicago” program, and our host that day was the Chicago actor and theater director Halena Kays (The Hypocrites, Barrel of Monkeys).

As the interview wound down, Brooks had a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He then proceeded to do an improvised bit about Kays’ punk-rock haircut. It was an inspired blend of Borscht Belt schtick and Chicago improv – and the best free publicity Milio’s Hair Salon ever received. The moment comes near the end of the video. Don’t miss it.

So happy birthday, Mr. Brooks and best wishes for many more years of memorable moments. But please – do something about that hair.

Note: Video clips courtesy of Warner Bros. (“Blazing Saddles”) and Embassy Pictures (“The Producers”).


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