Stiles, Norman, 365, 366
Stiller, Jerry, 304, 306
St. James Theatre, N.Y., 523, 534
Stoker, Bram, 505
Stoltz, Eric, 466
Stone, Harvey, 42, 94
Stone, Peter, 304
Stoppard, Tom, 215
Strasberg, Lee, 184
Straw Hat Revue, The (Liebman/Tamiment show), 54
Strickfaden, Kenneth, 345
Striscia la Notizia (TV show), 512–13
Stroman, Susan, 520–21, 522, 526, 530, 532, 533, 536, 537, 541, 542, 550
Strouse, Charles, 149–50, 153, 165, 166, 173, 179, 184, 186, 188, 189, 193, 194, 198, 244, 365, 422
Stulberg, Gordon, 338, 368
Sturges, Preston, 388, 486, 490, 528
Styne, Jule, 141
Subject Was Roses, The (film), 289
Sullivan, Ed, 51
Sullivan’s Travels (film), 388, 486, 490
Summer of ’42 (Raucher), 114
Summer World, A (Kanfer), 131
Sunday in New York (film), 213; MB ad spots for, 213–14
Susann, Jacqueline, 295
Susskind, David, 167–68, 178, 196, 198, 201, 220, 222, 223, 225, 236, 240, 241, 295, 303; Kelly and, 231, 233, 234, 251
Swerdlow, Ezra, 473
Talent Associates, 198, 201–2, 210, 231; Get Smart, 220–23, 225, 227, 229–31, 236–39, 240, 241; MB projects proposed, 303–4; “Triplets,” 225, 227, 240–41, 248
Tambor, Jeffrey, 488
Tamiment resort, 54, 55, 57, 61, 72
Taps, Jonie, 102, 105
Tars and Spars (variety show), 48, 52, 53
Tati, Jacques, 347
Taubman, Howard, 195, 200
Taxi Driver (film), 32
Taylor, Frances, 375
Taylor, Renée, 260, 304, 440
Taylor, Robert Lewis, 173
Taylor, Rod, 213
TCL Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles, 544
Teachout, Terry, 540
10 Rillington Place (film), 436
Tessari, Duccio, 213
Texaco Star Theater (TV show), 69, 71, 167, 177
That Girl (TV show), 70
That Was the Week That Was (TV show), 222
There Should Have Been Castles (Raucher), 80–81, 90
Turning Point, The (film), 390
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (film), 325
This, Too, Shall Pass (play), 47
This Is Spinal Tap (film), 414
Thomas, Dylan, 466, 467
Thomas, Kevin, 460–61
Thomas, Marlo, 70, 365, 369
Thomashefsky, Boris, 10, 10n
Thompson, Kay (Kay Thompson project), 148–50, 153, 156, 157
Thousand Clowns, A (film), 261, 272
Three for the Show (film), 105–6
Threepenny Opera, The (musical), 196
Three Stooges, The, 11, 131
Thrill of It All, The (film), 204
Thurman, Uma, 532
Tiecholz, Tom, 524
Time: MB cover dumped, 415; on MB stock offering, 484; review of Silent Movie, 375; review of The Producers, 283
Time for Singing, A (musical), 262
Times of London, The, 147
Tinker, Grant, 229
Tito, Josip Broz, 282
To Be or Not to Be (film), 94, 445–62, 491; Bancroft and, 389, 445, 448, 451–57, 462, 463; billing for MB and Bancroft, 451; cast, 450–51, 450n; director, 446, 451–52; earnings, 462; editing, 456; gay character in, 448, 461; Hitler depicted in, 447–48; “Hitler Rap,” 461n; idea for and script, 389, 446–52; “Ladies,” 451; lawsuit, 449–50; MB and Bancroft promoting, 460, 462; as MB and Bancroft vehicle, 389, 451, 530; MB and Stadlen, 452–59, 538; MB as omnipresent, 451–59, 475; MB starring in, 445, 446, 447, 451; “Naughty Nazis,” 447; release of, 459; reviews, 459–62; soundtrack album, 461n; story credits, 449–50; writers, 446–50, 471
To Be or Not to Be (Lubitsch film, 1942), 389, 446–47, 448, 451, 452, 453
Tolkin, Mel, 23, 54–59, 74, 75, 114, 142, 167, 202, 419, 441n, 443, 547; Admiral Broadway Revue, 54–59; Caesar’s Hour, 112, 122, 124, 126, 137; Caesar’s parties and, 415–16; Caesar specials, 156, 159–60, 255–56; Dave King Show, 158; Jerry Lewis and, 151; as MB’s mentor and father figure, 64, 75, 107, 280; MB’s stealing from other writers and, 127; MB’s “towering” rages and, 78–79; Sid Caesar Invites You, 144–45, 146, 147, 148; “Triplets” and, 241; 2000 Year Old Man and, 161–63; Your Show of Shows, 54–59, 62–66, 68, 70, 72, 77–81, 84, 99–101–102, 125, 255–56
Tomlin, Lily, 352
Tonight Show, The (TV show), 42, 150, 234; MB and, 204–6, 241–42, 395, 476, 489
“Toot, Toot, Tootsie” (song), 13, 40
Top Banana (musical), 90, 92, 98, 141
Torch Song Trilogy (film), 464, 521
Tormé, Mel, 479
Torn, Rip, 245
Toumanova, Tamara, 110
Towering Inferno, The (film), 357
Towne, Robert, 389, 446
Toxton, Candy, 150
Tracey Ullman Show, The (TV show), 485, 511
Transylvania 6–5000 (film), 388, 487, 505
Trial of Billy Jack, The (film), 357
“Triplets” (TV pilot), 225, 227, 240–41, 248
Troublemaker, The (film), 222
Trumbull, Douglas, 338
Twelve Chairs, The (film), 280–83, 286–88, 290–93, 295–301, 301n, 310, 322, 335, 347, 356, 487, 543; cast and crew, 286–88; earnings, 299; editing and postproduction, 296; filming, 282, 287, 290–93; “Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst,” 288; MB as Tikon, 290–91; MB’s on-set behavior, 292; nomination for best script, 301; release of, 297; reviews, 297–98, 299
Twelve Chairs, The (Ilf and Petrov), 107, 280
20th Century-Fox, 243, 337, 338–39, 399, 428, 464; Brooksfilms Limited and, 470; Fatso and, 391; High Anxiety, 383; History of the World, Part I, 410, 412; last MB comedy for, 504; MB leaves, 470, 486; MB’s contract, 339, 368, 405–7; MB’s lunch group, 518; MB’s office, 359, 365, 367, 370, 429, 472; pass on “Robin Hood” drama, 436; pass on Solarbabies, 468, 470; Robin Hood: Men in Tights, 497, 503, 504; Silent Movie, 377; To Be or Not to Be, 445, 451, 462; Young Frankenstein, 338–39, 345, 348, 363
Two by Two (musical), 324
Two for the Seesaw (play), 184, 295
Two’s Company (musical), 98
2000 Year Old Man, The, 89, 114, 123, 178, 188, 205, 210, 234, 256, 302, 317, 408, 476; children’s book, 548; Fields and, 141, 158, 175–76; Hart gala performance, 161–63; Judaism and, 132; origins of, 14, 83; LP albums, 175–78, 181, 186, 317, 317n, 510–11; Reiner and, 83, 89, 114, 123, 141, 158, 175–78, 205, 210, 317, 317n, 510–11, 548
2001 (film), 289
Tynan, Kenneth, 55, 58, 77, 161, 215, 239, 248, 299, 301n, 325, 359, 384, 390, 415, 538n
Uger, Alan, 310, 312, 314–15, 318, 356
Ullman, Tracey, 498, 501
Ulysses (Joyce), 156, 249
Ulysses in Nighttown (play), 249n
Uncle Harry (play), 23–24
United Artists, 211, 213, 308
United Service Organizations (USO), 42
Universal Marion (U-M, UMC), 251, 282–83, 302
Universal Pictures, 241, 251, 322, 363, 379; The Elephant Man, 399–400; Frances, 432
Up the Down Staircase (film), 261
USA Today, 507
Ustinov, Peter, 289
Vagrant, The (film), 493–94
Vamp, The (musical), 115–16
Van Dyke, Dick, 165–66, 216
Vanity Fair magazine, 250, 268, 271
Van Patten, Dick, 366, 381, 474, 501, 535
Variety, 117, 173; on “All American”, 193, 195; on “Annie and the Hoods,” 353; on Blazing Saddles, 325, 346–47; on Blazing Saddles TV pilot, 339; on As Caesar Sees It, 202; on Caesar’s Hour, 122, 124; on The Elephant Man lawsuit, 427; on Fatso, 403; on High Anxiety, 383; on Les Visiteurs, 503; on MB, 179, 204, 256, 306, 323; on MB trailers and ad spots, 213, 214, 235
; on The Polly Bergen Show, 142; on The Producers film, 285, 286; on The Producers musical, 523; on Reiner, 66; review of “Annie,” 294; review of Get Smart, 236; review of NBC Caesar special, 155; review of The Comedians, 304; review of The Imogene Coca Show, 117; review of Your Show of Shows, 66, 70, 111; review of Your Show of Shows reunion, 255; reviews of MB’s works, 279, 299, 476, 477, 481; on Robin Hood: Men in Tights, 494; on Sid Caesar Invites You, 147; on Silent Movie, 375; on Spaceballs, 471; on To Be or Not to Be, 445–46; on Young Frankenstein, 337, 354, 356, 368
Victor, Ed, 548
Village Vanguard, N.Y., 185
Village Voice, The, 308; reviews, 284, 347, 376, 460, 487, 489, 507, 525
Violinist, The (animated short), 210
Viorst, Judith, 295
Virginia Military Institute, 36–37, 46–47
Vivian Beaumont Theater, 285
Vogel, Irving (“Speed”), 148, 150, 163–65, 166, 214
von Sydow, Max, 419
Voutsinas, Andréas, 259, 287–88
Wagner, Robin, 526
Walas, Chris, 466, 493
Wald, Jerry, 102–3, 104–5
“Walk This Way” by Aerosmith, 351n
Wallace, Mike, 178, 196, 545
Wallach, Ira, 118, 289
Wall Street Journal, The, 477, 523, 540
Walton, Brian, 500
Walzer, Irene, 468
Ward, Polly, 67
Warhol, Andy, 245
Warner, Jack L., 321–22
Warner Bros. Records, 317
Warner Bros. Pictures, 307, 308, 321–22; Blazing Saddles, 317, 333, 346; Blazing Saddles pilot, 339; The Prisoner of Second Avenue, 318; Young Frankenstein, 334
Warren, Lesley Ann, 488, 490
War Wagon, The (film), 243
Washington Post, The, 111, 195, 277, 354–55; reviews, 298, 376, 383, 412, 442, 460, 469, 476, 489, 502, 507, 525, 540–41
Wasserman, Lew, 251, 322
Water Mill, Southampton, N.Y., 519, 546
Wayne, John, 243
We, the People (TV show), 83
Weaver, Sylvester “Pat,” 54
Webb, Charles, 254
Weber, Steven, 506, 508
Webster, Tony, 101, 106, 112, 121, 122, 124, 137, 149, 151, 203
Weill, Kurt, 196
Weinstein, Bob, 520
Weinstein, Harvey, 520, 540
Weiskopf, Bob, 416
Weiss, Lou, 60
Welles, Orson, 409
We’re in the Money (Bergman), 308
West Side Story (musical), 216, 261
Whale, James, 11, 337, 345, 375
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (film), 207
What Makes Sammy Run? (Schulberg), 104
What’s Up, Doc? (film), 324
When Things Were Rotten (TV show), 365–67, 404, 436, 480, 481, 494, 495, 498
Where’s Poppa? (film), 301
Whitlock, Albert, 381
Wieseltier, Leon, 524
Wigan, Gareth, 395
Wild, Earl, 77–78, 113
Wilder, Billy, 172, 255, 528, 543
Wilder, Gene, 38, 245n, 260, 266, 305, 328, 329, 337, 338, 352, 360, 372, 380, 539, 547; Blazing Saddles, 316, 328–29, 334; breaks with MB, 368; Frito-Lay ads, 258; MB and, 212–13, 540; The Producers, 257, 259, 265–67, 270–71, 275, 279, 284, 288, 289; story credits, 367–68; as writer-director-star, 367–68; Young Frankenstein contract, 339–40, 367–68, 539; Young Frankenstein musical, 539–40; Young Frankenstein star and cowriter, 334–45, 348, 350–52, 354, 356–57, 367–68
Wilder, Thornton, 253
Wilk, Max, 118, 121
William Morris Agency, 54, 60, 118, 153, 185, 309, 338; Curtain Going Up!, 84; MB as client, 72, 85, 117, 121, 138–39, 141, 156; Texaco Star Theater, 69
Williams, Andy, 206, 216
Williams, Emlyn, 436
Williams, Kenneth, 191
Williams, Stephen, 469
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 2–3, 6, 9, 16, 17, 20, 29, 133
Willingham, Calder, 254
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (film), 328
Wilmington, Michael, 489
Wilson, Earl, 295, 351
Winter Garden, 193
Winters, Jonathan, 186
Winwood, Estelle, 258
Wolf, William, 375
Wolfe, Fred, 69
Wolf Man, The (film), 506
Wolfson, Louis, 251, 282, 302
Women’s Wear Daily, 375
Wonderful Town (film), 141
World of Henry Orient, The (film), 261
World War II, 29–30, 33, 34–45, 46, 82, 94
Wouk, Herman, 113–14
Writers Guild of America (WGA); awards, 256, 288, 289, 356, 362, 369, 377; MB gets Laurel Award, 528; Minimum Basic Agreement of 1970, 340; “101 Funniest Screenplays,” 528–29; strike of 1981, 416; TV script credits and, 366; Written By article on Blazing Saddles, 316, 329; Young Frankenstein story credits, 368
Wyner, George, 457, 474
Yasbeck, Amy, 501, 506
Yates, Marie, 429, 430, 431, 432, 434
Yearling, The (Rawlings), 248
Yentob, Alan, 544
Yiddish Philosopher, The (radio show), 27, 83
Yiddish theater, 10, 10n, 22
Yorkin, Bud, 328
Young, Gig, 325, 328
Young & Rubicam ad agency, 234–35, 258
Young Frankenstein (film), 51, 217, 341–45, 348–58, 362, 367, 371, 376, 381, 388, 406, 451, 474, 498, 505, 528–29; awards and Oscar nominations, 356–57; black-and-white photography, 337, 338, 398; cast, 334–35, 337, 440; early influences on MB and, 11; earnings, 357, 377; editing, 349, 351–52, 363; idea for and script, 334–40, 341–43; MB not acting in, 337; outtakes, 350; production team, 338, 344; “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” 12, 342–43, 345, 539; release of, 353, 356; reviews, 354–55; score, 345; set, 345; shooting, 348–51; story credits, 339, 368; story rights, 339, 340; 20th Century-Fox and, 338–39, 345, 348, 363; “walk this way” joke, 350–51, 351n, 517; Wilder as star and cowriter, 334–43, 348–52, 354, 356–57, 367–68
Young Frankenstein (musical), 537, 539–43; cast, 540; investors, 540, 542; London production, 549, 550–52; MB’s remuneration, 542, 550; reviews, 540–41, 551; run of, 543; script revisions and, 549, 550; ticket price, 541–42; Tony nominations, 542
Youngman, Henny, 373, 409
Young Winston (film), 305, 363, 402, 464
Your Show of Shows (TV show), 55, 56, 61–80, 97–101, 106–7, 109–14, 117, 136, 165, 245, 262, 381; Emmys, 76–77, 101; foreign films parodied, 91; From Here to Eternity love-on-the-beach spoof, 110–11, 114; Judaism and, 131–32; Liebman and, 61–65, 70, 71; MB as writer for, 62–80, 98–101, 188; MB gets screen credit, 72, 77, 99; My Favorite Year based on, 437–44; premiere, 65; production costs, 71, 106, 111; ratings, 76, 98, 106; reunion special, 254–55; reviews, 66, 70, 100, 111; squabbling Hickenloopers, 70, 72, 110, 125; “This Is Your Life” sketch, 84; troupe of performers, 58, 61, 65–67, 70, 71, 76, 155; William Morris Agency and, 72; writers, 62–66, 68–72, 77–80, 82, 84, 99–101, 106–7, 110, 112, 119, 124, 188, 355n, 443–44 (see also Club Caesar)
Zeffirelli, Franco, 382
Zelinka, Sydney, 156, 159–60
“Zero Hour” (TV special), 257
“Zero Mostel Show, The” (TV pilot), 196–97, 256
Ziegfeld Theatre, 67
Zinnemann, Fred, 103, 110–11
Zoetrope, 431
Zola, Marion, 423–25
Zombie Survival Guide, The (M. Brooks), 531–32, 548
Zucker brothers, 413
Zuniga, Daphne, 466, 473–74
Photo Section
Baby Melb’n (photographed in 1927) started getting laughs in the cradle.
Melvin Kaminsky, senior class, from the 1944 Eastern District High School yearbook.
Melvin with older brothers in arms (left to right) Bernard, Leonard, and Irving.
Brooks began as sidekick and stooge to Sid Caesar, the “Apollo of the Mountain
s,” but from the beginning there was also genuine rapport and friendship.
Persistence got Brooks into the writers’ room of Your Show of Shows. He is seen here huddling with (from left) Sid Caesar and the original writing team of Mel Tolkin and Lucille Kallen.
Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca were the nonpareil stars of Your Show of Shows.
The world’s greatest second and third bananas, Carl Reiner (right) and Howard Morris, became lifelong Brooks friends.
Club Caesar circa 1956: (front row from left) Gary Belkin, Sheldon Keller at the typewriter, Michael Stewart, and Brooks; (back row) Neil Simon, Mel Tolkin, and Larry Gelbart. (Photofest)
An early 1950s photograph of Brooks and Florence Baum when they were still a stealth couple.
The seemingly happy young marrieds on the beach at Fire Island with baby Stefanie, their firstborn.
Relatives visiting the couple on Fire Island included Kitty Kaminsky (with glasses), standing close to her granddaughter, baby Stefanie, held in the arms of Florence Baum’s mother. Florence Baum’s father stands in the background.
Eartha Kitt played the sultry cat Mehitabel in Shinbone Alley, and had a backstage fling with Brooks.
A later iteration of Club Caesar with Brooks in full jumping-on-the-desk mode and (left to right) Woody Allen, Mel Tolkin, and Sid Caesar, writing the 1958–59 television specials.
The first 2000 Year Old Man LP took off in hip popularity and became the tail that wagged the dog in Brooks’s career.
The brain trust behind the ill-fated “All American”: (left to right) lyricist Lee Adams, composer Charles Strouse, director Josh Logan, and Brooks, the musical’s librettist. (Photo by Friedman-Abeles@New York Public Library for the Performing Arts)
With Anne Bancroft and Cary Grant, a fan of the 2000 Year Old Man, at the 1962 Hollywood premiere of The Miracle Worker. (Photofest)
Get Smart secret agents Don Adams and Barbara Feldon.
The first-time director shows Zero Mostel how to make love to “Hold Me, Touch Me” (actress Estelle Winwood).
Brooks and Alfa-Betty Olsen, his frequent amanuensis in the 1960s, at work on The Producers script on Fire Island in the summer of 1966. (Courtesy of Alfa-Betty Olsen)
Brooks gleefully displays his own dance moves for the cameras while staging “Springtime for Hitler.”
Funny Man Page 66