All About Me!
A book reaction
In 7th grade I had a reading teacher who had an overstuffed couch and a giant library in her classroom. Instead of book reports we had to do book reactions. Of note, that same teacher also taught P.E., and occasionally she’d make us meditate after the 10 minute run. It was 1981. Hippie teachers were awesome. In honor of 12-year-old Janet, each week I will try to share a book reaction. Far out, man. Enjoy!
A few years ago I was on vacation with some friends, and we watched the Mel Brooks 1974 comedy classic Blazing Saddles. We all remembered watching it with our families as little kids and agreed how much we enjoyed the many gags even if we didn’t completely understand the commentary on racial prejudice. As I was looking at the Blazing Saddles’ Wiki page, I ran across the story that Oscar winner Gig Young was the original Waco Kid, but he collapsed from alcohol withdrawal during the first day of filming, and Mel Brooks had to fire him and quickly replace Gig with Gene Wilder. I tracked down George Eells’ 1991 biography of Gig Young, Final Gig, and his downfall is an incredibly tragic story of fame and addiction that culminated in a murder/suicide. It’s just brutal. At that time I didn’t realize that Mel Brooks had a 2021 memoir, but earlier this month I found a copy of All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business, and Mel’s Hollywood story is much more wholesome, humorous, and uplifting.
Mel describes his Brooklyn childhood full of friends, family, egg creams, and Saturday matinees. He details his early career performing in the Catskills, and he even makes his WWII army stories delightful. I really enjoyed reading about his early days writing for Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows (where he worked with his BFF Carl Reiner), and Get Smart. After his surprise success in 1967 with The Producers, his film career took off, and he could really do no wrong. He followed up with Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World, Part I, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and then The Producers on Broadway. You won’t find any juicy Hollywood gossip in these pages. Mel barely talks about his marriages or kids. This memoir really is all about Mel’s amazing career, and that’s plenty. It’s a real treat for any film or comedy buff.
Mel will turn 100 years old on June 28, 2026. The word comedy genius gets thrown around a lot these days, but I think his career longevity speaks for itself. Looking forward to Spaceballs: The New One in 2027. I give All About Me! fifteen double features and an egg cream.