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NEED TO KNOW
Mel Brooks' work spans every corner of Hollywood, including TV and movies
The actor juggled being a husband and father as his career expanded
Brooks is the subject of the HBO documentary Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!
More than five decades after becoming a household name,Mel Brooks' career is still going strong.
The famed film director is having what his sonMaximillian "Max" Brookscalls a "wonderful fourth or fifth act."
"There's now all of this interest in redoing his former projects," he said in the HBO documentaryMel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!, which was released in January 2026. "He's having this amazing career renaissance."
Brooks first found major commercial success with the release of his 1974 filmsBlazing SaddlesandYoung Frankenstein. The titles brought the director both fame and criticism for his boundary-pushing comedy, which tackled complex themes such as racism, sexuality and corruption.
Brooks, who became a member of theEGOT clubin 2001, continued to push the envelope with his subsequent films, including 1981'sHistory of the World, Part I, which referenced the Spanish Inquisition.
"I'm proud to sayI have made people laugh for a living, and ... I can honestly say, I've done it as well as anybody," he wrote in his 2021 memoir,All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business.
Here's everything to know about Mel Brooks' career and what he's doing now.
Brooks' comedic approach was shaped by his past
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Though the world may know Brooks as a comedian, screenwriter, director, actor and a producer — with over 60 film credits to his name and more than 20 major awards under his belt — the multi-hyphenate is also Jewish and a World War II vet.
Brooks' work explored serious topics through humor, including historic events like the Holocaust and issues such as homelessness.
"There are many real, horrible things ... that we're not addressing that have to be addressed in some artistic form," he said inThe 99-Year-Old Man!. "If the government's not gonna pay attention, art must pay attention."
In his own words, Brooks is "primarily an observer of life, who formalizes the observations by writing them down."
As he explained, "Everything I have to say, every serious comment I have to make on the human condition, our behavior, I can make through comedy."
He made major sacrifices for his career
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Brooks is a father to his four children. He and his first wife, Florence Baum, share Stefanie Brooks, Nicholas "Nicky" Brooks and Edward "Eddie" Brooks. Brooks also welcomed Max with his late wifeAnne Bancroft.
According to Nicky, Brooks' relationship with his children suffered as a result of his success.
"WhenBlazing SaddlesandYoung Frankhit, it transformed my dad," Nicky said in the HBO documentary. "For our family, those movies changed the picture entirely because when he went out to L.A. to work onBlazing Saddles, he moved out there."
He continued, "My dad had been this presence, this physical presence in our lives, and then suddenly the visits stopped. ... It wasn't the same rhythm of connection."
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Brooks also kept any setbacks from his children. "My father would never tell me about his bad days," Max said. "He never liked to dwell. So my mother would always be there to explain why he was in a bad mood, and it wasn't my fault."
Brooks has mourned his wife Bancroft since her 2005 death
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Brooks' wifeBancroft diedat 73 from uterine cancer on June 6, 2005. The couple were married for 41 years.
According to his son Eddie, Bancroft's death changed his father. "All the light went out. He was not in a good place," he said inThe 99-Year-Old Man!. "He just worshiped her."
Brooks wrote about losing Anne in his 2021 memoir. "Living this life without her is not easy," he shared.
Brooks turned to work in his time of need. In his book, Brooks thankedYoung Frankenstein's playwright Thomas Meehan and director Susan Stroman for pulling him "out of [his] abyss of despair" with their Broadway adaption of his movie, perUSA Today.
He's voiced several cartoon characters in recent years
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In his later years, Brooks lent his vocal talents to the likes ofSpaceballs: The Animated Series (2008-2009),Hotel Transylvania 2(2015) andHotel Transylvania3(2018) andToy Story 4(2019).
"I see a lot of Dracula's father in me. My kids will tell you that," he said in a2015 interviewof hisHotel Transylvaniacharacter Vlad.
Brooks quipped, "They didn't have to elongate my nose quite so much. It's there."
Brooks has received Hollywood's top honors
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Brooks has continued to rack up the awards over the years, receiving a Kennedy Center Honor in 2009, a star on theHollywood Walk of Famein 2010 and the National Medal of Arts as bestowed by PresidentBarack Obamain 2015.
He topped them all off with aPeabody Awardfor his career achievements in 2024 and anhonorary Oscar"to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences or for outstanding service to the Academy" in January 2026.
He is still leaving his mark in Hollywood today
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As of late, Brooks has experienced a resurgence of some of his greatest works.
In 2022, he revisitedBlazing Saddleswith a loosely inspired animated remake titledPaws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, on which he is credited both as a writer and the voice of Shogun Toshi.
The following year, the long-awaited sequel to Brooks' 1981 filmHistory of the World Part Igot asequel on Hulu. He produced, co-wrote and narrated the series. "I can't waitto once more tell the real truth about all the phony baloney stories the world has been conned into believing are History!" he said at the time.
The comedian alsoreprised his roleasSpaceballs' Yogurt for theJosh Gad-led sequel, which will be released under him in 2027.
Deadlinereported in June 2025 that Brooks had also given the upcomingVery Young Frankensteinseries his seal of approval and agreed to executive produce.
Most recently, on Jan. 22, HBO debuted its two-part documentary about the film legend's life. "I hope that my contribution, cinematically, comically, to the world, will be durable," he said.
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