All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business [Memoir]

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • At 95, the legendary Mel Brooks continues to set the standard for comedy across television, film, and the stage. Now he shares his story for the first time in “a wonderful addition to a seminal career” (San Francisco Chronicle), “infused with nostalgia and his signature hilarity” (Parade).

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NEW YORK POST • “Laugh-out-loud hilarious and always fascinating . . . What else do you expect from the man who knew Jesus and dated Joan of Arc?”—Billy Crystal

For anyone who loves American comedy, the long wait is over. Here are never-before-told, behind-the-scenes remembrances from a master storyteller, filmmaker, and creator of all things funny. All About Me! charts Mel Brooks’s meteoric rise from a Depression-era kid in Brooklyn to the recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Whether serving in the Army in World War II, or during his burgeoning career as a teenage comedian in the Catskills, Mel was always mining his experiences for material. His iconic career began with Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, where he was part of the greatest writers’ room in history. After co-creating the mega-hit 2000 Year Old Man comedy albums and the classic television series Get Smart, Brooks’s stellar film career took off. He wrote, directed, and starred in The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, and Spaceballs, and produced other groundbreaking, eclectic films. Brooks also conquered Broadway with his record-breaking, Tony-winning musical The Producers.

All About Me offers fans insight into the inspiration behind his boundary-breaking work and details the many close friendships Brooks had, including those with Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Gene Wilder, Madeleine Kahn, Alfred Hitchcock, and the great love of his life, Anne Bancroft. Filled with tales of struggle, achievement, and camaraderie (and dozens of photographs), readers will gain a more personal understanding of the incredible body of work behind one of the most accomplished and beloved entertainers in history.

Publication History:Ballantine HC 11/21

About the Author

Mel Brooks, director, producer, writer, and actor, is an EGOT. His career began in television writing for Your Show of Shows, and he co-created the series Get Smart. He and Carl Reiner then wrote and performed the 2000 Year Old Man Grammy-winning comedy albums. Brooks won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his first feature film, The Producers. Many hit comedy films followed, including The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety, History of the World Part I, To Be or Not to Be, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. His film company, Brooksfilms Limited, produced critically acclaimed films such as The Elephant Man, Frances, My Favorite Year, and 84 Charing Cross Road. In 2009 he was a Kennedy Center Honoree, and in 2013 he received the AFI’s Life Achievement Award. In 2016 he was presented with the National Medal of Arts by President Obama.

Author Residence: Los Angeles, CA

Author Hometown: Brooklyn, NY