I actually listened to the audio book because Mel Brooks narrated. Totally worth it to hear his voice tell his stories and sing his songs. He's led such an amazing life. My favorite movie growing up was Blazing Saddles. Totally inappropriate for a kid to be watching. But on the other hand, it pokes fun at racism and had a huge impact on my life; making me see how stupid it is to think differently of somebody because of how they were born.

Anyway, great stories from a great man. ( )

Were I to ignore my scoring rules, this would be a 5-star book but only for the audiobook read by Brooks, himself. Without his voice, this would definitely remain a 4-star book. Brooks does not dwell to deeply or fulsomely about the darker periods of his life. And for me, that's fine. I was more interested in the stories of his childhood and career, the behind-the-scenes stories of his movies, and in his tales of friendship with so many famous people. And Brooks delivers on all those. ( )

For more reviews and bookish posts visit: https://www.ManOfLaBook.com

All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks is a memoir by the famous legendary entertainer. Mr. Brooks is a comedy legend whose star still looms large, and has created a standard for TV, movies, and plays are which is difficult to top.

The book is not an encompassing biography by any means, for example his first wife, Florence Baum, is not mentioned at all. Instead, All About Me! concentrates more on the author’s entertainment portfolio, and all the things which made Melvin Kaminsky into Mel Brooks.

The book starts at the beginning, growing up in a poor Jewish family living in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. When he became older, he joined the Army during World War II, where he honed his humor, managed to grab Bob Hope’s trousers to get an autograph. Once honorably discharged he started writing for TV’s Sid Cesar variety show where he got to know Neil Simon and Woody Allen among others.

The chapters pretty much follow Mr. Brook’s filmography, movies that have become comedy classics from the moment they were released. Blazing Saddles that poked fun at westerns and racism (which was too much for my Gen Ziers to watch), Young Frankenstein (or is it Franken-steen?) took on the 1940s horror flicks, Spaceballs which got the approval of George Lucas as long as no action figures will be made (his lawyers’ request), The Producers making fun of Hitler, High Anxiety, a movie that Alfred Hitchcock himself approved of, The Elephant Man, a serious movie which he produced, and many others including Get Smart. Mr. Brooks goes on to talk about his Broadway shows, and a bit about the Kennedy Honors as well.

Mr. Brooks is very generous with giving credit to those who helped him achieve his success. From those previously mentioned to his frequent collaborators Madeline Kahn, Gene Wilder and Carl Reiner, and of course Anne Bancroft, his second wife.

I loved the book, but as a fan of Mel Brooks I knew I would, especially with him reading it. It was warm and funny but uneven, there’s little, if any self-reflection and a few uncomfortable moments. Nevertheless, I loved the odd anecdotes which, to me, are worth the price of admission (pun intended). ( )

Brooks shares behind-the-scenes anecdotes and remembrances as he charts his rise from a Depression-era kid in Brooklyn to the recipient of the National Medal of Arts. From his career with Caesar's Your Show of Shows to his many films, and his Broadway musical adaption of The Producers, he offers insight into the inspiration behind the ideas for his boundary-breaking work.

Mel focused mainly on his career and stated that was his purpose. There was very little about his personal life. I listened to Mel on audio and there were many amusing anecdotes. At times, it went a bit too long. I think fans of Mel Brooks would enjoy this book. ( )

Bragging finds its way into most autobiographies, but I have never read any autobiography with as much boastfulness as “All About Me!” (2021) by Mel Brooks. Yet except for the final chapter, in which he describes the awards he has won and the glowing things famous people have said about him, none of this is grating. It's just part of the fun, and besides, as it has been said, it's not really bragging when it's true.

Certainly it's true that Brooks is a comic genius. Everything he touches turns to laughs. The book has a few personal details — his childhood in Brooklyn, his World War II service in Europe, his meeting and marriage to actress Anne Bancroft — yet the focus falls mostly on his many show business successes, each remarkable in its own way. He wrote skits for Sid Caesar, won a Grammy with Carl Reiner for the 2000 Year Old Man record, helped create the “Get Smart” TV series (he's the one responsible for Maxwell Smart's shoe-phone) and then directed a string of classic movie comedies before turning to Broadway, where years before Ethel Merman in “Anything Goes” had first inspired him to go into show business.

Brooks may boast a lot, but he gives plenty of credit to Caesar, Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Nathan Lane and many others. I don't remember him saying a negative word about anyone. Even Hitler gets a kind word for inspiring “Springtime for Hitler,” the play within “The Producers.”

Most of his films are spoofs of film genres. “Blazing Saddles” takes on westerns, “Young Frankenstein” (my personal favorite) spoofs classic horror films, “High Anxiety “plays with Hitchcock, etc. While “Spaceballs” may be having fun at the expense of “Star Wars,” it is actually a remake of “It Happened One Night,”Brooks says.

One secret to his success, he confesses, is that he always ignored Hollywood producers. He would always agree with whatever orders producers gave him, then go ahead and do everything his way. The producers always forgot their instructions to him when they saw the final result — and when they started counting the money that flowed in after the film's release.

If Brooks didn't listen to producers, he always listened to audiences, even if that audience was fellow writers or members of the cast and crew on a movie set. If they laughed he kept the joke in; if they didn't laugh or didn't laugh hard enough, he took it out.

People will always laugh at Mel Brooks films. And that is something to brag about. ( )