Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!: Season 1, Episode 1

1 - 1: Part 1

Part one chronicles the early experiences that shaped Brooks' comedic voice, from his childhood in Brooklyn, to his combat service in WWII, and the highs and lows of working in the Borscht Belt and the dawning era of television where, alongside Sid Caesar, Neil Simon, Larry Gelbert, and Carl Reiner, he laid the foundation for modern sketch comedy and created his indelible character "The 2000 Year Old Man." Using a fear of failure to energize his creativity and turning to therapy at a time of personal challenges, he also drew upon his Jewish heritage and the prejudices that surrounded it to emerge as one of Hollywood's most brazen satirists, writing and directing "The Producers" (1967), "The Twelve Chairs" (1970) and "Blazing Saddles" (1974). Following the dissolution of his first marriage, he married movie star Anne Bancroft, who buoyed him through the lean years and the frequent vitriol of critics, but an Academy Award® for "The Producers" and a huge box office for "Blazing Saddles" established Brooks as an anarchic comedic force.