In a seven-decade-long career, Mel Brooks has done everything from acting to film making to live theater. Born as Melvin Kaminsky, Brooks served as a Corporal in the US army during the second world war. After being discharged from the army he picked up music and played the drums and the piano as an entertainer. He soon switched to writing and comedy though and the role of a writer for Sid Caesar's variety show was his breakthrough moment. It was during this making of his show that he met Carl Reiner - another comic who grew to be Brooks' lifelong friend. Everything was upward for Brooks after that first variety show in the 1950s. He created The 2000 Year-Old-Man and was involved in several other theater productions. Brooks also worked on TV shows and films. Get Smart, The Critic, The Producers, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Dracula: Dead and Loving It and The Muppet Movie are a few of his popular works.
