USA TODAY International Edition
Brooks pages through ‘ History’ for his gags
Comedy legend Mel Brooks returns to TV at age 96 with a sequel to 1981’ s irreverent sketch comedy “History of the World, Part I,” which brought history’s ridiculous moments to movie screens 42 years ago.
Brooks executive produces, narrates and appears in Hulu’s eight- part series “History of the World, Part II,” which premieres its final episodes Thursday. Still capable of earning his yuks, Brooks cedes most of the screen time to fellow executive producers Wanda Sykes, Nick Kroll and Ike Barinholtz as they tackle whatever else happened in history in “Part II” – from the Civil War to early Christianity and Alexander Graham Bell’s first crank phone call.
Brooks, best known for classics “The Producers” ( 1967) and 1974’ s “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein,” responded via email to questions about his comedy and the history sequel he never intended to make.
Question: You swear you never planned a sequel to 1981’ s “History of the World, Part I.” So why did you name it “Part I”?
Answer: It was just a joke! But a lot of my fans took it seriously, and so I am glad that after 42 years we are finally able to give them a Part II.
In the years between “Part I” and “Part II,” how has movie comedy changed?
Just because people are laughing at something new doesn’t mean something old isn’t still great. People are still laughing at Buster Keaton and The Marx Brothers. Funny is funny!
“Young Frankenstein” is a classic 1974 collaboration with Gene Wilder, who died in 2016. What are your memories of that friendship that endured one major “Frankenstein” disagreement over the famed dancing scene?
Yes, I was afraid of having the monster sing and dance because I thought it might make the movie too silly. But Gene begged me to film it and put it in. I said, “OK, but if it doesn’t work, it’s out.” Well, it worked! It may have been the best thing in the movie. That’s a great comedy collaboration. Even though you don’t agree with your partner you still shoot the scene and let the audience’s laughs decide. Working with Gene was a dream. I miss him to this day.
God himself gets lampooned in “Part I,” and early Christianity in “Part II.” To the best of your knowledge, what does God think of your work?
Strangely enough, I’ve never heard from God. I guess he must have liked them, or else he would have complained …
Film legend Orson Welles narrated “History of the World, Part I.” How did you pull that casting off?
Orson Welles was a delight to work with. He was bright and funny, but he
made some unusual requests. He wanted his fee, $ 25,000, placed in a paper bag and not mentioned to his agent at all. When I asked him what he was going to do with the money, he promptly answered, “I’m going to spend it all on beluga caviar and the finest Cuban cigars.” What a guy!
You used the line “It’s good to be the king” in both “History of the World, Part I” and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights.” What’s the line’s origin, and is it true?
I have no idea! I am sure for some of them it was good to be the king, but for a disgruntled few it must have been a pain in the ass.
The comedy skits “Hitler on Ice” and “Jews in Space” were both featured in “History of the World: Part I” as a fake preview of coming attractions What did you think of these actually getting represented onscreen in “Part II”?
Stealing from other people is frowned upon, but in this case I was only stealing from myself. So I didn’t mind it!