Mel Brooks Celebrates His 95th Birthday After Decades Of Comedy Classics

Updated September 6, 2021

If you want to give someone a task they'll think is impossible, tell them to write a timeless comedy.

Not only would that somehow require advanced knowledge of what people will like in the future, but it kind of works against usual limitations of jokes themselves. As Seth Rogen put it, "Jokes are not things that necessarily are built to last."

That's not only because tastes and sensibilities change, but jokes can also age poorly for the more boring reason that they reference something that was a big deal at the time, but that nobody cares about now.

But whether we can put it down to his imaginative streak or to wisely picking timeless targets, making the laughs echo through the ages is something that comedy legend Mel Brooks not only managed to pull off, but essentially made a career out of doing.

Although he secured his first TV writing gig in 1949, it wasn't until almost 20 years later that Brooks would truly rise to the top.

Shout! Factory via YouTube

And that prominence came from his risky and provocative 1967 directorial debut, The Producers.

In addition to proving Brooks could hold his own both as a writer and a director, it also netted him his first Academy Award nomination and the only Oscar win he's had to date.

And after that movie, Brooks picked up an enviable momentum that would carry him through the next decade.

Warner Bros. via YouTube

And while he would see a great deal of success in the '70s, 1974 in particular was a banner year for him that saw the release of two other certified classics, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.

And while it's hard to make a genre parody feel anything but disposable nowadays, the sharp wit and stellar casts of these movies keep them just as fresh as they were at the time.

And while you'll see a lot of debate about whether Spaceballs or Robin Hood: Men In Tights belong among Brooks' triumphs, that impressive run alone is enough to cement his status as a legend.

Getty Images | Tara Ziemba

So we hope that Brooks has a very happy 95th birthday. I can only imagine how satisfying it must feel to know that your work is still delighting audiences 40 and 50 years after you've brought it to life.