Mel BrooksA spirited dive into the life and career of a performer, writer, and director who dominated twentieth century American comedy Mel Brooks, born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn in 1926, is one of the great comic voices of the twentieth century. Having won almost every entertainment award there is, Brooks has straddled the line between outsider and insider, obedient and rebellious, throughout his career, making out of bounds comedy the American mainstream.