(Jewish Group) Mel Brooks Talks Trump, Anti-Semitism, Political Correctness and the Best Movie He

[Behind the Aegis]

(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP! RESPECT!!)

Before I can get a question out, Mel Brooks jumps in.

“What would you like to know?” he begins. “I can tell you this. On April 26th, I’ll be on stage at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood celebrating the 50th—hard to believe!—anniversary of this movie, The Producers, that Zero Mostel said no to.”

Perhaps at 91 years old, Brooks just doesn’t have to time to wait and see what you want to ask him. And he has plenty to say, especially as he prepares to be honored for his first feature film at the TCM Classic Film Festival this month, almost 50 years to the day after he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

While Gene Wilder jumped at the opportunity to portray Leo Bloom, Brooks explains that Mostel initially had no interest in playing his counterpart Max Bialystock. “He said, ‘Two Jews putting on a Hitler thing? No, it’s stupid, it’s crazy, no, I’m not going to do it,’” Brooks continues. “And then, I think two years later he did Ionesco’s The Rhinoceros and I said, ‘You didn’t want to do this but you’ll run around on stage playing a rhinoceros for two hours?’”

Brooks says it was their mutual friend, the sculptor Speed Vogel, who helped him convince Mostel to take what would become one of his most iconic roles. “Speed said, ‘Look, Zero’s crazy, but his wife [former Radio City Music Hall Rockette Kathryn Harkin] is not,’” he remembers. “He said, ‘Let me get the script to Katie, let her read it.’”

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[BigmanPigman]

1. I have seen him on various interviews over the years

and he is still sharp, clever and funny as Hell!

[GeoWilliam750]

2. Enjoyable interview

[Mosby]

3. I met Zero Mostel at the Beverly Wilshire hotel

My dad recognized him, really nice guy.