Iconic actor, filmmaker, and comedian Mel Brooks turns 100 years old today, marking a long career of successful films and television shows beloved by decades of fans.

Melvin James Kaminsky was born on June 28, 1926, in Brownsville, Brooklyn, to Katie and Max Kaminsky, both Jewish immigrants. He was the youngest of three older brothers, Irving, Lenny, and Bernie. At age two, Brooks’ father died at 34 of tuberculosis of the kidney.

At nine years old, Brooks saw the musical “Anything Goes” with William Gaxton and Ethel Merman at the Alvin Theater. Brooks decided from then on that he wanted to work in show business.

Brooks at 14 studied drums under jazz musician Buddy Rich. Around this time, Melvin Kaminsky became Melvin Brooks, not wanting to be confused with trumpeter Max Kaminsky. Brooks came about by using part of his mother’s maiden name, “Brookman”.

After graduating from Eastern District High School in January 1944, Brooks was drafted into the U.S. Army after excelling on the Army General Classification Test. He served in Europe, participating in the Battle of the Bulge and engineering operations before joining Special Services as a comic and being honorably discharged in 1946.

Brooks moved on to writing his first feature film, “The Producers,” released in 1967. The film ended up rewarding Brooks with an award for Best Original Screenplay in 1969 at the 41st Academy Awards.

Brooks’ career skyrocketed afterwards, leading him to create more films. His third film was a western film named “Blazing Saddles” (1974), which had parts of it filmed at Vasquez Rocks. The film became the second-highest-grossing film of 1974 at $119.5 million in both the United States and Canada.

Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) rallies the troops at Vasquez Rocks. | SCV History

Along with “Blazing Saddles” was the comedic horror release of “Young Frankenstein” (1974), starring Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle. Behind “Blazing Saddles”, the film grossed $86 million, becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 1974.

Brooks continued his colorful career by producing up-and-coming filmmaker David Lynch with his film “The Elephant Man” (1980). One of Brooks’ most well-known movies, “Spaceballs” (1987), was released in the late 1980s as a parody of sci-fi movies, mainly on the hugely successful “Star Wars” trilogy by George Lucas.

Another well-known Brooks movie to be filmed in the Santa Clarita Valley was “Robin Hood: Men In Tights” (1993), being filmed in Sand Canyon.

In the 21st century, Brooks continued to work in the film industry, branching out back into musical work, creating musical adaptations for both “The Producers” and “Young Frankenstein”. He provided his voice for a few animated films such as “Robots” (2005), “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” (2014), and “Hotel Transylvania 2” (2015).

In June of last year, Brooks announced a sequel to “Spaceballs” called “Spaceballs: The New One,” with a release date for 2027. In January of this year, an HBO documentary entitled “Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!” was released, peeling back the curtain on his monumental career.

It’s an honor for the Santa Clarita Valley to be part of Mel Brooks’ legacy, providing filming locations for movies that jump-started his wonderfully crazy career.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click HERE.

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