Age: 99
male
Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. A recipient of numerous accolades, he is one of 21 entertainers to win the EGOT (which includes an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony). He received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2009, a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2010, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2013, a British Film Institute Fellowship in 2015, a National Medal of Arts in 2016, a BAFTA Fellowship in 2017, and the Honorary Academy Award in 2024. Brooks began his career as a comic and a writer for Sid Caesar's variety show Your Show of Shows(1950–1954). There, he worked with Neil Simon, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart, and Carl Reiner. With Reiner, he co-created the comedy sketch The 2000 Year Old Man. He released several comedy albums, starting with 2000 Year Old Man in 1960. Brooks received five nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album, finally winning in 1999. With Buck Henry, he created the hit satirical spy comedy series Get Smart (1965–1970) on NBC television. Brooks won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Producers (1967). He then rose to prominence by directing a string of successful comedy films such as The Twelve Chairs (1970), Blazing Saddles (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974), Silent Movie (1976), and High Anxiety (1977). Later, Brooks made History of the World, Part I (1981), Spaceballs (1987), Life Stinks (1991), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), and Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995). A musical adaptation of his first film, The Producers, ran on Broadway from 2001 to 2007 and earned Brooks three Tony Awards. The project was remade into a musical film in 2005. He wrote and produced the Hulu series History of the World, Part II (2023). Brooks was married to actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until she died in 2005. Their son, Max Brooks, is an actor and author known for his novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (2006). In 2021, Mel Brooks published his memoir titled All About Me!. Three of his films are included on the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 comedy films of the past 100 years (1900–2000), all of which were ranked in the top 15: Blazing Saddles at number 6, The Producers at number 11, and Young Frankenstein at number 13.
Mel Brooks
K. Edgar "Ed" Singer
for K. Edgar "Ed" Singer in Muppets from Space
Suggested by tangledeverafter2012
Gonzo has always been identified as a "whatever"; but, after having disturbing dreams of abandonment and rejection, he begins to realize just how alone he is in the world. One of his nightmares involves his being denied entry by Noah onto his boat. The next morning, Gonzo tells Kermit that he is getting tired of being referred to as a "whatever." After an alien race appears to be trying to send him a strange mysterious message through his bowl of cereal, Gonzo realizes that he may not be so alone after all and later that evening, he climbs to the rooftop to watch the sky. Suddenly, he is struck by a bolt of lightning, which allows him to communicate with a pair of cosmic knowledge fish, who reveal his origins as an alien from outer space. Unable to convince Kermit and his friends of the aliens' existence, Gonzo is lured by Agent Barker into the clutches of K. Edgar Singer of C.O.V.N.E.T., a government organization disguised as a cement factory. Singer is aware of the aliens' attempts to communicate and thinks that Gonzo is the key to convincing his superiors that aliens do exist. Gonzo and Rizzo are taken to C.O.V.N.E.T. by Agent Barker. Rizzo's antics cause himself to be flushed down a tube by wrestling legend Hulk Hogan and ends up having to go through C.O.V.N.E.T.'s rat training and medical research held by Dr. Tucker, alongside other Muppet rats. After Miss Piggy interrogates Barker, she, Kermit, Fozzie, Pepe, and Animal go to rescue Gonzo and Rizzo from C.O.V.N.E.T., using inventions from Bunsen and Beaker such as a door in a jar, a rubber duck that emits temporary invisibility spray, and mind control gas. An alien channeling his voice through a sandwich asks Gonzo where the alien ship can land, and Gonzo suggests a beach known by the name of Cape Doom, unaware that Singer's assistant Agent Rentro (Bobo the Bear) is listening. The gang arrives at the military base to rescue Gonzo and Rizzo. They use the invisibility spray to enter but when Fozzie washes his hands upon exiting a restroom it wears off, attracting the attention of a female guard who Animal chases away. Meanwhile, Rizzo frees Gonzo from the dissection table while the other rats attack Dr. Phil Van Neuter, which is witnessed by Singer and General Luft. Luft feels that his time has been wasted and leaves angry. Upon discovering from Rentro that Gonzo is heading for Cape Doom, Singer prepares the Subatomic Neutro-Destabilizer to use on the aliens. Rentro tells Singer that his car has been impounded because of unpaid parking tickets; they use the company car—a cement truck. The Muppets rescue Gonzo then go to Cape Doom where a crowd of alien-happy spectators await their arrival. The ship comes to Earth and the aliens, who all resemble Gonzo, explain that many years ago they lost him but now welcome him back into the fold. Singer shows up and tries to kill the aliens, ultimately failing to do so (Rentro removed the Subatomic Neutro-Destabilizer's battery) and is laughed at. Gonzo considers going into space with his long-lost family but chooses to stay with his fellow Muppet Show cast-mates. Singer is invited by the aliens to go with them and leaves as Earth's ambassador. As the Muppets are watching the stars from the roof, Gonzo tells Kermit he wonders why his family asked him to build a Jacuzzi. Pepe chuckles, because he and Rizzo had pretended to be them and asked him to do it.
