Talk:Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks--Military Service

In the bio of Mel Brooks in the passage concerning his military service, there is this: " Brooks says he boarded the SS Sea Owl at the Brooklyn Navy Yard around February 15, 1945. A reporter for the United States Department of Defense writes that Brooks arrived in France in November 1944, and later to Belgium, serving with the 78th Infantry Division as a forward artillery observer. In December 1944, a short while later, Brooks was transferred to the 1104th Engineer Combat Battalion as a combat engineer, participating in the Battle of the Bulge." This makes no sense. He could not have boarded a ship in NY in Feb. 1945 and arrived in France in November, 1944 and then fought in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944." I think that he arrived in Europe in 1945 and worked on clearing mines from the area where the Battle of the Bulge was fought, but I am not certain. 173.64.76.25 (talk) 01:23, 30 June 2024 (UTC)

This passage is based on two sources, one by Brooks and the one by David Vergun. They are correctly cited, but it seems one of them must be erroneous.

In the article written by Brooks he says "AND THEN ONE NIGHT—I think it was around February 15 or 16, 1945—together with three or four hundred other guys, I boarded a troop transport at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the SS Sea Owl." Later in that article, he says "I was lucky to get through Belgium on my way to Germany a couple of months after the Battle of the Bulge. Had I been born six months earlier, I probably would have been fighting in that and who knows what would have happened?"

The Vergun article says In November 1944, he arrived in France and then Belgium, serving as a forward artillery observer with the 78th Infantry Division. A short time later, he was transferred to the 1104th Engineer Combat Group, participating in the Battle of the Bulge. He was sent to the forward edge of the battle areas, helping to clear German land mines so Allied forces could advance. On five occasions, Brooks' unit had to fight as infantry and suffered casualties doing so.

I don't see any conclusion other than that either Brooks or Vergun is mistaken. The Vergun article is published in DOD News (Dec 29, 2021), so one would think it would be based on Dept. of Defense records. Brooks published his article on April 8, 2022. He might have forgotten the exact date of his departure for France, but it would be odd if he forgot fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. I guess our article should simply acknowledge that the sources disagree. CodeTalker (talk) 03:40, 30 June 2024 (UTC)

This is speculative, but the 78th arrived in November and participated in the Bulge. He may have arrived later as a replacement for losses. It is almost inconceivable that he would forget being there, so either he does not wish to talk about it or he is correct and the other sources are just assuming that he moved in lockstep with the Division, when there is no reason to think would be the case. MyIP19216811 (talk) 02:28, 18 September 2024 (UTC)

Agree, the timeline in the article as currently written is impossible. One of the sources is wrong. And FYI, Battle of the Bulge lasted from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945. BlueRockThrush (talk) 20:00, 18 January 2026 (UTC)

Indeed. As Monty Python said 1, 2, 5 (three sir) three! February is straight out. Considering his background he may have been intel anyway. Interrogating war criminals would have been a better use of his skills than digging up mines, but knowing Big Green he might have been stuck on KP. MyIP19216811 (talk) 04:38, 2 February 2026 (UTC)

2000 Year Old Man

Tonight's Episode Of The 99 Year Old Man Will Mostly Promote A "Never Had An Argument, Never Raised Our Voices" Depiction Of Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner's Relationship Even During Their Time Making The 2000 Year Old Man, And This Falsehood Seriously Needs To Be Addressed

Big libraries can sure at times come in handy when it comes to discovering old newspaper articles which you can't access without a subscription. There is in fact a old New York Times article from August 27, 1973 noting their "past tensions" during the time they made the 2000 Year Old Man sketches.MyGosh789 (talk) 23:34, 23 January 2026 (UTC)

You posted the exact same thing at Talk:2000 Year Old Man. Please don't duplicate threads. A link here is sufficient for editors who want to engage in discussion. Schazjmd (talk) 23:38, 23 January 2026 (UTC)

I don't see what this has to do with this page, the only thing the page says about this documentary is "A two-part documentary about Brooks' life titled The 99 Year Old Man!, co-directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, aired on HBO on January 22 and January 23, 2026, as well as stream on HBO Max." I don't see what the falsehood that needs addressing is. I saw that you also commented on this in three of your edit summaries, , and , in which I still don't really know what you're referring to because they don't seem to relate to what was done in your edits. DervotNum4 (talk) 15:28, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

Shinbone Alley

Brooks' first Broadway show and his second (or third) movie was Shinbone Alley, about Dan Marquis' famous fantasy duo archie and mahitabel. He wrote the dialogue and helped make the movie, which was a famous flop (although it was actually quite good). Why wasn't it in here?~2026-53842-8 (talk) 22:10, 25 January 2026 (UTC)