Latest in Mel Brooks

Going from mermaid to monster, ABC this fall will debut Young Frankenstein Live! as its next live musical event, produced by the show’s creator Mel Brooks. ABC announced the musical event at the TCA Winter Press Tour in Pasadena today. Based on the 2007 Broadway stage version of the Brooks-Gene Wilder classic 1974…

Mel Brooks played to full houses during his two-night Broadway stand last week, adding $583,140 to Broadway’s overall pot of $36M for the week ending June 23. Brooks’ June 17-18 engagement at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre had a total attendance of 2,967, 99.2% of capacity. The $583K figure marked 112% of potential, with…

Comedy legend Mel Brooks is coming back to Broadway: The man behind the massive hit musical The Producers will stage a two-night-only solo show as part of the recently announced Residence on Broadway series at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Mel Brooks On Broadway is set for Monday June 17 and Tuesday June 18. The…

Alan Johnson, a three-time Emmy Award winning choreographer whose work spanned Broadway and Hollywood – and included four scenes from Mel Brooks’ comedies that became instant, irreverent classics – died July 7 of Parkinson’s disease at his home in Los Angeles. He was 81. His death was confirmed to news outlets by his…

I made it back from CinemaCon in Vegas yesterday just in time to take in the opening night of the ninth Annual TCM Classic Film Festival, again taking place at the fabled Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. So glad I made it because this evening gave us a double dose of cinema icons with Mel Brooks doing a hilarious…

Jacob Tremblay, Christopher Lloyd, Kenan Thompson and Mel Brooks have been cast as the voices in Lani Pixels’ untitled 3D animated feature that will mark the directorial debut of Kim Pagel, who also scripted the family story. The film will follow Patrick and Susan as they attempt to rescue their grandfather, Mr…

SECOND UPDATE, SATURDAY: The marquees of Broadway theaters will be dimmed in memory of Thomas Meehan on August 30 at 7:45 PM for one minute. Meehan died August 21 at age 88 "Thomas Meehan was a key collaborator on some of the most memorable productions in recent Broadway history. His work brought deeper meaning and…

HBO just released the trailer for If You're Not In the Obit, Eat Breakfast, a new documentary from producer George Shapiro and director Danny Gold which is about he vitality of those people who are going strong after age 90 and includes some of the biggest legends in the entertainment industry. It will debut June 5 on…

Update: Tributes hit social media Friday night and Saturday morning European time for John Hurt, the prolific two-time Oscar nominee who played so many memorable characters in so many memorable films. Along with Academy Awards noms for The Elephant Man and Midnight Express, he appeared in Best Picture winner A Man for…

As a swivel-hipped rock and roller, Conrad Birdie had a lot of living to do, the unknown actor Dick Gautier sang in the 1960 Broadway smash Bye Bye Birdie. At first a reluctant leading man, Gautier played many roles, including cabaret singer, stand-up comic, character actor and caricaturist. He was best known to TV…

The 2015 National Medal of Arts and the National Humanities Medals recipients were unveiled today by the White House, with the likes of Mel Brooks, Morgan Freeman, Audra McDonald, Berry Gordy and Philip Glass on the list for the National Medal of Arts, while NPR host Terry Gross and Wynton Marsalis are among the…

Mel Brooks stopped by Jimmy Fallon’s show, talked about collaborator Gene Wilder, who died Sunday at age 83, and to comb his hair. “He was sick and I knew it…I expected he would go. But, when it happens, its still tremendous, it’s still a big shock,” Brooks said. “I’m still reeling from no more Gene – he was such a…