Jonathan K (Max Outlier)’s Reviews > All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business > Status Update

There's no getting around the fact that Mel is a true icon and a funny one at that! What a pleasure to learn intimate details that begin with his Brooklyn upbringing and move across decades of laughter and being one of few who win Emmy, Grammy, Oscars and Tony awards. Not bad for an old Jew! Review will come tomorrow

There is so much material for trivia questions it's hard to remember them all! That said, I was surprised to learn which of his movies was the largest box office smash worldwide!

Absolutely terrific and filled with tidbits none of us know about! It's good to be da king!

When you're as big a fan of Mel as I am, you want the book to go on forever, but the reality is that he's over 95 but still going strong without Carl Reiner

Here's a fact I bet few people were aware of where the casting of Blazing Saddles was concerned. Mel developed the Waco Kid character with hopes to get John Wayne to play the role. When he met with Duke he was amazed at how much he loved The Producers but decided against taking the part due to the 'foul language, N-word, etc'..Personally I'm glad he turned it down since Gene Wilder was perfect

Great chapter about Blazing Saddles!

While I rarely read biographies I simply couldn't ignore anything by my favorite comic, writer, producer director! Better yet, my Dad knew him well though I was much too young to remember. This is extremely well written, enlightening and hilarious at the same time

The chapter about Carl Reiner and the 2000 year old man has been my favorite so far. And for those that aren't aware, the first time Mel and Carl met it was kismet and led to a lifelong friendship. It's here we get to see Mel's humanity, modesty and what he learned about the values of human connection

I can't imagine anyone who hasn't seen Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein.. At the end of the chapter about Your Show of Shows, Mel says, "if there was no Sid Caesar there would be no Mel Brooks" Touching to say the least

I'd always wondered if there was a life experience that spurned the Oscar winning script for the Producers and now I know where it came from!