Mel Brooks

"I was in the middle of shooting the last few weeks of Blazing Saddles somewhere in the Antelope Valley, and Gene Wilder and I were having a cup of coffee and he said, I have this idea that there could be another "Frankenstein." I said not another — weve had the son of, the cousin of, the brother-in-law, we dont need another Frankenstein. His idea was very simple: What if the grandson of Dr. Frankenstein wanted nothing to do with the family whatsoever. He was ashamed of those wackos. I said, "Thats funny."

"Comedy is a weird but very beautiful thing. Even though it seems foolish and silly and crazy, comedy has the most to say about the human condition. Because if you can laugh, you can get by. You can survive when things are bad when you have a sense of humor."

"As long as the world is turning and spinning, were gonna be dizzy and were gonna make mistakes."

"If they [presidents] cant do it to their wives, they do it to their country."

"[On Churchills Accent] "Ve must conquer da Narjies!" Now, we were fighting and killing Nazis. We all left and went looking for Narjies!"

"Leo Bloom: Actors are not animals! Theyre human beings! Max Bialystock: They are? Have you ever eaten with one?"

"Its Wheird, theres an H in there. Gotta hit that H otherwise they think Im some sort of a kook!"

"Hope for the best. Expect the worst. The worlds a stage. Were unrehearsed. No way of knowing which way its going. Take your chances, there are no answers. Hope for the best. Expect the worst."

"He understands not only with his brain but with his heart. And that might be called love. Not quite sure, but maybe thats the key."

"Mel Brooks has all the consistency of Spike Milligan, the subtle self-censorship of Benny Hill, and the human warmth of Bob Monkhouse. Its a good job he has the brassneck and occasional brainstorms of Mel Brooks or he would be a monster."

"Mel is sensual with me. He treats me like an uncle — a dirty uncle. Hes an earthy man and very moral underneath. He has traditional values."

"All the apprehensions that surface in Brookss comedy have the same eventual source: a fear — or, to put it more positively, a hatred — of death."