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Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of maximum fun.org and is distributed by NPR.

It's Bullseye. I'm Jesse Thorne. There is a new documentary that just dropped on HBO Max.

It's called Mel Brooks, the 99-year-old man. And it is about Mel Brooks, who did indeed turn

99 this past June. Mel Brooks has been creating some of the funniest and most enduring comedy

since the Truman administration.

Your show of shows, blazing saddles, young Frankenstein, the producers. I could just keep naming classics.

I don't have all day. I talked to Brooks in 2013. He was the subject of a PBS American Masters documentary at the time.

Back then, I would record my intros with my

guest in the room, which, as you will hear, gave Mel some fun inspiration during our conversation.

Let's get into it.

It's a bullseye. I'm Jesse Thorne. Who's Mel Brooks? I'll tell you. Mel Brooks is funny. He's the

personification of funny. He spent 60 years making us laugh. Your show of shows, get smart,

the producers, blazing saddle, baseballs. I think that between the time my parents got VCRs when I

was about seven and when I turned 15, I watched History of the

World Part 1 100 times, probably more.

Last year, Shout Factory put out a box set looking back at Brooks' career, from rare audio

recordings to little scene TV pilots.

This year, he's the subject of an American Master's documentary on PBS.

It's an honor to have him on Bolzai.

Mel Brooks, welcome to the show.

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