Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1978, and the presenter was Roy Plumlee. On our Desert Island this week is the American film director, producer, writer, actor, and

comedian Mel Brooks.

Now what's the first disc you've chosen to take with you?

I was a drummer when I began and I got into show business so to speak as a

comedian when the comic fell ill and I drummer, knew all that bad material and I was asked by the owner of

this hotel, would I replace him?

So I jumped to the stage and I took over and I did these kinds of jokes.

Good evening ladies and germs.

I just flew in from Chicago and boy, am I armed tired?

I got a room in Chicago that was so small the mice were hunchback.

That's how small this room was. I met a girl in

Chicago who was so skinny I mean this girl was really thin I took her to a

little restaurant and the way to say check your umbrella sir I mean that's how skinny

this so well you know I did not make it as a comic because of that material

so I decided to become a writer and I wrote material for the one and only sit Caesar

he's a famous television comedian in America.

We had a long, long and wonderful run there.

So before I became a comic and a comedy writer and a director and an actor and

a producer and an usher.

By the way, if you go to any theater where any of my films are playing,

...