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Reiner and Brooks were first thrown
together back in the ’50s, when Carl Reiner was a co-star on Sid
Caesar’s TV show, and Mel Brooks was one of the writers. The pairing
resulted in some of the best bits in comedy history. Even after a long
day at work, these two wanted more. At parties, Carl would start impromptu
interviews, thinking up some improbable character and tossing it to Mel.
“I never told him what it was going to be,” Reiner later recalled,
“but I always tried for something that would force him to go into
a panic—because a brilliant mind in panic is a wonderful thing to
see.” In 1960, the first Reiner and Brooks album became a hit, and
it led to two sequels. Audiences loved Mel Brooks’ bluntly bombastic
comedy style. As Carl Reiner admitted, “That was a turning point
for Mel. It gave him an identity as a performer for the first time.”
Complete 2000 Year Old Man, Rhino Records,
1994.
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