With classic comedies such as “The Producers” in 1967, “Blazing Saddles” in 1974, and “Young Frankenstein” in 1974, Mel Brooks will forever be remembered for his outrageous gags, incredible ensemble casts, and irreverent sense of humor. One of the few Emmy-Grammy-Oscar-Tony award winners, Brooks is regarded an American treasure.
But this master showman has a much more serious chapter of his life that many of his diehard fans aren’t aware of. Born as Melvin Kaminsky in 1926 in Brooklyn, New York, to a family of Jewish immigrants of Eastern Europe, this future comedian and writer came of age right as the Allied armies were fighting to liberate Europe from Nazi control.
