From the groundbreaking TV series “Your Show of Shows” to landmark films like “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein,” Mel Brooks has been one of the most influential voices in comedy. MEL BROOKS STRIKES BACK! looks at the Brooklyn native’s early life, show-business influences, early career and ascension as one of Hollywood’s most successful writers and directors. Appearing onstage with Alan Yentob, creative director for the BBC, this entertainment legend looks back on his remarkable career with the same trademark wit that earned him his success. In the clips below, Mel puts this wit on ...

From the groundbreaking TV series “Your Show of Shows” to landmark films like “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein,” Mel Brooks has been one of the most influential voices in comedy. Now, this entertainment legend looks back on his remarkable career in MEL BROOKS STRIKES BACK!, debuting MONDAY, DEC. 10 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates: Dec. 13 (noon, 8:00 p.m.), 15 (3:00 p.m.), 18 (2:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m.), 21 (5:00 p.m.), 23 (noon) and 25 (5:30 a.m.)

HBO2 playdate: Dec. 27 (noon, 8:00 p.m.)

MEL BROOKS STRIKES BACK!,

FEATURING THE COM...

Comedy legend Mel Brooks has landed a lifetime achievement award from the board of the American Film Institute (AFI).

The director and star of The Producers will accept the trophy at a gala dinner held in his honor next June.

Howard Stringer, chair of the AFI board of trustees, says, "Mel Brooks is America's long-reigning king of comedy - and as he taught us long ago, it's good to be the king. He's a master of an art form that rarely gets the respect it deserves, and it is AFI's honor to shine a bright light on laughter by presenting Mel Brooks (with) the 41st AFI Life Achievement Award...

MEL BROOKS AND DICK CAVETT TOGETHER AGAIN, an hour-long special featuring the two comedy greats in conversation onstage before a live audience, will debut Friday, September 9 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

For four decades, comic genius Mel Brooks and talk-show king Dick Cavett have partnered to give the world scintillating conversation and sidesplitting humor. On Dec. 7, 2010, they reunited onstage at the Saban Theatre in Los Angeles to share show-business memories and hilarious stories for loyal fans and a new generation of viewers.

Mel Brooks won an Os...

Matthew Morrison was mortified when he first met President Barack Obama, because the Glee star was dressed as a Nazi stormtrooper at the event.

The actor/musician was invited to perform at the annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, DC, in December to pay tribute to Mel Brooks, and he sang a version of the director's well-known song, Springtime for Hitler.

Morrison dressed in full Nazi uniform - complete with Swastika - for the performance, and he was still wearing the controversial costume later in the evening when he met the U.S. President.

He tells British TV show Loose Women, ...

This Sunday April 25 at 9 PM EST, the eighth annual TV Lands awards will air and be hosted by everyone’s favorite tool man, Tim Allen. The award show will honor comedic legends Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner as well as the cast of Glee; reunite the cast of Everybody Loves Raymond; and pay tribute to the late Farrah Fawcett.

Before the ceremony, Starpulse had the pleasure of covering the red carpet, come with us and check out who we got to chat with. Don’t forget to tune into the awards show Sunday night!

More TV Land Red Carpet Photos

Story by Vanessa Mujica

Starpulse contr...

Bruce Springsteen was celebrated by President Barack Obama, Sting and John Mellencamp as he was presented with Kennedy Center Honors at a star-studded ceremony on Sunday.

Along with Robert De Niro, Mel Brooks, jazz great Dave Brubeck and opera singer Grace Bumbry, Springsteen received America's highest accolade in recognition of his contributions to popular culture at a White House reception and special gala in Washington, D.C.

Mellencamp kicked off a musical tribute to The Boss with a rousing version of Born in the U.S.A., while Jennifer Nettles sang Glory Days, Melissa Etheridge b...

I'm pretty much a vampire virgin. Any cuts on my neck came from bad shave jobs, not the teeth of a pale, blood-seeking eternal being. I just don't get this sudden vampire craze that's seducing the nation. I've never read "Twilight" (really, sparkling guys are considered sexy?) or an Anne Rice novel. I'm not quite sure what a Sookie Stackhouse or Lycan is, and the last vampire movie I saw in theaters was Mel Brooks' misguided 1995 farce "Dracula: Dead and Loving It."

Clearly I'm missing out on something, and if I want to maintain my position as a knowledgeable pop culture enthusiast I de...

The subject of space is a difficult one in terms of selecting films. Qualifying elements are somewhat subjective. Does the film have to take place in space? Must it include aliens? Does a mere reference to space, or different planets, make it a "space" film? In short, is it merely a subgenre of science fiction? Space and science fiction, while not mutually exclusive, can occur without the other.

In celebration of the release of one of the newest and most promising space films, Moon, check out a brief list of our favorite space films. What you will find below is a mix of films t...

One can only assume the somewhat recent onslaught of the "need" for Blu-ray comes only from a desire to have people buy films and television show sets over again. After having to update a copy of 'Sneakers' from VHS tape to DVD, a completely reasonable choice, the buck stops here. Yes, the technology is interesting at best, but it is brutally frustrating at worst.

The problem is not with the players, although they are extremely expensive still and the best player is still the one that comes in the PlayStation 3, the problem instead lies way back in the beginning of the cycle - the ...

King Kong, among the screen’s most powerful and enduring icons, will re-emerge on the famed and newly upgraded Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour in summer, 2010 as a thrilling and ground-breaking 4-D multi-sensory marvel, a new signature attraction for Universal Studios Hollywood.

The new King Kong attraction, based on the Oscar®-winning 2005 Universal Pictures film, will combine thrilling visceral effects with the world’s largest Surround Digital projection system to create a next-generation theme park experience.

Larry Kurzweil, President and Chief Operating Officer, Unive...

Since the dawn of the American cinematic blockbuster in the late 1970s and early 1980s, moviegoers have eagerly waited for May - the unofficial beginning of summertime. This summer is no different. Films, and most popular media, are social mirrors, and this summer season supports that. The large box office contenders all deal with very similar themes: escapism and the support of the lone, outlaw hero figure (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Star Trek, Terminator Salvation, Up, Transformers 2, Public Enemies, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, Inglourious Basterds, et...

In Hollywood, you've got show-stopping performances and eye-popping beauties. But what about those Hollywood beauties whose eyes just pop? Some celebrities are recognized by their plunger lips, or by their adorable pair of dimples, while others are distinguished by their bulging peepers. The bug-eye feature is very hit or miss, however. On one hand, bug-eyes have the ability to create unconventional gorgeosity in a person, but on the other hand, they are also capable of making good faces go Muppet.

Christina Ricci falls into the former category of bug-eyed celebrities. Her sizeable...

Sometimes what is brutally obvious to an outsider can, and does, leave the closest to a situation heartbreakingly oblivious. Phoebe in Wonderland dives head-first into this very scenario and the conflicting choices of treating a disorder by over-medicating, under-medicating or the act of self-medicating. By enshrouding oneself in a project that they love so dearly, even the symptoms of that disorder get lost in the axis of that passion.

Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman, Patricia Clarkson and Campbell Scott steer this story down to the basic human elements of a parent's love...

He has been one of the most well known actors in Hollywood for almost three decades now, and there are few people who can deny the star power of that shiny giant grin. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, known to the world as Tom Cruise, is a figure of gossip, lust, admiration, disgust, celebrity, confusion, and in the past few years his reputation has gotten steadily tarnished. Perhaps it was the Oprah Winfrey Show and his newfound love with Katie Holmes, who once had pictures him plastered on her walls, or his war with Brooke Shields over post partum, or how he sometimes laughs for several minutes...

In Get Smart, Steve Carell steps into the telephonic shoes of television's most beloved bumbling detective in a big-screen adaptation of the hit 1960s-era comedy series created by Mel Brooks.

Oscar winner Cloris Leachman's Broadway career has been boosted by her appearance on hit show Dancing With The Stars - producers have reportedly reconsidered her for a role she was rejected for last year.

The 82-year-old star admitted she was "heartbroken" when she was turned down to reprise her role on hit Broadway show Young Frankenstein - the character she portrayed in the hit 1974 movie - due to fears over her age.

Producer Mel Brooks told Variety magazine at the time: "We're afraid the show... could kill (Leachman)... We don't want her to die onstage."

Leachman was boot...

For nearly 40 years Jim Henson’s Muppets have captivated audiences young and old, whether down the block on Sesame Street, from backstage on their own syndicated variety show, or even on the big screen. They’ve earned fans in Kanye West, Feist, Weezer, and Jason Segel, who’s been commissioned to bring them back to the moviehouse. This is the story of Jim Henson and how he built his beloved empire from a discarded housecoat and a pair of ping-pong balls.

When I lived in L.A., one of my favorite pastimes was walking up La Brea Avenue toward Hollywood Boulevard. Amid the hip boutiques, ch...

Fans of movie musicals know that most of their favorites, like "Grease," "West Side Story," "The Sound of Music," and "Oklahoma!" were adapted from popular Broadway plays. However, the trend in recent years has been to flip that formula around by taking a big-screen hit and trying to turn it into a small-stage sensation.

Disney has had great success with its theatrical adaptations, starting in 1994 with the critically-acclaimed "Beauty and the Beast." The hits kept coming with stage productions of "The Lion King," "Mary Poppins," and, most recently, "The Little Mermaid."

VIDEO: T...

40-Year-Old Virgin star Steve Carell steps into the telephonic shoes of television's most beloved bumbling detective in this big-screen adaptation of the hit 1960s-era comedy series created by Mel Brooks. Continue Summary

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Blazing Saddles star Harvey Korman has died. He was 81. The Emmy Award-winning actor passed away at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on Thursday after suffering complications from the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm - an often fatal swelling of one of the body's main arteries.

Korman's daughter Kate has paid tribute to the star, insisting he fought hard against his ailing health.

She says, "It was a miracle in itself that he survived the incident (the aneurysm) at all. Everyone in the hospital referred to him as 'miracle man' because of his strong will and ability to...

David Hasselhoff is developing his own rock opera with the writer who turned him into Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde onstage. The former Baywatch creator has teamed up with Frank Wildhorn to create a musical which he'll perform in castles around the world with an orchestra.

He says, "Frank has written some beautiful music and about two years ago I made a deal to sing his gorgeous songs, take the tuxedo and the orchestra into a castle. The songs are really healing for me."

Ambitious Hasselhoff also has plans to stage a one-man show, called Viva Hoff Vegas, in Sin City.

The ever-fun s...

The spring movie season had a few hits (21, Horton Hears A Who) and some unfortunate misses (Shutter, 10,000 B.C.). Thankfully, we have warm weather and great movies to look forward to in the upcoming months. Here's a sneak peak at some of the films that will be hitting theaters this summer:

Iron Man

Release Date: May 2

"Iron Man" is an action-packed take on the tale of wealthy philanthropist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who develops an invulnerable robotic suit to fight the throes of evil.

Also opening May 2: Made of Honor

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspia...

Comedy legend Mel Brooks has given up on love at the age of 81. Brooks has been single since Anne Bancroft, his wife of 41 years, died in 2005 - and he is now happy to concentrate on his family, friends and career.

He says, "Nothing's worse than an old Jew dating. You really think I could listen to somebody ask me, 'What's your sign?' Absolutely not dating. I have grandchildren, dear friends, my show - that's all I want."

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)

Over the years many classic movies have been remade. Don't get me wrong, some of those remakes have been really good. But the majority of the movies have been really bad.

These days, special effects are being taken to a whole new level, but that's not always a good thing. One of the main reasons these films are classics is because CGI was in the distant future. People loved the original "Godzilla" because you can see the man in the Godzilla costume crushing a cardboard box, also known as Tokyo.

There are few movies that have scared me, and one of those films was the 1978 movie "Ha...

Mel Brooks electrifies his latest creation, a musical rendition of his 1974 film classic Young Frankenstein (That's FRON-kehn-shteen) for the Broadway stage.

The production boasts an all-star cast, starring Roger Bart ("Desperate Housewives"/"The Producers"), Megan Mullally ("Will and Grace"), Tony Award® winner Sutton Foster ("Drowsy Chaperone"), Tony Award® winner Shuler Hensley ("Oklahoma"), Tony Award® winner and SCTV's Andrea Martin, Fred Applegate ("The Producers") and Christopher Fitzgerald ("Wicked").

A wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend based on t...

"I'm a total romantic - I love romantic films. But I don't like being raped by sugar." Keira Knightley hates it when romantic movies are sickly sweet.

"I watched him die and, for whatever reason, he is still alive." Even Kiefer Sutherland can't believe Carlos Bernard's evil Tony Almeida character is still a fixture in drama series 24.

"I used to be a drummer... and, as a comedy writer, I know where the rimshots are." Mel Brooks insists he knows when something's funny.

"I just didn't see myself singing in front of a piano with a vocal teacher saying, 'No, no, bring it up fro...

Would you believe…and if you didn't already know…Time Life and HBO Video released Get Smart: The Complete Collection last fall. The 25 DVD megaset released by Time Life and HBO for the '06 Holiday Season has continued to be a top-seller, and sales are sure to spike again this year.

The seven-time EMMY® Award-winning comedy series, starring Don Adams as title character Maxwell Smart, originally aired on NBC from 1965 to 1970, and before its release in November of last year, had never been available on home video. All five seasons are included in the set featuring nearly 10 hours of s...

Former Desperate Housewives star Roger Bart has been forced to pull out of Mel Brooks' new Broadway musical Young Frankenstein after badly injuring his back. The actor stepped out of performances at the Hilton Theater on October 13, and he has been absent ever since.

In a statement, a show publicist says, "He is responding well to treatment and is expected to return to the show shortly... He has a lower back problem."

Understudy Matthew LaBanca has earned his Broadway debut after taking over the role of Frederick Frankenstein from Bart. No official date has been announced for th...

Seaside celebrity enclave Malibu Colony in California has been ravaged by a fast-paced wildfire, which broke out early on Sunday morning. The blaze has already claimed an animal hospital and landmark buildings Hodge Castle, which was reportedly once owned by Bob Dylan, and Malibu Presbyterian Church.

Locals are mourning the loss of socialite Lilly Lawrence's castle home - because it included a private museum featuring letters from Grace Kelly, Princess Diana and six U.S. presidents. More than 500 firefighters are battling the blaze as WENN goes to press, but Los Angeles County Fire De...