Mel Brooks Opens Up About the Pain Behind the Laughter in New HBO Documentary

For more than 70 years, Mel Brooks has been one of the most beloved figures in comedy, responsible for classics that reshaped Hollywood humor. But a new documentary reveals that his early success came with deep personal struggles that few people ever saw.

The two-part HBO documentary Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, premiering January 22 on HBO, looks back at Brooks’ extraordinary career as he approaches his 100th birthday this June. Alongside praise from friends, collaborators, and admirers, the film also offers a candid look at the emotional cost of his ambition.

Brooks’ children from his first marriage describe a man who desperately wanted to be famous — not just successful, but seen and celebrated.

“My dad was very hungry for stardom,” says his son Nicky Brooks in the documentary. “He wanted to be recognized and appreciated.”

A Sudden Fall After Early Success

In his early 20s, Brooks found success as a writer on Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows. When the series ended in 1954, that success vanished almost overnight. Brooks went from earning $5,000 per episode to having no steady work at all.

“That was real money, and then I wasn’t working,” Brooks recalls in the film.

The loss of income meant he could no longer afford therapy, which he had relied on to manage anxiety. Archival footage shows Brooks admitting that he spent two years crying and barely functioning.

“I was broke,” he says simply.

A Difficult Home Life

That emotional turmoil spilled into his family life. Nicky Brooks describes his father as anxious, angry, and volatile during that period, making life at home extremely difficult.

“It became intolerable,” he says, recalling the strain on his mother, Florence Baum, who was raising three young children.

Baum, a former dancer who appeared in stage productions such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, married Brooks in 1953. They divorced in 1962 after having three children together.

Their daughter Stefanie reflects on the gender roles of the time, noting that her father asked her mother to stop working once they were married — a common expectation in the 1950s, but one that ended Baum’s career.

Brooks himself does not shy away from responsibility.

“I kept getting her pregnant, and that meant she could not pursue her career,” he admits. “But I could pursue mine.”

He describes himself during that period as “hell to live with” and says he does not blame Baum for leaving.

A Career Reborn

Brooks’ fortunes changed in 1960 when he teamed up with his close friend and collaborator Carl Reiner to release the comedy album 2000 Year Old Man. The success reignited his career and led to an extraordinary run as a writer and director.

He went on to create iconic films including Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, History of the World, Part I, and The Producers. The latter earned him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and later became a Broadway smash, winning him three Tony Awards.

In 1964, Brooks married Oscar-winning actress Anne Bancroft, with whom he had a son, Max. Their marriage lasted until Bancroft’s death in 2005.

Saying Goodbye to a Best Friend

One of the most emotional moments in the documentary comes when Brooks speaks about Carl Reiner’s death in 2020. Brooks reveals he was with Reiner at his home the night he died.

“I just didn’t want him to go,” Brooks says, describing the moment EMTs arrived. “I loved him so much.”

A Legacy With Honesty

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! does not just celebrate a comedy legend. It also shows the cost of ambition, the strain of failure, and the human flaws behind the laughter — offering a rare, honest portrait of a man who spent a lifetime making the world laugh, even when his own life was falling apart.