Funny Man: Mel Brooks by Patrick McGilligan, First Edition, 2019 
2019, Hardcover, First Edition, Ex-Library
 
A deeply textured and compelling biography of comedy giant Mel Brooks, covering his rags-to-riches life and triumphant career in television, films, and theater, from Patrick McGilligan, the acclaimed author of Young The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane and Alfred A Life in Darkness and Light.
 
Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy award–winner Mel Brooks was the mind behind some of the most influential comedy hits of our time, including The 2,000 Year Old Man, Get Smart, The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein. But before this actor, writer, director, comedian, and composer entertained the world, his first audience was his family. 
 
In this exhaustively researched and wonderfully novelistic look at Brooks’ personal and professional life, McGilligan lays bare the strengths and drawbacks that shaped Brooks’ psychology, his willpower, his persona, and his comedy. McGilligan insightfully navigates the epic ride that has been the famous funnyman’s life story, from Brooks’s childhood in Williamsburg tenements and breakthrough in early television—working alongside Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner—to Hollywood and Broadway peaks (and valleys). 
 
This First Edition copy is an understated Ex-Library, no stamps or markings aside from mark through of the barcode library sticker on the back and spine of the dust jacket and security sticker on inside of back cover, otherwise in Excellent Condition. See pictures for condition reference.