Mel Brooks Reveals His Pick for Comedy’s Modern Master
Mel Brooks, the legendary filmmaker, has shared his surprising choice for the finest comedic performer of the 21st century, offering high praise for a contemporary television creator.
For someone whose career began in the early days of show business, Mel Brooks has long been known for his fondness for the comedic greats of his own formative years. His admiration for Harry Ritz, whom he once called “the funniest man ever,” is well documented, and it’s no secret that Brooks’s personal pantheon is filled with names from the golden age of comedy. The likes of the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges, and the Ritz siblings all feature prominently in his recollections, and his collaborations with Madeline Kahn—whom he once described as a contender for “the single best comedian that ever lived”—are legendary. There’s a certain nostalgia in his choices, perhaps inevitable for someone who witnessed the evolution of comedy first-hand.
Classic Influences and Personal Favourites
Brooks’s preferences have often reflected the era in which he came of age, and it’s easy to see why. The comedians he holds in highest regard were not only pioneers but also his contemporaries and, in some cases, his colleagues. Madeline Kahn, for instance, delivered memorable performances in several of his films, including Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety, and History of the World, Part I, and earned an Oscar nomination for her role in Blazing Saddles. His reverence for these figures is shared by many, yet it’s clear that his choices are shaped by personal experience as much as by objective assessment.
Despite this, Brooks has never dismissed the achievements of more recent talents. He has acknowledged that Sacha Baron Cohen comes closest to being a modern successor, but even that is not his ultimate selection for the current era’s finest comic performer.
Brooks’s Unexpected Choice
When asked in 2010 to name his favourite comedian working today, Brooks did not hesitate.
“Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy,”
he replied.
“I think Family Guy is really very good. Very little makes me laugh out loud, but that makes me laugh out loud.”
It’s a striking endorsement from a man whose standards for humour are famously exacting.
MacFarlane’s success on television is undeniable. With Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, and American Dad, he has built a formidable animated empire, with his work broadcast into homes across the globe for years. His ventures into cinema have been more uneven—Ted was a runaway success, while its sequel and A Million Ways to Die in the West failed to make the same impact, the latter perhaps an ambitious attempt to echo Brooks’s own Blazing Saddles.
Legacy and Influence
Brooks’s opinion carries considerable weight, given his decades of experience and influence in the world of comedy. If he regards MacFarlane as the standout comic actor to emerge since the turn of the millennium, it’s a view that commands attention, even if not everyone would agree. MacFarlane’s blend of irreverence and sharp wit has certainly left its mark on the landscape of modern entertainment, and Brooks’s endorsement is a testament to the enduring power of laughter, regardless of generation.