Mel Brooks has been in show business for close to eight decades now. And in that time, he did a lot more than just direct a few spoof movies; he’s also had his hand in a number of television and stage productions, in addition to releasing multiple comedy albums with his lifelong friend Carl Reiner. As such, Brooks is one of just 27 people in the entertainment world to have reached what they call EGOT status—in other words, he’s won at least one Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award at some point in his career. But just how did he manage to pull that off? Let’s dive into which specific projects helped earn Brooks such a rare designation.
THE EMMY
Although Brooks had been writing for Sid Caesar since the two first worked together on the Admiral Broadway Revue in 1949, he wouldn’t win an Emmy for any of his collaborations with Caesar until 1967. That year, he was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety for The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special, which he shared with four other writers (including Reiner). Many years later, Brooks made a few memorable appearances on Mad About You as Paul’s Uncle Phil, after which he won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series three years in a row—in 1997, 1998, and 1999, respectively.
THE GRAMMY
Brooks didn’t win a Grammy until almost 40 years after his debut album, 2000 Years with Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks, came out. His final recording with Reiner, The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000, was released in 1997 and won the 1998 Grammy for Best Spoken Comedy Album. Then, in 2002, Brooks brought home two more Grammys: That year’s Best Musical Show Album for his stage adaptation of The Producers, and Best Long Form Music Video for Recording ‘The Producers’ – A Musical Romp with Mel Brooks.
THE OSCAR
While Ernest Pintoff’s 1963 short The Critic, which was narrated by Brooks, won an Academy Award in 1964, Brooks would have to wait a few more years to get his own statuette. At the 1969 ceremony, Brooks received the Oscar for Writing (Story and Screenplay—Written Directly for the Screen) for the original 1968 film version of The Producers. Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane later presented him with an Honorary Oscar at the 14th Governors Awards in 2024.
THE TONY
The final piece of the EGOT puzzle came in 2001, when Brooks walked away with three different Tony Awards at the 55th annual ceremony. The Broadway version of The Producers scooped up the awards for Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score that night. Overall, the show earned 12 Tony Awards, including Best Performance by a Leading Actor for Nathan Lane.
Judd Apatow’s two-part documentary, Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! drops today on HBO Max.
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