Summary
- Mel Brooks created unforgettable comedy characters by remixing classic genre stereotypes with his inimitable style of humor.
- Collaborating with funny actors like Wilder, Candy, and Moranis enhanced Brooks’ satirical genius.
- Memorable characters like Sheriff Bart, Igor, and Leo Bloom showcase the best of Brooks.
Mel Brooks created plenty of unforgettable comedy characters throughout his career, including some of the funniest movie characters of all time. Brooks’ movies often make fun of other movie genres, like how Spaceballs mocks sci-fi tropes and Young Frankenstein plays with the stereotypes of the horror genre. Brooks always has a knack for remixing and reimagining the stock characters which populate these genres.
Although Mel Brooks’ satirical genius created some memorable characters, he was certainly helped by the fact that he often collaborated with some of the funniest actors in Hollywood. Gene Wilder, John Candy and Rick Moranis all did some of their best work in Mel Brooks movies. The director could also step in front of the camera when he wanted to, creating one or two more classic comedy characters which have stood the test of time.
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10 Richard Thorndyke
Mel Brooks in High Anxiety (1977)
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Mel Brooks gave himself plenty of juicy roles throughout his career, including King Louis XVI in History of the World, Part I and Yogurt in Spaceballs. His best character of all could be Dr. Richard Thorndyke the nervous psychiatrist in High Anxiety. In his loving spoof of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies, Thorndyke is a crude amalgamation of many different Hitchcock protagonists, such as Spellbound‘s John Ballantine and North by Northwest‘s Roger Thornhill.
Brooks plays Richard Thorndyke without any hint of subtlety, leaning into the melodramatic aspects of Hitchcock’s psychological dramas.
High Anxiety isn’t usually ranked among Mel Brooks’ best movies, but when it works, it works beautifully. While the scope of its parody is relatively narrow compared to something like Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles, it’s a must-watch for Hitchcock fans. Brooks plays Richard Thorndyke without any hint of subtlety, leaning into the melodramatic aspects of Hitchcock’s psychological dramas.
9 Igor
Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein (1974)
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Young Frankenstein
Director Mel Brooks Release Date December 15, 1974 Cast Marty Feldman , Cloris Leachman , Madeline Kahn , Peter Boyle , gene wilder
In Young Frankenstein‘s horror movie parody, Igor is the witless assistant, always eager to please but borderline incompetent. Despite his constant mistreatment at the hands of Dr. Frankenstein and Frau Blücher, he usually has a broad smile pasted across his face. This makes him the perfect comedic counterweight to the two more serious characters, who are often too wrapped up in their own importance to see the absurdity of what they’re doing.
Marty Feldman always got a lot of comedic mileage out of his bulging, misaligned eyes, and his appearance is perfect for the role of Igor.
Marty Feldman always got a lot of comedic mileage out of his bulging, misaligned eyes, and his appearance is perfect for the role of Igor. With a gnarly hunchback that he seems unaware of, Igor is the first sign that Dr. Frankenstein should probably turn back instead of pursuing his grandfather’s work of reanimating the dead. Feldman always has a perfectly timed goofy look when needed, which makes Igor a sympathetic character.
8 Leo Bloom
Gene Wilder in The Producers (1967)
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The Producers Where to Watch
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Director Mel Brooks Release Date November 10, 1968 Cast Zero Mostel , gene wilder , Dick Shawn , Kenneth Mars
The Producers was the first movie that Mel Brooks directed, and it remains one of his very best. The comedy relies on the brilliant dynamic between the two stars, Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel. In their scheme to put on the worst show in the history of Broadway and swindle their investors, Wilder plays Leo Bloom, the neurotic accountant who stumbles upon the loophole that inspires them.
Some comedic actors play the same kind of character over and over again, but Wilder had a more impressive range.
The Producers was the first collaboration between Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks, and their styles immediately make a perfect match. Some comedic actors play the same kind of character over and over again, but Wilder had a more impressive range. He is manic and anxious in The Producers, clutching at his blue blankie whenever things get too intense. If Max Bialystock is the devil, Leo Bloom is an angel being manipulated into sin.
7 Barf
John Candy in Spaceballs (1987)
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Spaceballs Where to Watch
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Director Mel Brooks Release Date June 24, 1987 Cast John Candy , Daphne Zuniga , Mel Brooks , Rick Moranis , Bill Pullman
John Candy was one of the most popular comedic actors of his generation, and his single collaboration with Mel Brooks brought the best out of both men. Candy plays Barf, a half-man-half-dog meant to parody Chewbacca in Spaceballs. Barf and Lone Starr have some of the heroism of Han Solo and Chewie, but they cruise the galaxy in a beat-up old winnebago filled with trash.
Candy has an earnest sweetness to his performance that makes Barf fun to spend time with.
John Candy usually played characters that the audience could sympathize with. Even as a canine alien, Barf is somehow the most relatable and charming character in Spaceballs. Candy has an earnest sweetness to his performance that makes Barf fun to spend time with. If the upcoming Spaceballs 2 has any chance of replicating the success of the original, then casting will be a big problem, because Candy is a tough act to follow.
6 Ahchoo
Dave Chappelle in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
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Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Director Mel Brooks Release Date July 28, 1993 Cast Cary Elwes , Richard Lewis , Roger Rees , Amy Yasbeck , Mark Blankfield , Dave Chappelle , Isaac Hayes , Megan Cavanagh
Although it isn’t as popular as some other Mel Brooks movies, Robin Hood: Men in Tights has a lot of great moments. A good number of these moments come courtesy of Dave Chappelle’s performance as Ahchoo, one of Robin’s merry men. Robin Hood: Men in Tights was Chappelle’s first ever movie appearance, a whole decade before he reached a new level of success with Chappelle’s Show.
A lot of Mel Brooks’ comedy comes from pointing out the strange hang-ups that modern society has about race and religion. The character of Ahchoo highlights how adventure movies are predominantly white fantasies.
A lot of Mel Brooks’ comedy comes from pointing out the strange hang-ups that modern society has about race and religion. Brooks himself appears as a rabbi in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and the character of Ahchoo highlights how adventure movies are predominantly white fantasies. Ahchoo is completely at odds with his surroundings in Robin Hood: Men in Tights. His snapback and sneakers don’t fit in with the rest of the merry men.
5 Lili Von Shtupp
Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles (1974)
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Blazing Saddles Where to Watch
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Director Mel Brooks Release Date February 7, 1974 Cast Cleavon Little , gene wilder , Slim Pickens , Harvey Korman , Madeline Kahn , Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks usually has funnier male characters than female ones, but Lili Von Shtupp is one notable exception to this rule. Madeline Kahn’s lively performance helps make Lili just as funny as the two main characters of Blazing Saddles. Her “I’m Tired” number shows Brooks’ flair for musical comedy, but it’s just as much about the dreary, off-key way that Kahn sings it.
Her “I’m Tired” number shows Brooks’ flair for musical comedy, but it’s just as much about the dreary, off-key way that Kahn sings it.
Lili Von Shtupp is the German femme fatale Hedley hires to use her charms on Sheriff Bart. Her character is a parody of the way the Western genre often treats women, since she’s brought in as a plot device to weaken a man. Ultimately, she ends up falling in love with the hero surprisingly quickly, which is another trope of Westerns. Mel Brooks’ writing and Madeline Kahn’s brilliant performance make Lili into much more than a stereotype.
4 Dark Helmet
Rick Moranis in Spaceballs (1987)
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Rick Moranis has since retired from acting, but he still produced plenty of legendary performances for fans to look back on. His role as Lord Dark Helmet in Spaceballs is up there with his best. Dark Helmet is a brilliant parody of Darth Vader, subverting the intimidating aura of one of cinema’s most iconic villains. By contrast, Dark Helmet is an angry, irrational man-child with a Napoleon complex.
Dark Helmet is a brilliant parody of Darth Vader, subverting the intimidating aura of one of cinema’s most iconic villains.
Rick Moranis does comedic rage better than most actors, thanks to his short stature and his expressive face. This helps Dark Helmet stand out as the perfect crystallization of Mel Brooks’ satirical style. The character clearly pays tribute to Star Wars by understanding what makes it so unique, but it undercuts the sci-fi movie’s grandiosity with a pathetic, ineffectual villain. Moranis is no James Earl Jones.
3 Sheriff Bart
Cleavon Little in Blazing Saddles (1974)
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It’s become trite to say that Blazing Saddles could never be made today. Some of its jokes could easily be construed as going too far, if not for the likable performance of Cleavon Little. He forms a bridge between the audience and the action on-screen, rolling his eyes and shaking his head whenever appropriate to ensure that people know it’s OK to laugh. Blazing Saddles is more intelligent than some people give it credit for. Little and Mel Brooks work together to interrogate the way society talks about race.
The scene when he arrives for the first time, to the stunned silence of everyone in town, is one of Mel Brooks’ funniest scenes.
Sheriff Bart is much smarter than the average townsfolk he encounters, but their blind prejudice means that he still has to work incredibly hard to win them over. The scene when he arrives for the first time, to the stunned silence of everyone in town, is one of Mel Brooks’ funniest scenes. Brooks clearly envisions a world where people can get together and laugh about themselves, regardless of race.
2 Dr. Frederick Frankenstein
Gene Wilder in Young Frankenstein (1974)
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Young Frankenstein is one of Gene Wilder’s best movies, and probably his most memorable comedic performance of all. Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, who insists on pronouncing it “Fronkensteen,” initially wants nothing to do with his famous grandfather’s reputation as a mad scientist. After spending a little time getting to grips with the research, he slowly transforms into a mad scientist himself.
Frankenstein’s transformation from a scientist with a chip on his shoulder into a walking horror-trope makes use of the full range of Wilder’s acting skills.
Wilder is at his zany, expressive best in Young Frankenstein. His transformation from a scientist with a chip on his shoulder into a walking horror-trope makes use of the full range of his acting skills. This transformation is capped by his hilarious “Puttin’ On the Ritz” dance number with the great lurching monster. Frankenstein scurries around on stage next to the monster, trying desperately to put on a show.
1 Max Bialystock
Zero Mostel in The Producers (1967)
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Zero Mostel helped Mel Brooks get his career started in the best way possible. His performance as the self-centered Broadway producer Max Bialystock is comedic gold from start to finish. Max is an unscrupulous character who manages to manipulate the mild-mannered Leo Bloom into committing fraud with him. He sells Leo the glamorous lifestyle of a Broadway producer, even though he can’t hide the squalor he lives in.
He’s a typical slimy huckster, and he always knows what to say to get everyone on board with his ludicrous scheme.
Max Bialystock has more than his fair share of Mel Brooks’ funniest quotes. From his first meeting with Leo, his eyes light up when he senses an opportunity for a quick buck. He’s a typical slimy huckster, and he always knows what to say to get everyone on board with his ludicrous scheme. He can charm a flamboyant director, an elderly investor or a Nazi playwright without any hesitation.