Trudy Gold
The Genius/Bad Taste of Mel Brooks

Trudy Gold - The Genius/Bad Taste of Mel Brooks

- The genius bad taste of Mel Brooks. And let’s have a look at the first slide. There it is. There’s his book, “All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business” from the 95-year-old Mel Brooks. Before we actually get onto his biography and showing his films, there’s a few things I want to say about humour and also about censorship. Now, last night, when Rex Bloomstein gave a brilliant presentation on his film on American Jewish humour, couple of the comedians says, “New York humour is Jewish humour.” And I think that kind of Jewish humour that is Mel Brooks, where does it come from? It comes from really a history, maybe a memory of how you respond to persecution. You’re the wise guy. How do you survive? Because it’s slippery, isn’t it? And at the same time, it’s quick. It’s so witty, and above all, it’s ironic. I have never ever, and I never will forgive Jeremy Corbyn when he said that Jews do not get irony. With their 2,000-year-old history into the diaspora, Jews invented irony, Mr. Corbyn. And one of the issues about that kind of humour, it really does hide so much suffering. And the other point, David Pima has given a couple of brilliant lectures on satire and subversion.

Humour is also a way that you can mock authoritarian regimes. It’s a way you can knock the oppressor. Mel Brooks once said in an interview with an incredibly serious Swedish film interviewer, “I’m telling the story of what your people did to my people through history.” Well, in fact, what Mel Brooks has done in his comedy films and also through Brookline, where he actually was responsible for films like “The Elephant Man,” he tells the story of racism, he tells the story of oppression, and he makes us laugh. Now, the question is, and it’s a very important question, are there some subjects which humour should not be applied to? And of course, a couple of Mel Brooks’ films are very near the mark, but I personally believe passionately in freedom of speech, that great quota of Heinrich Heine, “Any people who burn books,” or today, I would say films, “will one day burn people.” So, the consequences, what is allowable? Look, even in the West, there’ve been many attempts at censorship. And at first, in America, it was the moral code. When “Gone With the Wind” and all those great epics were made, I hope you’ve noticed the bedroom scene where the hero always had to have one foot on the ground. It was morals, and then, of course, it was McCarthyism. There are certain films that I myself would feel very, very uncomfortable about. And some of the horror films turn my stomach. But I would like to see more self-censorship, rather more than society imposing censorship.

When a film goes too far, don’t forget, you have incitement to racial hatred, which it’s illegal. As Rex said yesterday, it’s not used enough. But the point is, there are safeguards. And I suppose one of the consequences of the world we live in today is we need to think very, very seriously. There’s that wonderful quote of Karl Popper, who was himself a victim of the Nazis, Viennese Jew, finished off at the LSE, a philosopher, and he said, “The problem is, today, it’s about the future, for the 20th century is about the meaning of words, even more so for the 21st century.” What are we allowed to say? What can we say if we live in a free society? But at the same time, we have to understand context and also, I believe, not be hurtful to other people or other groups. So, within that, we’re walking an incredible line. But anyway, Mel Brooks, he’s been accused of appalling bad taste. He says himself, “I am bad taste.” But on the other hand, I also think that he is a comic genius. And look, he makes me laugh. And what else? And I’m sure from many of you, he will make you laugh.

Perhaps at the end we can bring up this issue. Does he go too far? So, who was Mel Brooks? He, of course, was born in the Bronx. He was the youngest of four children. He had three older brothers. His father died when he was two years old. It really, really broke him. And his father’s name was Max. He said actually that the anger in him, and to write great humour, you also have to have anger, it does come from his father’s early death. And he talks a lot about his childhood. He said, “Until I was five, I don’t remember my feet actually touching the ground.” He was obviously a totally overloved child. Remember he is the baby of four brothers. He talks about his mother with great affection. But again, the throwaway line, “My mother was so short she could walk under a coffee table with her hat on,” which is actually, he also said that about Jewish men. “Jewish men like me, we can walk under coffee tables with our hats on.” He does say, he was asked by another interviewer, “What was the happiest time of your life? Was it making your first movie, winning an Academy Award?” And he said, “Actually, being a little kid in Brooklyn until I was nine years old.” And he also went on to say, “Most of the kids in my class were bigger than me.” And there you have Mel Brooks.

What a nice boy he is. You really want to do what one of my aunts always did to me to pinch the cheek, don’t you? He said, “Most of the kids in the class were bigger than me, and I needed a weapon, and my weapon was humour. It was comedy. I made them laugh.” And don’t forget, he’s brought up in Brooklyn, his mother in very reduced circumstances since the father died. And, you know, life was very, very tough on the streets. And he was obviously an incredibly extrovert personality. He had this need to be noticed all the time. Can you imagine being the baby with three other brothers? And he had a wonderful voice. He loved musicals. In fact, when he was nine years old, his uncle, who was a taxi driver, actually took him to see “Anything Goes,” that wonderful Cole Porter movie, musical that was written in 1934. And he heard Ethel Merman burst out in song. I mean, I went to the performance of “Anything Goes” in London this year, and it was mesmerising. It’s one of the most life-affirming musicals. It’s also satirical. It’s also subversive, but it’s wonderful. And it’s coming back to the London stage in July. And believe me, if you’re in London, and you can get tickets, and we’re allowed to, please go and see it. It will make you feel so much better. I went with my grandson, and the look on his face, I mean, he likes opera. He likes classical music. And I said, “You’ve got to widen your repertoire.” So, I took him to that, and I saw what it did to him. So much more it did to Mel Brooks. He said to his uncle, “I’m going into show business.” He absolutely adored the movies. He used to sing “Putting on the Ritz,” a la Boris Karloff, which later on is going to come up in one of his films. We know the films he liked. He loved “Citizen Kane.”

He loved “Rashomon.” He loved serious films. He loved all the musicals. He adored Fred Astaire in “Top Hat,” Charlie Chaplain, Buster Keaton, the Marx Brothers. How can you not adore them? He said, “The Marks Brothers were my mentors.” He said, “After ‘Top Hat,’ ‘A Night at the Opera’ is my favourite movie of all time.” And he loved the road pictures. He watched Jack Benny. He said he learnt irony from Jack Benny. And he actually said in his book, his autobiography, “Laughter is a protest. It’s a scream against death.” And he loved comedians like Lenny Bruce. You know, one of Lenny Bruce’s best lines, he once wrote on a wall, “I admit it. I killed him,” which I think is quite appropriate in the light of the extraordinary lectures that Helen Fry is giving at the moment. He loved Buster Keaton. He loved Charlie Chaplain. He was groomed on all of this. He absorbed it all. And on his Jewishness, this is what he said, “I’m rather secular. I’m basically Jewish but not because of religion. It’s the relationship with the people and the tribe surviving so many misfortunes, and being so brave, and contributing so much knowledge to the world, and sharing courage.” And this is also what he said about humour in his book. “A lot of people think that comedy and getting laughs is making up for an unhappy childhood,” because many, many comics are very morose. But he said, “All I can say that in my case, comedy was keeping the joy of a happy childhood going strong. I definitely wanted a continuum. You get the spotlight when you’re the baby of the family.”

Remember what he said, “My feet didn’t touch the ground until I was five. Somewhere about 16 or 17, you don’t get it anymore. I wasn’t getting kissed for just being Melvin anymore. Now, I had to go out and learn it. I’ve always sought the spotlight.” And I think to me, that really sums him up. And when he was 14, he gets a job in the Borscht Belt. Now, all of you Americans will know exactly what I’m talking about. And my partner of 30 years was a New Yorker, so I learnt all about the Borscht Belt. It’s where basically New York went on holiday to all those hotels and cabins not that far out of New York. And of course, the greatest of them was Grossinger’s. And later on, he’s going to get a job at Grossinger’s, wonderful stories from him about the Borscht Belt. He was really what they called a pool tumbler. After eating huge amount of meals, he worked on the on the sour cream station for a while, and he basically said Jews die of cholesterol poisoning. And he has this routine of singing “Dancing in the Dark,” where he gets higher and higher and higher, “Jews singing after eating too much, and they expire.” But he would have to wake them up when they’d fall asleep having eaten too much lazing by the pool. And he often would jump into the pool fully clothed and had to be pulled out. He would do anything for a laugh. So, he’s beginning his career already in the Borsch Belt, where he’s also meeting up with people who later on are going to have a great influence in his life. And in 1944, of course, war breaks out. The Americans are in the war.

He goes to the Virginia Military Institute, aged 18. He’s in the Army. But his greatest role in the Army was actually entertaining the troops. And that’s what he did in the Army. But he also said, let’s get serious here, what happened in the Shoah made a lasting impression on him. And of course, many of his cracks about Nazis, which of course are problematic for us because, can you actually laugh at something as evil as Nazism? He believed, if he ridiculed evil, somehow it would disseminate evil in it. That’s for us to talk about later. Anyway, so he’s out of the Army now, and he wants to get into show business. He hasn’t got family money. So, what he does, he becomes a production assistant for a man called Benjamin Kutcher, who later on is going to become Max Bialystock, the hero or anti-hero of “The Producers.” And he raised his money, as did Max Bialystock, from little old ladies. He worked for him for a year. And he said in his autobiography, “I was Leo Bloom.” And I’ll talk about that when we come on to looking at “The Producers.” 1947, he becomes the major entertainer at Grossinger’s. And he’s made friends with Sid Caesar and also a man called Carl Reiner. Can we see some more of the slides if you don’t mind? There you have Sid Caesar. Now, Sid Caesar is a legend himself, and I’m just doing this really as a test case. And if you enjoy it, I think from time to time we will delve back into this wonderful period of American humour. And I know that Rex will, and I know David will. So, we’ve decided to give you the lighter touch because it is a gruesome time out there. But can we go back to the picture please, Lauren? Thank you, so Sid Caesar. Surprised to say, after Mel Brooks, go back to Sid Caesar, please.

He was born in Yonkers to Max Zisler and Ida Raphael. An incredibly interesting character, he is responsible for the “Show of Shows.” After the invention of television, and then after the Second World War, the “Show of Shows,” it had a 90-minute weekly programme. It became the programme to watch on television. It was watched by 60 million Americans. And it’s absolutely anarchic comedy, and its successor was “Caesar’s Hour.” Now, who were the characters who were involved in the “Sid Caesar Show”? Well, Carl Reiner, who’s going to become a very close friend. What’s the name of the character who wrote “Laughter on the 23rd Floor”? It will come back to me in a minute. Neil Simon. I remember going to see “Laughter on the 23rd Floor.” And it’s the story of the “Sid Caesar Show,” and the follow-up, Woody Allen was also writing there. Most of the great writers who later on conquered Hollywood went on to, they learnt their bones in the “Sid Caesar Show,” which was comedy sketch after comedy sketch, totally anarchic humour. And evidently, Sid got so angry with Mel Brooks at one time he actually hung him out of the 23rd floor. So, you’ve got this extraordinary anarchic humour going on with these larger-than-life, edgy, insecure, brilliant characters. And of course, his relationship with Carl Reiner. Can we see a picture of Carl Reiner, please? No, Carl Reiner. Yes, because with Carl Reiner, they’re going to go into the record business, and they’re going to make many editions of the “2,000 Year Old Man.” Now, who was Carl Reiner? Much more about him in another session. Carl Reiner’s dates from 1922 to 2020.

Mel Brooks was a very loyal friend. I should mention that Sid Caesar, in later life, he sunk into alcoholism and drug addiction, all sorts of problems. But Mel Brooks and a few other wonderful characters pulled them out of the depression, and put him in shows, and put him in his films. Now, Carl Reiner was Mel Brooks’s closest friend. He only died last year. And I think it must have been a time of huge sadness for Mel because he said he could always go round and talk to his friend Carl, these two together. But as I said, he lived a very long and interesting life. He also was an immigrant, first-generation immigrant. He is born in the Bronx to his mother from Romania, his father from Austria. Father was a watchmaker. He was in show business for seven decades, again, very much the sort of background of Mel Brooks. He was an actor. He was a comedian. He was a screenwriter. He was a director. After his stint with Mel Brooks and the stint in the “Sid Caesar Show,” he goes on to television. That’s where the money was. He was responsible for “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” He won 11 Emmys, one Grammy. He won the Mark Twain Award for American Humour. He, by the way, is the father of Rob Reiner. And of course, Rob Reiner, “Harry Met Sally.” How many of you know the orgasm scene in “Harry Met Sally” at Katz’s Deli in New York, where the old lady, watching as the Meg Ryan character fakes an orgasm? Billy Crystal says it can’t be done. She fakes it. And you have Carl Reiner’s wife, Rob Reiner’s mother gets the best line in the movie, where she’s asked what she wants to eat, and she says, “I’ll have whatever she has.” So, I’m just giving you a little sketch of these characters because they deserve a whole show of their own. So, anyway, he becomes very, very popular with the “2,000 Year Old Man.” It’s the story of a man who’s lived for 2,000 years. He’s got hundreds of children, but none of them visit.

It’s the usual Mel Brooks shtick. And it’s very, very, very funny. Anyway, on the Carson show, he works with, he then goes onto the “Johnny Carson Show.” Mel Brooks, he works with Jerry Lewis. He’s working in a Broadway show when he goes to the Ziegfeld Theatre to see a certain lady. Can we see her picture? Yeah, that’s Anne Bancroft. Now, what a beauty. He’d been married and divorced when he met and fell madly in love with Anne Bancroft. He watches her in rehearsal. Evidently, according to his autobiography, he shouted out to her, “You are just incredibly beautiful.” And at the end of the show, he says, “Anne Bancroft, I love you.” And she says, “Who the hell are you?” “I’m Mel Brooks. You’ve never heard of me.” “Wrong, I’ve got your ‘2,000 Year Old Man’ record.” And according to him, he stalked her until she said, “You know, I know you’re stalking me, but why don’t we just start going out?” And then, he gets involved with “Get Smart,” which gives him enough money to get married. And I don’t know what it must have been like for her, but I think he was madly in love with her until she died. And of course, she herself was an award-winning actress. She won Emmys, she won Oscars, and of course, most famous probably for Mrs. Robinson in “The Graduate.” And it’s at this stage that he really, look, he’s a writer. He really wants to get into the movies and what he decides, he’s getting more regular paychecks now, but, “Why on Earth don’t I try for making it on the screen?” And it’s going to be “The Producers.” And of course, the plot of “The Producers,” it all hinges on whether you can make more money with a flop than with a hit. It all starts when the wonderful Zero Mostel is playing Max Bialystock, the producer.

As I said, there are so many Maxes. His son was called Max by Anne Bancroft. There are many Maxes in Mel Brooks’s life. And of course, to star as Max Bialystock, he uses the incredible Zero Mostel, who I promise I’m going to do a whole session on him. He was a brilliant artist, a brilliant actor. He walked through the world. He was up before the Senate hearings. He couldn’t perform in Hollywood for a while. And then, finally, he makes “The Front” with Woody Allen, which is all about that particular time. But he is brilliant in “The Producers.” He is brilliant in “Fiddler on the Roof.” He was larger than life, and he was the perfect candidate to play the Max Bialystock figure. And the story of Max Bialystock, he’d once been a great producer, and there’s a wonderful scene where he’s wearing a cardboard belt, and he throws some dirty coffee at the window, which is totally steamed up and dirty. He sees a Rolls-Royce outside, and he says, “Yeah, that’s right. If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” Anyway, an accountant played by Gene Wilder comes to see him, and he’s doing the books, and he says, “These books are all wrong. There’s a real problem. You’ve got too many investors. You’re committing a crime.” And then, he says, “Look, I can’t be committing a crime. It closed. I lost a fortune.” And then, the Gene Wilder character says, “You know, it’s fascinating.

You could make more money with a flop than with a hit as long as it closes on page one.” And of course, he’s just saying it as an idea, but it grips him. And it’s wonderful because you see the Max Bialystock figure actually taking over the little Jewish accountant, Leo Bloom. And there’s this wonderful scene where Leo Bloom looks at Max Bialystock with total pity and the great line, “Take that look of pity off your face and replace it with one of enormous respect.” I should tell you that my family and myself, we quote Mel Brooks at each other, ad nauseam. And unfortunately, I probably exposed my children to it much too young, but that’s another story at another time. Anyway, what happens is they have to find the worst play ever written, written by an ex-SS man called “Springtime for Hitler.” They have to find the worst director, the worst actor. But you can imagine what happens. People see it as a satire, and it becomes a great hit. So, in the end, they blow up the cinema, and the final scene is when they are in prison, but they’re putting on a show, and they’re getting all the wardens and the prison governor to invest at 50% a time. And in order to raise the money for the show, Max Bialystock goes into what he calls Little Old Lady Land, and he raises hundreds of thousands of dollars from little old ladies. So, let’s see the trailer, I should mention before that that it took eight weeks to film. A producer could make more money with.

CLIP BEGINS

• All right, off you go. Sorry, off you go.

• A producer could make more money with a flop than with a hit.

• [Max] We’ve got to find the worst play ever written. We’ve struck gold.

• “Springtime for Hitler.”

• [Investor] We wish to produce your play.

• My play?

• We think it’s a masterpiece.

• Help us tend the birds. Birds, birds, birds, do you hear?

• [Leo] The director, is he bad?

• He stinks.

• Will the dancing Hitlers wait in the wings? We are only seeing singing Hitlers.

• [Actors] Aw.

• [Max] In two hours, our worries will be over.

• This is it. ♪ Springtime for Hitler ♪ ♪ And Germany ♪

• Don’t forget the checky. Can’t produce plays without checky. ♪ And here we go ♪ ♪ What do we know ♪

• Mm. I’m happy.

• Oh, wow.

• That’s very nice.

• Picked the wrong play, the wrong directors, the wrong cast. Where did I go right?

CLIP ENDS

• Thank you very much for that. So, it took eight weeks to film. And in fact, if you watch it very, very closely, you’ll see lots of actors, lots of extras are used time and time again. You see a woman walking up the street, and then you see the same woman walking down the street. It cost under, it cost $941,000. The producer was terrified. Joe Levine, when he saw it, he said, “We dare not. We are not going to open it. It’s going to be a flop.” But in the end, he does go ahead. And there were lines crowded out to see it. Why? Because Peter Sellers had seen it, and he absolutely loved it. And he took out an ad in “Variety.” And that ad said, “Last night, I saw the ultimate film, ‘The Producers,’ or as it as it was originally titled, ‘Springtime for Hitler.’ Mel Brooks shows real genius in weaving together tragic comedy, comedy tragedy, pity, fear, hysteria, schizophrenic-inspired madness and largesse of lunacy of sheer magic. The casting was perfect. Those of us who have seen the film and understand it have experienced a phenomenon which occurs only once in a lifespan.” Now, it became incredibly controversial, but because of that ad, thousands and thousands of people saw it. The “New York Times” hated it, but “Look Magazine,” “No one will be seated during the last 88 minutes. They will be on the floor laughing.” And basically, I saw the reviews. I checked out all the reviews when it first came out. The British reviews gave it one star.

Some of the American reviews gave it four stars. It was unbelievably controversial in its day. And he said, “‘The Producers’ was my first skirmish with that old Hitler. Many Jewish organisations were angry with me. I’d write back to every one of them explaining, ‘If you can reduce Hitler to, if you can reduce Hitler to laughability, you bring his ideology down.’” Now, yes or no question for you, he won an Oscar for the best original screenplay. And that’s when he decides that’s what he’s going to do. And obviously, I’m not going to spend time on all his films. The next film was “Twelve Chairs” set in Russia, again with Ron Moody this time. He built a stable of actors around him and writers who really, they were very much in his image. And evidently he was fun to work with. But by 1971, even though he’s very famous, he’s won two Oscars, but he’s only made $100,000 on two films. And he’s worked hard on each of them for a couple of years. So, he’s got to have a hit. And this is when we come to “Blazing Saddles.” He decides that he’s going to mock racism against Blacks, and what he’s going to do, it’s going to be a Western. And because it’s a Western, the other thing I should say about Mel Brooks, he loved looking at other people’s genre. Nearly every one of his films will deal with another genre. And this, with “Blazing Saddles,” it deals with the Western. Funnily enough, it’s going to be the second most popular Western after “Butch Cassidy” ever made. This is the big hit. This is going to be the money spinner, and the story of “Blazing Saddles,” the central figure is, and of course, Mel Brooks appears in most of his films. He appears in this. But the character Hedley Lamarr making fun, of course, of the glorious Hedy Lamarr, who we’ll be talking about when we come onto Vienna and the Hapsburg Empire. Hedley Lamarr, he wants to increase the spread of the railroad. And to do that, he’s going to go through a, had to go through a little town. And obviously, he can’t just take over the town, so he has to do it in a certain way.

And he has this crazy idea because the people in the town write to him because they’re worried that they are being attacked by railroad people, et cetera. So, he is going to send a Black sheriff to Red Rock. And of course, you have the most incredibly beautiful man, I call him the Gucci Gucci man, that you have ever seen. And he goes to Red Rock and, of course, all the racial prejudice that he comes up against, again, Gene Wilder playing the Waco Kid. And I’m just going to show you a couple of clips from “Blazing Saddles.” Before we come onto it, I want also to introduce you to Madeline Kahn, who he worked with in many, many films. She also was a very interesting actress, comedian. She was second generation. She was born in Boston. She was a drama student. She had a beautiful, beautiful voice. But in fact, as a student, she was a singing waitress at a Bavarian restaurant called the Hofbrauhaus, which was just outside New York. I mean, again, if you want the twisted humour of certain individuals, she very much was into musical comedy. She was a ruthless woman but incredibly good in show business. But when I say she was ruthless, she was ruthless like Mel Brooks. They just wanted success. And she started work with him first on “Young Frankenstein.” And I’m going back to that. But she works with him in “High Anxiety,” where he mocks the salon singer, the figure of Marlene Dietrich. So, can we see the two clips please from “Blazing Saddles”? The first is when the evil Hedley Lamarr is recruiting characters to invade Red Rock to the town. So, can we see that scene first?

CLIP BEGINS

• Qualifications?

• Arson, armed robbery. Mayhem.

• Wait a moment. What have you got in your mouth?

• Nothing.

• Nothing, eh? Lyle.

• Gum.

• Chewing gum on line, eh? I hope you brought enough for everybody.

• I didn’t know there was going to be so many.

• Boy, is he strict.

• Got to get in there close and find out what’s happening.

• There’s our ticket. Hey, boys. Look what I got here.

• Hey, where are the white women at? Man, that was pretty. I like that.

• Get ready to attack Rock Ridge at noon tomorrow. Here’s your badge.

• Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges. Vamos.

• Hey.

• Qualifications?

• Stampeding cattle.

• That’s not much of a crime.

• Through the Vatican.

• Kinky, sign here.

• Oh. Why, Rhett, how many times have I told you to wash up after the weekly cross-burning? See, it’s coming off.

• [Crowd] Oh, oh.

• And now for my next impression, Jesse Owens.

• Seize them. Catch them. Catch them.

• Hurry it up, men. We’ll head ‘em off at the pass.

• Head them off at the pass? I hate that cliche. CLIP ENDS

• And now, the scene in the saloon where you have the seductress Lili Von Shtupp, very much the Marlene Dietrich figure.

CLIP BEGINS

♪ Here I stand the goddess of desire ♪ ♪ Set men on fire ♪ ♪ I have this power ♪ ♪ Morning, noon, and night, it’s drink and dancing ♪ ♪ Some quick romancing and then a shower ♪ ♪ Stage door Johnnies constantly surround me ♪ ♪ They always hound me with one request ♪ ♪ Who can satisfy their lustful habit ♪ ♪ I’m not a rabbit ♪ ♪ I need some rest ♪ ♪ I’m tired ♪ ♪ Sick and tired of love ♪ ♪ I’ve had my fill of love ♪ ♪ From below and above ♪ ♪ Tired, tired of being admired ♪ ♪ Tired of love uninspired ♪ ♪ Let’s face it, I’m tired ♪ ♪ I’ve been with thousands of men ♪ ♪ Again and again, they promised the moon ♪ ♪ They’re always coming and going ♪ ♪ And going and coming ♪ ♪ And always too soon ♪

• Right, girls? ♪ I’m tired ♪ ♪ Tired of playing the game ♪ ♪ Ain’t it a crying shame ♪ ♪ I’m so tired ♪ Goddammit, I’m exhausted. Hello, cowboy, what’s your name?

• Tex, ma'am.

• Tex, ma'am. Tell me, Tex, ma'am, are you in show business?

• Nope.

• Well, then why don’t you get your frigging feet off the stage. Hello, handsome, is that a 10-gallon hat, or are you just enjoying the show?

• Okay, that’s enough of that one, I think. ♪ Ah ♪

CLIP ENDS

• Yeah, okay, because there’s so many clips to get through. That is the wonderful Madeline Kahn. I should tell you also that the, he employed some new writers. There’s a guy called Norman Steinberg who would come to wherever he was for lunch every day. He said, and this is again from his autobiography, “Mr. Brooks, help me, I’m a lawyer. I don’t want to be a lawyer. I want to be a comedy writer.” And he told me that he was writing with a dentist named Alan Uger. So, he loved the idea of a comedy team, of a lawyer and a dentist, so he hired them. And of course, they were all co-writing this. And you will see from that, that is very much taking off the genre of the saloon scene, the tart with a golden heart. And as I said, Frankie Laine did the title song. He actually approached John Wayne to be in the film. And John Wayne read the script. He said, “I like the script, but it’d be too dirty for my fans.” And as I said, it became the second highest grossing movie on a Western of all time. Okay, now whilst all this is going on, he also gets involved in a company called Brookline. This is through his wife Anne Bancroft, who is a very serious actress. And Brookline makes films like The Elephant Man, which of course, is the tragic story of Joseph Merrick, the chap who was so disfigured that he fed himself basically by appearing at carnivals and how his life was totally taken over by these doctors and people who were voyeuristic. You see, this is the other point about Mel Brooks.

I really believe that he is one of the good guys. His films show up injustice of one kind of another. But moving on, but in a way going back, moving on, I want to go to my other, one of my favourite films. And that, of course is “High Anxiety.” He’s now really on the road. “High Anxiety” was a fascinating film. It’s very much a takeoff of Alfred Hitchcock. And having seen the film, this is what Hitchcock actually wrote to him, “What a splendid entertainment, one that should give you no anxiety of any kind. I thank you most humbly for your dedication. I offer you further thanks on behalf of the Golden Gate Bridge with kindest regards and, again, my warmest thanks, Hitch.” And he sent him a wonderful case of wine. Mel Brooks wrote that, through much of his life, he thought all wine was like Manischewitz, you know, kosher wine to be drunk at Passover. It was Gene Wilder who turned him onto real wine. And he said this incredible case of wine from Hitch, he admired Hitch. And so, can we see a couple of scenes from “High Anxiety”? Oh, yes, I’m sorry. This is one, we haven’t got time. Of course, this is a takeoff of one of Hitch’s incredible films. Now, you tell me which one it is. It stars James Stewart and the beautiful Kim Novak. Tell me what it is. But this is the trailer to his film. This is the film “The Birds.”

CLIP BEGINS

• [Onlooker] Oh, my God.

• Wow, hey, Doug, look at this. What a view. This is spectacular.

• I can see it from here. It’s very nice.

• [Dr. Montague] Do you mean to say that Dr. Richard Thorndyke, one of the world’s greatest psychiatric authorities, is suffering from “High Anxiety”?

• [Victoria] Hello.

• Get away from the door.

• We’re dealing with sick people here. You understand? Dangerously sick people.

• Where is he? Oh, I’m sorry. Where is he?

• They took him to.

• What’s your sign?

• I’m sorry. It’s unlisted.

• That’s the man. That’s the man who shot him.

• No, wait, wait. You don’t understand. ♪ It’s very clear to me ♪ ♪ I got to give in ♪ ♪ High anxiety ♪ And remember folks, be good to your parents. They’ve been good to you.

• I’m so glad to see you. ♪ High anxiety ♪ ♪ You win ♪

• I wonder how many of you can work out what those clips were about because of course, every one of them comes from a Hitchcock film, and I think it’s brilliant. Can we see the second clip? Because I couldn’t resist showing you his take of the shower scene from “Psycho.” No, that’s the, I think we need another clip, don’t we, Lauren? Yeah, this is it.

• Dennis, Dr. Thorndyke in room 1702 just called down to remind you not to-

• I know. Get the newspaper. Get the newspaper. Get the stinking newspaper.

• Of course, the original is with the beautiful Janet Leigh.

• Have the paper. Have the paper. Have the paper. Happy now? Happy? Happy now?

CLIP ENDS

• And of course, in the original, you see the blood going down. So, I must admit that I’ve chosen my favourite films. He did make “Robin Hood: Men in Tights.” There are others that I could have chosen. But the next one I want to show you clips from is “Young Frankenstein.” And I hope you’ve already noticed that he deals with the same stable of stars time and time again. They have a team. They work together. Of course, Madeline Kahn died young, and that was an absolute tragedy. But he likes to work with his actors. And remember, he writes, he produces, he directs. With Brookline, he is the producer. But with most of his films, he plays every part. Is the world big enough for Mel Brooks? Discuss. Anyway, Gene Wilder in “Young Frankenstein,” I couldn’t resist showing you and go back to Mel Brooks’ own childhood when he would sing “Putting on the Ritz” when he was a kid a la Boris Karloff. Can we see the wonderful sequence of “Putting on the Ritz,” which is taking off musicals? He adored the musicals. He adored Fred Astaire. And of course, you all know that wonderful rendition. But let’s see it a la Mel Brooks, please. ♪ If you’re blue, and you don’t know where to go to ♪ ♪ Why don’t you go wear fashion sits ♪ ♪ Putting on the ritz ♪ ♪ Different types of wear-a-day coat, pants with stripes ♪ ♪ or cutaway coat, perfect fit ♪ ♪ Putting on the ritz ♪ ♪ Dressed up like a million-dollar trooper ♪ ♪ Trying mighty hard to look like Gary Cooper ♪ ♪ Super duper ♪ ♪ Come, lets mix where Rockefellers walk with sticks ♪ ♪ Or umbrellas in their mitts ♪ ♪ Putting on the ritz ♪

• The ingenue at the side, adoring. Everything he does is an homage to another kind of film.

• Nothing, nothing, I tell you. Five, six, seven, eight. God sake’s, come on. Are trying to make me look like a fool? Please, I beg you, for safety’s sake.

• Okay, we’ll cut that there, Lauren, please. Thank you. Again, I think that’s his third best film. That’s my taste. And now, I’m coming on to “History of the World,” made in 1981, probably his most controversial film. He’s just announced that he’s going to do “History of the World: Part II.” Can we see? And the history of the world is exactly what it is. He said, “I’m going to be like Cecil B. DeMille.” You know the great quote, “You’ve killed more men than Cecil B. DeMille.” and “History of the World” is episodic. It shows various episodes from the history of the world, and I’m going to show you a short extract from the infamous Inquisition scene. It was actually narrated by Orson Welles, who loved Mel Brooks. Orson Welles said, “You got to pay me $25,000 in cash ‘cause I need to buy cigars and beluga caviar.” And that’s exactly what he did. And that’s exactly what he got. And so, let’s have a look at a short extract from the Inquisition scene. Now, even in this film, he’s making fun of various genres. And in the Inquisition scene, at the end, it turns into an Esther Williams farce in the swimming pool. So, can we just see an extract from the Inquisition scene?

CLIP BEGINS

• Let all those who wish to confess their evil ways and to accept and embrace the true church, convert now or forever burn in hell, for now begins the Inquisition. ♪ The Inquisition ♪ ♪ Let’s begin ♪ ♪ The Inquisition ♪ ♪ Look out, Sam ♪ ♪ We have a mission to convert the Jews ♪ ♪ Jew, Jew, Jew, Jew, Jew, Jew, Jews ♪ ♪ We’re going to teach them ♪ ♪ Wrong from right ♪ ♪ We’re going to help them ♪ ♪ See the light ♪ ♪ And make an offer that they can’t refuse ♪ ♪ That the Jews just can’t refuse ♪ ♪ Confess ♪ ♪ Confess confess ♪ ♪ Don’t be boring ♪ ♪ Say yes ♪ ♪ Say yes, say yes ♪ ♪ Don’t be dull ♪ ♪ A fact you’re ignoring ♪ ♪ It’s better to lose your skull cap than your skull ♪ ♪ Oye gevalt ♪ ♪ The Inquisition ♪ ♪ What a show ♪ ♪ The Inquisition ♪ ♪ Here we go ♪ ♪ We know your wishing that we’d go away ♪ ♪ But the Inquisition’s here, and it’s here to stay ♪ ♪ The Inquisition, oh, boy ♪ ♪ The Inquisition, what a joy ♪ ♪ The Inquisition, oy, oy ♪

CLIP ENDS

• Okay, and now the final extract from “History of the World,” and as I said, I could have chosen so many different ones. But this is, if you like, my taste of Mel Brooks, so let’s finish with a special one.

CLIP BEGINS

• [Mel] See “Jews in Space.” ♪ We’re Jews out in space ♪ ♪ We’re zooming along ♪ ♪ Protecting the Hebrew race ♪ ♪ We’re Jews out in space ♪ ♪ If trouble appears ♪ ♪ We put it right back in its place ♪ ♪ When goyim attack us ♪ ♪ We give 'em a smack ♪ ♪ We’ll slap them right back in the face ♪ ♪ We’re Jews out in space ♪ ♪ We’re zooming along ♪ ♪ Protecting the Hebrew race ♪

CLIP ENDS

• Okay, thank you very much. And the final roll-off, it’s written, produced, directed, and starred Mel Brooks. Okay, thank you so much, Lauren. There are more that I could show, but I think it’s nearly time. So, let’s have a look at the questions.

Q&A and Comments:

The first few comments are about the weather, so let’s go beyond that.

Rochelle, “There’s an article in the JC about Brooks last week.” Yes, and there’s going to be a very big one, big article in “The Spectator” in January. I’m going to sound like a Jewish mum, but my daughter wrote it. “Mel Brooks has a Facebook page.”

Q: “Can you sing 'High Anxiety’?”

A: I never met anyone who could.

All right, everyone’s talking about the weather. Paula, Pauline, Pamela. “I have just watched ‘Blazing Saddles’ with my 18-year-old grandson. It’s politically incorrect. I was worried he would hate it. He did not hate it.” “I have the book reserved.”

This is from Michael. “I have the book reserved from Toronto Public Library. Library says seven-week wait.” Wow. Maureen Lipman mentioned humour and cancel culture.

Q: “What is allowed, and what is not acceptable? Benny Hill would not be PC today. Thoughts, anyone?”

A: We will be dealing with these issues later on. As I said, I think it’s all about context, and it’s also about respect, being respectful of other people.

Q: This is Irv. “I took my late wife, Irene, to the Broadway play ‘The Producers’ for an anniversary. I’d seen the movie before and found it funny, although somewhat problematic. But she loved New York City and Broadway. But after a few minutes, she hated it, showing Jews as con men, the treatment of Jewish older women, and a musical about Hitler. We left before the end. And I had to take her to ‘Les Mis’ to get the taste out of her mouth. The question is, how far is too far for humour? For my wife, too much, yet all together, I found ‘Life Is Beautiful’ too much.”

A: “Life Is Beautiful,” I find that very, very problematic. Those of you who don’t know, “Life Is Beautiful” is a film, which uses the Shoah as a backdrop. And I think that, for me, was the step too far. I actually went to see it with a group of Holocaust survivors, including an incredible man called Rudy Kennedy. And it’s about a young, it’s about a father who manages to keep the horror from his son, the horror of the camp. And Rudy said to me, “It’s porn because I can remember the pain in my father’s eyes when he couldn’t hide the pain from me.” So, I think the point is, as I said, I’d like to see more self-censorship. I’m still not sure about whether you can ridicule Nazism. It’s still a debate, particularly in a time where we see the rise of so many extremist groups. On one level, if you are a liberal, and if you believe in freedom of thought, their kind of ideas are ludicrously ridiculous. But the problem is they are so prevalent in our world that I don’t know if the answer is just mocking them, but that’s a big debate.

Oh, Rosen Dudley. Hi, Rosen Dudley. Oh, it’s going to be on BBC in the next few days.

This is Morel. “I found ‘Springtime’ too much and offensive.” Yeah.

Diane loves Mel Brooks movies. A lot of people seem to like it. Neil Simon, yes, Neil Simon was one of the writers of the “Caesar Show.” And of course, he went on to have another glittering career. Oh, yes, Rochelle remarks, “Also, read ‘The Catskills.’ Remember Mickey Katz and "Duvid Crockett’?” Yes, of course, and Allan Sherman. There are so many of them. Karen Fingrup, “Watching ‘Blazing Saddles’ in the ‘70s at the movies in Dublin, and we’re the only people laughing at the humour. Can you imagine?”

Yes, I don’t know if my friend Sandra Myers is listening, but she, and, I and partners went to see “Laughter on the,” Bernie, her husband, we went to see “Laughter on the 23rd Floor,” Simon’s comedy based on “The Sid Caesar Show.” It was at Richmond Theatre. It was a preview, and it was hysterical because the audience, it was mainly a non-Jewish audience, and we were laughing at different places to them. But I think something I should have mentioned, I actually went to see “The Producers” in Berlin. We had a group over there. About 30 of us went. And because it’s illegal to show the swastika in Germany, the actors wore pretzels, and the problem, the audience was terribly young, and we were laughing at different places to them, and the audience looked incredibly embarrassed. But it was a fascinating experience to be there.

Hindi talking about Carl Reiner, “We learned that my uncle and aunt who lived and worked in the Bronx were his shadchens. My uncle was a bit tense leaving Toronto to fly back to LA to attend their 50th anniversary. And he was invited to roast and toast the famous Carl Reiner.” Oh, how lovely. He’s meant to be wonderful.

And Sandy, “A really brilliant laugh out loud is Anne Bancroft in her skit of the cocktail party introductions.” Yes, and of course I could have included “To Be Or Not To Be,” which is the remake of the Ernst Lubitsch film. Again, it’s on, you know, the subject of Hitler, and can you laugh? She’s brilliant in that.

This is Rosalyn, “And the campfire scene in 'Blazing Saddles’ with the Indian chief on a Gucci saddle, wearing a beaded headdress, reading kosher for Passover.” Yeah, it’s full of, to me, “Blazing Saddles” is full of side-splitting comedy. But on the other hand, some people find it offensive.

Oh, “‘Anything Goes,’” thanks Rose and Dudley, “is the latest London production, which Trudy mentioned. It’s on BBC Two on the 26th of December at 6:40.” Those of you who are in London, it’s so life-affirming. And I think, in this time of, you know, horror, come on. We’re in the middle of a COVID epidemic. Everybody’s shut up in their houses. So, I dunno what it’s like for you lot, but my kids come and do my shopping now. They won’t let the old lady out. So, at least that’s the life affirming. Jennifer liked it. A lot of you’d like it.

The original film treatment was written by Andrew Bergman, one of the team’s writers, yes. “Vertigo,” yes, of course, it was “Vertigo.” “The Birds,” yes. “Vertigo,” “Vertigo.” “I also love ‘The Frisco Kid.’” Yes, that is very, very funny. That is Gene Wilder and, oh, goodness, the wonderfully good-looking half-Jewish actor, somebody will come up with his name. Yes, I have seen Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft sing “Sweet Georgia Brown” in Polish. It’s great. Get it on YouTube. Look, Anne Bancroft, this extraordinarily gorgeous woman who was the love of his life, you know, I mean, maybe he made her laugh.

Q: “Have you seen ‘The Green Fog’?”

A: No, I haven’t. “It’s an experimental film directed by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson that loosely revisits the plot of Alfred Hitchcock’s movie ‘Vertigo’ through a collage of found footage repurposed from old movies and television sets.” That sounds very interesting, Barbara. “The Green Fog” directed by Guy Maddin.

“The blood was black and white, but we all saw it as colour.” Yes, of course, Lance, yes, of course. “Frankenstein, not Frankenstein. Frankenstein, not.” It was Frankenstein. “In his memoir, he recounts his mother’s response to his field with Frankenstein as a small boy. Worth buying the book just for that.”

Yes, Monty, and as somebody said, it’s difficult to get in the library at the moment. It’s hysterical. I think it’s hysterical.

This is Ron. “Question of whether it’s acceptable to ridicule Hitler mirrors the question raised in the play, ‘You Will Not Play Wagner,’ in which Holocaust survivor, benefactor of the orchestra, director’s competition makes the point that if you want to perform Wagner’s music in Israel, you must at least wait until all survivors have passed away.” Ron, it’s complicated. I had a great hesitancy of listening to Wagner, and in fact, my introduction to Wagner operas were from Holocaust survivors. So, I first went to hear it at the Royal Opera House with very, very close friend of mine, in fact, unfortunately, no one longer with us, Trude Levi and Robert Wistrich’s mother, the extraordinary Basha, who lived to be about 106. I went with her in Munich to see “The Flying Dutchman,” which was bizarre because you see, the set was the Exodus, and you saw survivors coming out. It was very, very bizarre. So, I had a very strange introduction to Wagner. My close friend, Anita, she doesn’t like Wagner, but she doesn’t like his music. She says there’s great music, and there there’s good music, and there’s bad music. She thinks it’s beyond that kind of discussion. I’m just giving you her viewpoint. There are so many questions that we have to answer. And in fact, Helen and I are hosting, are holding a debate next week, and Wendy very much wants to go on ahead with these kind of things, so if it works, maybe we can have more debates.

Yes, Mel Brooks did write many of the songs in his movies. Oh, thank you. So many of you are smiling. I’m very glad. Yes, I like that expression, Janet. Janet said, “You showed,” I’m not using this pen correctly. It’s meant to not show my hand. “You showed his genius and willingness to cross boundaries.” Yes. He writes music.

Q: Hai says, “Yes. Has Mel gone too far?” “How much is Woody Allen influenced by Brooks or Larry David?”

A: Look, they all wrote together. They must have influenced each other. I think Woody Allen’s humour is a different kind of humour, although in his early movies it’s slapstick. Woody Allen, again, a very, very controversial character, again, the whole issue of if you don’t approve of someone’s private life, does that stop you appreciating his work? This throws up so many things. Don’t forget that it was Caravaggio who was a murderer, wasn’t it?

This is Roberta. “At no time in my memory have I ever needed the humour and life force of Mel Brooks. I’m reading his book. He’s a real brush of fresh air. What a mekhaye.” You see, that’s the point. He’s 95. I mean, he is a life force. A friend of mine told me a story. He was walking. He saw Mel Brooks in London. It was a Saturday, and he was walking along, and he went up to him very tentatively, said, “Hello, Mr. Brooks, I adore your films.” And Mel Brooks turned around and said, “It’s Shabbos. Get to schul. It’s Shabbos.” What a character. Ellie Straus, “History of the World” looks great. I haven’t seen his films because I thought they were silly when I was that much younger age. Thank you so much.“

Yes. Look, I don’t think he’s silly. I think he’s many things. You know, the epithet, "Is it bad taste?” Look, I laugh at the Inquisition scene, but on the other hand, it’s masking the most appalling horror. “There’s a short directed by George Cohen, born George Julius Cohen, a takeoff of Ingmar Bergman, so Brooksian, won an Academy Award for short films.” Yeah.

Do I think that Holocaust survivors could tolerate “The Producers”? It depends which Holocaust survivors you’re talking to. I had the privilege of working with many of them for many years because we used to facilitate them going into schools, and of course, you make friendships. Some of them felt it was appalling. Others thought it made them smile.

“Life Is Beautiful,” they universally hated. That’s one film I could say they didn’t, they just wouldn’t have any truck with. They thought that crossed the line. But there’s a difference, they said, I’m trying to think back, in ridiculing Nazism and trying to go into the camps, and yet we know from survivors that there was humour in the camps. It’s the human condition. Just as in the camps, we know that people taught themselves things. They tried to keep their minds, and souls, and spirits alive. The human condition, the question is, can we ridicule the human condition? And I personally believe we can, but I have self-censorship. I think most of you have, and that’s what I ask for. I don’t ever want to be told what I can watch and what I can say, but I hope I have the notion of context and not hurting people, not to use anything that would offend.

Oh, this is Lori. “My wife and I went to Grossinger’s a year or two before it closed. Being Pesach, we discovered there were 10 types of matzoh when we only had buns and Rakusen’s.” Yes, yeah. Evidently, it sat 3,000 people at supper.

Melvin, “Ridiculing tyrants great. Chaplin did it perfectly.” Yes, “The Great Dictator” is wonderful.

Yes, Ellie is saying, “I was a bit aghast with ‘The Producers’ but liked the way it dealt with the awful Nazis. I was shaken by ‘Life Is Beautiful,’ awful.” Yes, I don’t know anyone of any sensitivity who liked “Life Is Beautiful.”

“Yes, Brooks and Reiner spoke every day and visited Sid Caesar, who had dementia.” Yeah, they were all very, very close. And I think they were also very good to Sid Caesar when he went through his terrible periods of addiction. Evidently, Mel was unbelievably unhappy when Rob Reiner died this year. Because, you know, as you said, when you get to 95, how many people remember the past?

“When ‘History of the World’ was shown on television, they didn’t show the last clip.” That’s interesting.

Aviva, “I wrote my dissertation on the intersection between humour and the Holocaust. I am not sure that there is too much. The fact that these debates still rages ensures in a very roundabout way that the Holocaust remains a topic of conversation amongst a more diverse group.” That’s very interesting, Aviva. The problem, I mean, I have many, many, many issues about the way the Holocaust is taught, and we’ll be discussing it actually on Holocaust Memorial Day, but let’s leave that for then.

Ron Bick, “The progenitor of cancel culture led to Bill Maher developing his first TV show called ‘Politically Incorrect.’ The show ended being cancelled because Maher said the terrorists who flew the planes into Twin Towers were not cowards as they were being described in the press but were murderers.” That’s extraordinary.

This is from Jean. “Lois Lowry’s ‘The Giver’ presents a challenging, dystopian story of hiding memory.” Yes, that’s very interesting. “Frankenstein, not Frankenstein.” Thank you, Dennis.

Oh, this is from Robin. “We had to go to Swaziland to see ‘Blazing Saddles’ because it was banned in South Africa.” Yeah, that I can imagine.

This is from Linda. “Gene Wilder married Gilda Radner, a brilliant comedian on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ who tragically died of ovarian cancer. You could do a whole show on this show’s characters.” Tim, “Harrison Ford in ‘The Frisco Kid.’”

Yes, yes, how could I forget Harrison Ford? Thanks. Thank you. That’s what I love. I’ve said this before. If I can’t remember something, one of you is going to. Riva, “Ridiculing evil as the Nazis is the final exposure of the sheer insanity of its ideology. Nothing could be more degrading than being ridiculed and the world laughing at you.”

Riva, except we’re seeing the rise of fascist groups everywhere. I don’t know. I don’t know the answer to that. You see, in the ‘60s, '70s, and '80s, I might have agreed with you, but now that I see that there are nails in the coffin of the Enlightenment, I’m not so sure. A debate, please. “Frankenstein, not Frankenstein.” Yes. “When will 'Anything Goes’ be on? BBC two, I’ve been told. I can’t remember what we, it’s been put up. It was Rosen Dudley. Maybe put it up again.

This is Jennifer. "Woody’s humour seems to be more introverted, while Mel seems more extroverted.” Anna, “Viewing films of Mel Brooks over and over again and laughing heartedly over and over again proves to me that Mel Brooks is the ultimate comic genius.” “Satire is meant to be offensive. Otherwise, there won’t be any change.” Yeah.

Yes, this is from Barbara. “Rob Reiner was in the brilliant TV show in the ‘70s on racism called 'All in the Family.’”

Roberta, “I had a drink with him and a mutual friend at a meet-and-greet after his fabulous one-one show at Prince of Wales. He raced around posing for selfies with everyone loving every minute of the adulation.” Yes, a girlfriend of mine was on a flight back to the States with him, and evidently he amused all the passengers through the flight, apart from when they were eating. It’s like he couldn’t stop. He had to be the great comic. He’s obviously, though, a nice man. A lot of these great stars, when they become great stars, it goes to their head, but obviously not with him.

Miriam, “As a child of Holocaust survivors, I love ‘Jojo Rabbit’ and hated ‘Life Is Beautiful.’ My parents love Mel.” Yeah, yeah, I don’t know anybody with any sensitivity who can cope with “Life Is Beautiful,”

Miriam. Oh, yes, “Anne Bancroft was born in 1931.” Of course, yes. She died age 57. Thank you for that. Mistake, my mistake. “I enjoy Mel Brooks films. He’s up with The Three Stooges.”

Yes, Rose, we are going to, well, Helen and I are debating. You know, Helen’s giving a brilliant series of presentations on the historic Jesus, and I will be debating with her. So, anyway, I think that’s all the questions, Lauren.

• [Lauren] Great, well, thank you so much, Trudy. I had a great time.

• I had a great time. Look, I wish you all well. I mean, yeah, we are living through dark times. I believe we have one presentation tomorrow, don’t we, Rabbi Shippel. And then, we are off for the holidays, but we’re back again. Of course, we’ve got this wonderful present through Wendy from the IPO, the Israel Philharmonic. We can tune into that on what we call Boxing Day. And then, I think, when are we back?

• Tuesday.

• Lauren?

• Tuesday the 28th.

• We’re back on Tuesday. So, I wish you all as good a time as possible over the festive season as they call it. And I’ll see you all next week and lots of just, everybody keep safe and take care. We kind of got a big family here now, and it means a lot to all of us. And bless you all. God bless.