Mel Brooks made an ultra-rare appearance in Hollywood on Sunday, looking as spritely as ever amid production for the sequel to his hit 1987 film Spaceballs.
The 100-year-old icon was smiling as he stepped out in Los Angeles dressed in a black suit with a button-up shirt, an outfit which he completed with a black trucker cap that had Spaceballs splashed across the front.
© @NIKOTYLER / BACKGRIDMel is reprising his role as Yogurt in the sequel, Spaceballs: The New One, alongside Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman and Daphne Zuniga, and the film is set for release in April 2027.
"We filmed Spaceballs: The New One that Mel Brooks worked with the writers on," Daphne shared during a panel at '90s Con. "He's a big influence in it. He filmed his part already before we shot. It was his idea: 'You better film me now because I'm 100.' So we did."
Mel Brooks' secret to longevity
© Josh Gad / InstagramMel is a comedy legend, known for creating projects like Get Smart, The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. He is one of 22 people in history who have won a competitive EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), and spent his whole life making generations of people laugh.
"I think laughing keeps you healthy and happy. It's an amazing sound, people laughing at something I created," he told People. "Making comedy is a great job. It keeps you sane and happy. It gives you a reason to be alive."
The father of four, who celebrated his 100th birthday in June, rarely thinks about his mortality, as he told the Associated Press in 2021.
"I gave up after 60 thinking about it because if I did, I'd be thinking about it all the time. So I don't think about it much. When and if it happens, it's going to be a sad day – for everybody but me," he joked. "I enjoy living. I'd like to do it as long as I can."
Mel Brooks' life behind the scenes
© NBCUniversal via Getty ImagesMel was born and raised in New York, and shared with the outlet that he made people laugh from an early age. "I wanted to keep the party going. I wanted to keep the happiness and joy and explosions of laughter going into a dour part of our lives, not our childhood anymore," he explained.
"I was once interviewed, and the guy said, 'What was the happiest part of your life? Was it winning the Academy Award? Was it marrying Anne Bancroft?' I said no, not at all. It was my childhood. From about four or five to nine, it was the most exciting, happiest, joyous life that anyone could experience."
© Getty ImagesMel quipped that after age nine, homework took "precious minutes" from his childhood.
The 2000 Year Old Man star was married twice: first to Florence Baum from 1953 to 1962, then to The Graduate actress Anne Bancroft from 1964 until she died in 2005. He welcomed kids Stefanie, Nicholas and Edward with Florence, and his son Maximillian with Anne.
