Actor, comedian and filmmaker Mel Brooks was born on this day in 1926. The comedy legend began his career as a writer for Sid Caesar working alongside Woody Allen and Neil Simon. His first big success came with the comedy classic 'The Producers' (1967) followed by a string of hit comedies including 'Blazing Saddles' (1974), 'Young Frankenstein' (1974), 'Silent Movie' (1976), 'High Anxiety' (1977), 'History of the World, Part I' (1981), 'Spaceballs' (1987) and 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).

Among the non-comedy films produced by his studio Brooksfilms are David Lynch's 'The Elephant Man' (1980) and  David Cronenberg's 'The Fly' (1986). Happy Birthday Mel.