--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mel Brooks is one of the few authentic…" description: "\"Mel Brooks is one of the few authentic geniuses working in comedy in America today.\" — Gene Wilder" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/gene-wilder-3914_america_mel-brooks-is-one-of-the-few-authentic-g_922163.png" --- # Mel Brooks is one of the few authentic geniuses working in… ![“Mel Brooks is one of the few authentic geniuses working in comedy in America today.” quote by Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/gene-wilder-3914_america_mel-brooks-is-one-of-the-few-authentic-g_922163.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/gene-wilder-3914_america_mel-brooks-is-one-of-the-few-authentic-g_922163.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/gene-wilder-3914_america_mel-brooks-is-one-of-the-few-authentic-g_922163.png) > “Mel Brooks is one of the few authentic geniuses working in comedy in America today.” [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mel Brooks exemplifies rare, genuine genius in American comedy. **In simple terms:** Brooks is a true comedic genius. Key Takeaway Recognize and celebrate authentic talent. Themes comedy genius authenticity Mood admiring enthusiastic Type celebratory analytical When to use this quote - film criticism - stand‑up - writing workshops Key Concepts creative originality cultural impact humor theory Questions to Reflect On - What makes comedy authentic? - How to nurture true talent? A Different Perspective Genuine genius is hard to identify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Authentic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authentic/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [There have only been two authentic geniuses in the world, Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare and I think you'd better put Shakespeare first, darling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/there-have-only-been-two-authentic-geniuses-in-the-world-willie-mays/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [Comedy in America is very serious. Either they laugh, or they don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gad-elmaleh/comedy-in-america-is-very-serious-either-they-laugh-or-they-don-t/) [Gad Elmaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gad-elmaleh/) > [I always tell people I went to the Harvard School of Comedy in front of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-lawrence/i-always-tell-people-i-went-to-the-harvard-school-of-comedy-in-front/) [Vicki Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-lawrence/) > [Succession,' in my mind, is the first successful British comedy in America, and the way that you get Americans to like British comedy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cord-jefferson/succession-in-my-mind-is-the-first-successful-british-comedy-in/) [Cord Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cord-jefferson/) > [The alumni of Second City from John Belushi to Martin Short have changed my entire life and brought a new kind of comedy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-brillstein/the-alumni-of-second-city-from-john-belushi-to-martin-short-have/) [Bernie Brillstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-brillstein/) > [When people, especially from France, would ask me to talk about or so they could write about New York Jewish humor, I'd say I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/when-people-especially-from-france-would-ask-me-to-talk-about-or-so/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [ \[ Zero Mostel\] would tell anyone anything, not to be impolite, but he'd show that he wasn't at all afraid of however much money… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/zero-mostel-would-tell-anyone-anything-not-to-be-impolite-but-he-d/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [ I met Mel \[Brooks\] backstage in Anne's \[Bancroft\] dressing room. He was wearing one of those pea coats, pea jackets that were made famous… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/i-met-mel-brooks-backstage-in-anne-s-bancroft-dressing-room-he-was/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [I certainly didn't have New York Jewish humor. But I was in three Mel Brooks films so people thought I was a connoisseur of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/i-certainly-didn-t-have-new-york-jewish-humor-but-i-was-in-three-mel/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [ And Mel \[Brooks\] - you have to understand this important point - he had done "The Producers" for $50,000 over two years, and he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/and-mel-brooks-you-have-to-understand-this-important-point-he-had/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [ I was miscast in that production \[of Mother Courage and Her Children\] ... but it was with Anne Bancroft, whose boyfriend at the time… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/i-was-miscast-in-that-production-of-mother-courage-and-her-children/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [ With Mel \[Brooks\], only one time and that was later on during "Young Frankenstein" - never with Zero \[Mostel\] and never with Mel except… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/with-mel-brooks-only-one-time-and-that-was-later-on-during-young/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [What I learned from Mel Brooks was audacity - in performance as in life. Maybe you go too far, but try it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/what-i-learned-from-mel-brooks-was-audacity-in-performance-as-in-life/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [I really loved working on comedy. Most of my roles have been very dramatic and involved lots of emotional work and crying on cue.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-noelle/i-really-loved-working-on-comedy-most-of-my-roles-have-been-very/) Chloe Noelle > [I am absolutely at ease working in a comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjeeda-sheikh/i-am-absolutely-at-ease-working-in-a-comedy/) [Sanjeeda Sheikh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjeeda-sheikh/) ## More by Gene Wilder > [Dont put the sheep on the table.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/dont-put-the-sheep-on-the-table/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [When your mother gives you confidence about anything that you do, you carry that confidence with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/when-your-mother-gives-you-confidence-about-anything-that-you-do-you/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [I'm an actor, not a clown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/i-m-an-actor-not-a-clown/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [ \[Gilda Radner\] died in '89, and I got non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2000. I've just passed the five-year mark and I'm now what you call… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/gilda-radner-died-in-89-and-i-got-non-hodgkin-s-lymphoma-in-2000-i-ve/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [I like - it's not that I want to be someone different from me, but I suppose it partly is that. I love creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/i-like-it-s-not-that-i-want-to-be-someone-different-from-me-but-i/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [I live in a small town in Connecticut, and they don't write scripts there, but I get them anyway because my agent is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/i-live-in-a-small-town-in-connecticut-and-they-don-t-write-scripts/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [Little surprises around every corner, but nothing dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/little-surprises-around-every-corner-but-nothing-dangerous/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [I don't like giving speeches. It makes me nervous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/i-don-t-like-giving-speeches-it-makes-me-nervous/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [On screen, Gene Wilder could often be summed up as an accident waiting to happen, that frizzy, flyaway hair, the eyes darting this way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/on-screen-gene-wilder-could-often-be-summed-up-as-an-accident-waiting/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [Gene Wilder often said that his job as an actor wasn't to make something funny but to make it real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/gene-wilder-often-said-that-his-job-as-an-actor-wasn-t-to-make/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [When I'm not working on something, I seem to go through periods of depression. It helps to keep busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/when-i-m-not-working-on-something-i-seem-to-go-through-periods-of/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [What I learned from Mel Brooks was audacity - in performance as in life. Maybe you go too far, but try it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/what-i-learned-from-mel-brooks-was-audacity-in-performance-as-in-life/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [I'm going to tell you what my religion is. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Period. Terminato. Finito.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/i-m-going-to-tell-you-what-my-religion-is-do-unto-others-as-you-would/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [Gene Wilder characters wanted to be calm, but to the great delight of audiences, they rarely succeeded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/gene-wilder-characters-wanted-to-be-calm-but-to-the-great-delight-of/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [I love acting, especially if it's a fantasy of some kind, where it's not just realistic, it's not naturalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/i-love-acting-especially-if-it-s-a-fantasy-of-some-kind-where-it-s/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) [Explore all 119 Gene Wilder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Mel Brooks is one of the few authentic geniuses working in comedy in America today.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gene Wilder" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/mel-brooks-is-one-of-the-few-authentic-geniuses-working-in-comedy-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/mel-brooks-is-one-of-the-few-authentic-geniuses-working-in-comedy-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/gene-wilder-3914_america_mel-brooks-is-one-of-the-few-authentic-g_922163.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/gene-wilder-3914_america_mel-brooks-is-one-of-the-few-authentic-g_922163.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/gene-wilder-3914_america_mel-brooks-is-one-of-the-few-authentic-g_922163.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mel Brooks is one of the few authentic geniuses working in comedy in America today.” — Gene Wilder", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gene Wilder", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Mel Brooks is one of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/mel-brooks-is-one-of-the-few-authentic-geniuses-working-in-comedy-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/mel-brooks-is-one-of-the-few-authentic-geniuses-working-in-comedy-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```