Melvin "Mel" Kaminsky (born June 28, 1926), better known by his stage name Mel Brooks, is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer, best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. Brooks is a member of the short list of entertainers with the distinction of having won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony award. Three of his films (Blazing Saddles, The Producers and Young Frankenstein) ranked in the Top 20 on the American Film Institute's list of the Top 100 comedy films of all-time.

Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Kate (née Brookman), a garment worker, and Maximilian Kaminsky, a process server. Brooks and his family are Jewish; his maternal grandparents immigrated from outside Kiev and his paternal family was from Danzig in the German Empire. His father died of kidney disease at age 34.

As a child, Brooks was a small and sickly boy. He was bullied and picked on by his peers. By taking on the comically aggressive job of Tummler (master entertainer) in various Catskills resorts, he overcame his childhood of bullying and name calling.