WIST Quotations

Brooks, Mel -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Humor is just another defense against the universe.

Mel Brooks (b. 1926) American comedic actor, writer, producer [b. Melvyn Kaminsky]
(Attributed)

Brooks, Mel -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Look, I really don’t want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you’re alive, you’ve got to flap your arms and legs, you’ve got to jump around a lot, you’ve got to make a lot of noise, because life is the very opposite of death.

Mel Brooks (b. 1926) American comedic actor, writer, producer [b. Melvyn Kaminsky]
(Attributed)

Brooks, Mel -- Blazing Saddles (1974)

Dave — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 00:18:02 +0000

MONGO: Mongo only pawn in game of life.

Mel Brooks (b. 1926) American comedic actor, writer, producer [b. Melvyn Kaminsky]
Blazing Saddles (1974)

Brooks, Mel -- The Twelve Chairs, “Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst” (1970)

Dave — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 01:55:22 +0000

Hope for the best.
Expect the worst.
The world’s a stage.
We’re unrehearsed.

Mel Brooks (b. 1926) American comedic actor, writer, producer [b. Melvyn Kaminsky]
The Twelve Chairs, “Hope for the Best, Expect the Worst” (1970)
(Source)

(Source (Audio)). More information on composition of the song here and here.

See also Shakespeare and O'Casey.

Brooks, Mel -- Quoted (1978-10-30) in Kenneth Tynan, “Frolics and Detours of a Short Hebrew Man,” New Yorker

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Tragedy is if I cut my finger. Comedy is if you walk into an open sewer and die.

Mel Brooks (b. 1926) American comedic actor, writer, producer [b. Melvyn Kaminsky]
Quoted (1978-10-30) in Kenneth Tynan, “Frolics and Detours of a Short Hebrew Man,” New Yorker
(Source)

See Hazlitt (1829).