Mel Brooks telling the Cary Grant story on The Johnny Carson Show
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Dismal video quality but a very funny story told by a very funny man.
*****A better quality version is now on the official Carson channel • Mel Brooks Hilarious C...
Broadcast on 19 May 1992, the third from last ever episode.
In his excellent autobiography, "All About Me" (2021), Mel recounts the "Cary Grant story" as one of his favourite stories to tell onstage, pointing out in the course of doing so that Grant had bought copies of the "2000 Year Old Man" record to send to his friends.
He continues: "That is the story I tell on stage and it really garners big laughs, but the truth is in real life our conversations were a lot more in-depth. Cary told me about his struggles with the studious, he wanted to be doing more important serious films and not just light comedies. But the studios system wouldn't allow it as long as the light comedies were making big money. I remember seeing a few of his serious films and we talked about "Penny Serenade" (1941) and "None but the Lonely Heart" (1944). I told him they were both wonderful and his performances in therm were incredibly moving. He really appreciated the compliment and explained that unfortunately neither film did that well at the box office. So unless he could raise his own money, he was stuck with what the studio offered him. He was intelligent, sensitive, and I really treasured his company and friendship".
As of this writing, Mel Brooks is 97 years young, still inspiring us with stories and tales of past wonderment and I’m hoping, wishing that his generation will somehow be preserved for the uninitiated. Just love Mel Brooks so much.
Reminds me of Sinatra talking about the late great Don Rickles
History of the world VOL2 finally was made!
Wow what a great man!
His movies remain the most original and funny of comedies all time. A real genius.
The day after Mel Brooks dies, expect for many of his movies to become banned much in the same way blackface was eventually seen as utterly atrocious-- despite people like Bing Crosby and Shirley Temple once wearing blackface. Mel Brooks' movies will no longer be seen in the time they were made and instead be derided by the very same people who used to love them back when it seemed acceptable.
Ran into him walking through the Village. My mouth agape he looks at me and says “Yeah it’s me. Who’d you expect?” And we both burst out laughing. Normal guy.
Damn, that is a perfect Mel Brooks line.
Cary Grant was always open and friendly to everyone who crossed his path. My long passed away Grandfather had the great pleasure to share a hospital room with Mr. Grant (If my memory is correct, I believe this was 1967). Mr. Grant had been involved in a somewhat serious car accident in New York City, and was hospitalized for some days. My Grandfather had just undergone a fairly "major" operation - and suddenly he woke to realize that he was sharing a room with Cary Grant. I was very young at that time (about 11), but I do recall my Mom saying "Grandpa is staying with Cary Grant." Of course, I did not know who he was, but I knew something special had happened for Grandpa. My Grandfather later related as to how Mr. Grant went across the entire hospital "wing" to greet and cheer all of the other patients. Really, a kind and lovely gesture. Cheers to all!
He's my favorite actor and your story sounds about right. He was a classic.
68
Late response but I'm surprised he didn;t have a private room! Great Story.
Did he have a boild egg for lunch in the hospital
Wikipedia: "On March 12, 1968, Grant was involved in a car accident in Queens, New York, en route to JFK Airport, when a truck hit the side of his limousine. Grant was hospitalized for 17 days with three broken ribs and bruising. A female companion, Baroness Gratia von Furstenberg, was also injured in the accident."
please stay with us a little longer mel. make us laugh. we desperately need it.
The magic of a storyteller: It was my first day of 8th grade American History class. I expected a year of boredom, prayed for a "C". The teacher was that rare storyteller, kept me glued to each word of the story of the history lesson. Walked out with an easy "A" and a love of American History.
"The magic of a storyteller", you got that right!
Had a History teacher like that. Hat a trunk full of hats etc. He taught history!
My daughters got their love of Ancient History from me but their ancient history teacher exploded it. He made them live the experience. For example, when they were learning Roman History he'd get them to make Roman food, dressed as soldiers and dug ditches for a compound (in the school), got a carpenter to make wooden weapons for them (he already had them) so they could do battle drills. It was complete immersion and they loved every minute of it.
I had the same experience in high school with a literature teacher. Through his humor and storytelling ability, he taught me to appreciate the beauty of a well-told story, poetry, and Shakespeare.
YOU were blessed with a REAL TEACHER..
I would fan geek out like Mel describes so vividly if I ever got the chance to meet Mel Brooks. He is a national treasure and our family hero!
Cary Grant was very very good about sending notes -- thank you, congratulations, sympathy, thinking of you, gifting, etc. He was a prolific note-writer and entire articles have been dedicated to this. Such a thoughtful act and truly lost art.
I'm laughing as hard as I never had and suddenly he says: "Anyway let me tell you the punchline !!!" Absolutely killed me !!!
God Bless Mel Brooks !!!
That line is peak hilarity.
Hi Luis, how are you doing
@@nguyensolomon2762 Fine, Nguyen, God bless you !!!
@@luishumbertovega3900 God 🙏 bless you too.... Where are you texting from?
@@nguyensolomon2762 I live in San Juan, Puerto Rico 🇵🇷.
How can you not like this man.
It ain't the story, it's the storyteller. Mel Brooks is unquestionably the master at this sort of thing!
So true....... what is sad, the world is looseing the art of storytelling, quick chats, facebook,,and other media is about say it quick with as few words as possible.
Absolutely. Tony Randall was also an excellent storyteller who told a story of taking an aerial tour of San Francisco and had me laughing so hard I cried. It is the storyteller.
I,M NOT IN...lol
His movies are some of the best of the comedy genre. "Young Frankenstein", "Blazing Saddles", "The Producers", and "Spaceballs" are incredible. One of my favorite characters of all time is the late Cloris Leachman as "Nurse Diesel" (at the asylum in "High Anxiety").
@@Laceykat66 Orson Bean also a great storyteller he used to be on Dennis Millers radio show
Somehow I think I could have stood having lunch with Cary Grant every day. But it's a great story and exquisitely told.
My future wife had just arrived to California from a small Pennsylvania town. At the time, I was working for NBC News as an assignment editor
and had just received a media invitation to Alfred Hitchcock's birthday party at Chasen's restaurant. I told my girlfriend we were going to
a VERY fancy restaurant and she might see some celebrities. The second we walked in my wife spotted Cary Grant...she was speechless
and I think she called every person in her hometown that next morning.
Mel is one of my favorites ever. Classy, energetic and a master at his trade. From all accounts he was about one of the sweetest guys you could encounter in a vicious Hollywood. Grace and humor often inter-lap inside the mind of rare talents like Mel. You’re loved buddy!
Cary Grant was wonderful and he offered his lap to me in the magic castle theatre when there were no seats left- everyone got in on the joke and I wound up in the LA TIMES ❤
"Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Hell I wish I could be Cary Grant' -
Archibald Leach
She also said he looked like a Mel Brooks sounds
Now *there* is a consummate professional. He knows that even though he plays “Cary Grant,” he is still just Archibald Leach!
That is right. He was actually an average man.
But when you have a director, script, make up, and the film editor, then he became Cary Grant. It is called acting.
May West did have big breast. She acted like she did.
@@jamesmooney8933 So informative.
@@hijodelaisla275 Thank you, UA-cam helps.
29 years ago and he’s STILL alive. Awesome.
I agree 100% People are commenting as if he were dead. Abe Vigoda is dead.....finally! RIP to him.
Peace
May you make us laugh another 95 years Mr. Brooks!!!
I agree, but shouldn't that be 2000 years?
@@auapplemac1976 2,000 on October 16.
Brilliant man. Loved him in the Simpsons
@@moyadapne968 He's a Libra? I knew it! ( I'm not that into astrology but my dad & brother are Libras & I just find people under that sign to be generally be pretty cool 🙂 👍)
There's no one funnier than Mel Brooks. What a genius!
I have said those exact same words since I saw Mel Brooks in on The Ed Sullivan Show back in the Sixties. I was hooked and I would try and catch Mel on all the talk shows. I am now 72yrs. old and Mel has kept me and the world laughing for sixty decades. To me he is a living treasure.
@@darlenetisdale1641
60 decades is 600 years.
Sid Caesar would disagree with you, I however completely agree with you.
Jackie Mason blows him away!
@@thechumpsbeendumped.7797 Exactly! And he's been entertaining us for even longer than that - over 2000 years.
I still miss Johnny and Ed, the best guys ever!
Back when you knew you'd be in front of your TV at 11:30 PM!
When Mel Brooks is telling a story I sit through the whole thing no matter how bad the video is jumping around.
It really wasn't funny. A lot of humor of Carson in the 70s and 80s doesn't age well. Nothing about this was funny.
@@michaelwainscott2633 I don't know how old you are, but did it every occur to you that you simply don't have a good sense of humor?
@@retroguy9494 I have a great sense of humor. History of the World Part I, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles are three of my favorite movies. I'm a big Mel Brooks fan. This wasn't funny, Buddy Hackett's skit wasn't funny, and Jonathan Winters wasn't all that funny, and they were three of Carson's favorites.
@@michaelwainscott2633 Perhaps its a personal thing. I never found Hackett that funny either. I don't know why. Perhaps its because he was just way too over the top.
But THIS I found funny. Especially with the twist. At first, I thought the punchline was going to have something to do with the hard boiled egg. But after I heard the end, I realized that the punchline was actually the line ABOUT the punchline! In my opinion, that is comedic genius! Perhaps that's why Carson put Brooks in the class he did!
@@michaelwainscott2633 I thought it was priceless, very funny. Unless you are joking, like Tony saying that kissing Marilyn was like kissing Adolf Hitler.
None of the talk show hosts today would even think of allowing a comic genius like Mel Brooks to take the time to tell a story like this. This was part of the reason Carson was so great - he was confident enough within himself to throw the spotlight completely over to a master storyteller like Brooks who then created an unforgettable moment for us, the audience.
Not to take anything away from the talented Carson -- I agree he was a master at sitting back and letting his guests have the floor. No argument there! He might even have been better at it than any of today's talk show hosts.
But to say that "no host today would even _think_ of doing that" is going too far. I can imagine several of today's talk show hosts being happy to let Mel Brooks tell a story. And I can remember seeing recent hosts letting their guests blather on.
But I do agree with the assessment of Carson as a master of letting his guests have the spotlight.
Not true. When Conan O’Brien still did his late-night show, he had Mel Brooks on and just let him rip, very similarly to what Carson did.
Carson was probably a genius too.
Jimmy Fallon would be fake laughing and interrupting Mel in every other sentence.
@@007Julie I know what you mean about Fallon. I think Fallon is extremely talented in many ways, but in a lot of the interviews Fallon seems to be making it all about himself.
He was a genuinely nice person, who loved life, and he loved people. People couldn't help loving him back. Including me.❤
That's exactly right; I always told my children that going on a trip is about the fun getting to the destination! Mel is the best!
@@joantaber oops! I meant Cary Grant!
I was wondering why you said "was", since Mel Brooks is still alive. Now I know you were referrng to Cary
Grant.
Always loved the reason given by Anne Bankroft for marrying him: "When I met him he looked like my father and acted like my mother and I knew I had to marry him."
That's a brilliant line
She also said once that "Whatever room he is in-- there's the party."
@@tlelliott-nc2384 "And if Carl Reiner is with him, you'll probably need a bigger room," is what I would personally add to that. They increased their funniness on an exponential scale when they got together.
When I read about Anne Bancroft's reaction to Mel just coming home at the end of the day, and she included the word "funny" in her description of him, I realized the importance of being able to make my partner laugh had increased. Worked out well.
That is brilliant. Never heard that before! Love it, so sweet.
It's amazing the energy it takes to tell and sell that story.
Mel Brooks made America laugh...what a great contribution to mankind. A great American....God bless him.
Brooks is still alive! He’s like 94 now
Being born in 1957 and being a kid in the 1960’s and early 70’s, I’m in bed, my dad in the living room watching The Tonight Show and hearing him laugh, I somehow took for granted.
That’s what I love also about Conan. He and Johnny didn’t mind letting the guest have the limelight. There wasn’t a competition between the host and the guest. Stephen Colbert can’t dare let the guest be the star of the show. Most of the others can’t either.
My Dad worked on his and Anne's apartment in the City in the 60's. He would come home and tell us Stories. Mel makes me laugh to my core.
Hello Janice, how are you doing
I'm jealous!
Mel must be one of the most amusing people that ever lived. Cary was a superb actor.
I love Mel Brooks. What a blessing to have this truly gifted man in our lives.
I remember this episode when it aired. I believe it was Johnny's last week. Nothing comes close these days.
Mel Brooks was truly an American Treasure! The sad part of that is that in today's "Public Theater" he would be crucified by nearly anyone with a TV camera and a mike. I guess that's what they made DVDs for...
Mel Brooks is an American treasure! I am not sure how this ended up in my feed, but thank you UA-cam! I was 10 years old again for 5 minutes.
We just love love love Mel Brooks. He is FANTASTIC. Thank you
Mel is one of the greatest talents in show business!
@@brianwalter8152 Thank you, Brian. I´m well and the same to you I hope.
@@brianwalter8152 Thanks, I´m from Sweden.
@@brianwalter8152 Not at all
Hilarious Mel Brooks keeps us all in stitches!! 😂😂
That's funny he was so taken by Cary Grant because I thought his wife, Anne Bancroft, was nearly a female version of Cary Grant. She was so classy and elegant!
Bancroft went to my high school. In an interview several yrs ago, she said when she heard his key in the door at the end of the day, she knew the party was about to begin!
I remember hearing her say she could never get mad or argue with him because In the end he always made her laugh.😊
Harpo Marx was as sweet and nice a person as anyone could want to know. In an interview, his wife said of him, "My heart still leaps when I hear his footsteps."
4 minute set up for a 2 second punch line. love it
The line means nothing, it's the build-up...
@@ingvarhallstrom2306 I actually thought the punchline was going to be something to do with the hard boiled egg.
Norm McDonald on speed....
Cary Grant was a very ordinary bloke blessed with good genes and a sense of humility who lived at the right time and met the right people. That's the way the cookie crumbles.
Yes, it is. Cheers
He had a special kind of charm that was not typical.
To be born in poverty in England & end up a Hollywood star is not ordinary. Same goes for Richard Burton.
Always liked his line "some people say they wish they were like Cary Grant. Well, I wish that I was like Cary Grant." in other words, he wished reality matched the Hollywood image
Cary Grant is never ordinary!
Mel lived life. I remember one interview, R rated. He was talking about the 60s and going on on the town in new york city one night. "You could walk down time squares, get a blow job, then a hot dog and a beer on a warm summer night". Crude but that is why many of his movies were good. They were real. He had life experiences
I don’t know why is the funniest line that has ever been said
LMAO "We are going to lunch together" Mel Brooks and Cary Grant
So glad that Mr. Mel Brooks is still with us and doing well.
The moral of the joke is that even diamonds can be boring after a while.
Mel Brooks is the guy you love to know personally and see at every party and get together. Hilarious and a riot every time.
How fortunate for you that you run into him so often. I must hang out with the wrong people.
Why do I think that every time Mel Brooks tells this story it just gets better and better!
cary grant had a similar story about wanting to meet mel brooks but he would have said yes to the 4th meeting lol
Who wouldn’t it’s “Melbrooks”
I love Mel Brooks, still one of the funniest men EVER. Never seen any of the Star Wars movies but have watched Spaceballs too many times to count and Blazing Saddle has aged to perfection.
The best comedy of all time. Young Frankenstein too!
Almost. It appears to have lost the final "S."
@@hijodelaisla275 Time eats away at everything, doesn't it?
@@1234cheerful LOL
In his biography Cary Grant wrote, “ Even I wished I was Cary Grant.”
He’s my favorite comedic writer of all time.. Mel liked to make the audience think and laugh at the same time ….
The racism reference was brilliant and relatively subtle. All hidden in just an offhand comment about corned beef sandwiches.
I love how the audience is roaring with laughter, and he says, "Now let me tell ya the punch line!" and that gets its own laugh! and then the actual punchline is even funnier! Mel can really tell a story!
One of THE all time comic greats
To think that he didn’t really even want to tell that story again and yet THAT was how he told it! So much energy! Fantastic!
I’ve had very interesting subjects with very boring teachers, and very boring subjects with very interesting teachers: the storyteller makes the story.
Brian Walter - Thank you, Brian; likewise. 🙂
Brian Walter - Take care, Brian-greetings from Greece! 🇬🇷
Brian Walter - Always glad to be a friend, Brian. Thank you for all your good wishes.
Nothing better than a brilliant raconteur!! 👏
My God, he is ..and will always be... F'ing Fantastic!
No one can ever replace Mel Brooks! OMG! I love him!
Happy birthday to Mel Brooks. Thanks for the memories from your brand of comedy We will need you to keep us laughing in these times
This is some real manic George Costanza energy
I can not imagine "I'm not in" to Cary Grant!!!! HILARIOUS...
Hi ☺️, how are you doing
The fact there's about four jokes in the opening few seconds of this anecdote, totally unrelated to the story itself, is why Mel Brooks is the best.
"When I left the Sid Caesar show - well, not left, I was kinda fired" and "I was working with a guy called Marvin Schwartz. Marvin Schwartz - I trusted him!"
Both of these have nothing to do with the story but they get you laughing before the story even starts and get you in the mood for an anecdote that isn't really that funny (it's all in the delivery!). It's basically a masterclass in stand-up comedy. Building up the story too with little details like what he ate and how he pronounced Cary Grant as one name - Carygrant.
Brilliance forever...flashback. Mum asked me to tape a Manheim Steamroller Christmas album onto cassette, so she could play it for the church ladies...I did and had a few minutes left on the tape, so I added the Blazing Saddles theme song. They loved it. I was fortunate enough to have a few Moms who treated me like their own.
Only Mel Brooks could get away with saying "Let me tell you the punchline" at the end of a shaggy dog story and make it funny!
Norm could.
Carson was the master. When a guest was on a role he knew it and he let it play out. Too many hosts since have felt compelled to comment and break the flow. It's Mel Brooks telling a great story about Cary Grant. Nobody wants to hear Fallon or whomever shoehorn in a third-rate wisecrack in the middle of that.
Exactly! Conan butts in with not funny commentary too
Can you imagine having him at your dinner party?
🤣🤣🤣
Hi Penny, how are you doing
He kept that energy into his 90s.Like Mick Jagger at 78 doing concerts in 2022.
Mel Brooks is a great story teller and hilarious to boot. They broke the mold after he was born☺️
Corned beef sandwich on white bread? What a desecration! I'm with Mel: Corned beef on rye with mustard, absolutely!
I literally winced when he mentioned the mayo. That's even worse than the white bread LOL
Great ! Now I'm hungry .
With a pickle and cole slaw on the side
That's the way it's supposed to be made! That's how it's made in NYC! Also, it's pastrami on rye with mustard too! White bread & Mayo! That's sacrilege!
@@stevesimon6657 Exactly!
The 2,000 Year Old Man w/Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner is my favorite album of all time, this clip brings me back to that same laughter that I had when I first heard him. He is a comedic icon (with or without a punchline). Thank you for sharing this!
We spoke rock, basic rock (don't throw that rock at me!)
Absolute genius. Love him.
Thanks for posting. I had forgotten this story. Nobody funnier.
As a bit of a misanthrope, I can so relate to this. There are times you don't want to be with someone at all---not because you don't like them, or you're unfriendly, or in a bad mood, or even because you're shy. JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO F***ING TALK ABOUT.
Having Mel Brooks as a dad must have been insane
Imagine having Groucho as a father too.
This brilliant show aired the night I was born--May 19, 1992.
The night I was born Johnny had Mark Twain on.
@@tommyrauk8205 - LOL! Although, I suppose it's possible that Hal Holbrook was on, who was famous for playing Mark Twain on stage.
That's a a great story, a wonderful time to be alive Cary did have true star quality on screen.
I've always said that if I ever get to meet Mel Brooks I will bow down to him and say repeatedly, 'We're Not Worthy, We're Not Worth."
I used to feel that way, then I heard what a nasty person he is (like so many other comics). I hope I heard wrong, he is a genius!
WHY don't you say I am not worthy?
LOVE Mel Brooks! One of a kind!
Mel Brooks is an American Icon
I like the part of holding hands.
That was excellent storytelling about nothing. It's actually even sad when noting the failure to discuss politics, philosophy, and become better friends, yet the way he tells it inclines one instead to laughter. What a master of the art of comedic storytelling!
I see your point, but on the politics, note, it's not polite to discuss politics, and class-acts like those two knew/know that, and that's why i wouldn't have come up. and even if it did, he telling the story of tele-vision would, out of proper manners, require him to leave that part out.
a simple, innocent conversation, between friends or strangers is often the best kind
I agree. He could’ve gotten to know someone potentially/probably fascinating. There’s so much to find out about others - all others.
@@ImperialRadioYT The difference about speaking about politics back then, it wasn’t about hate. If there was jokes about politics, it was a joke, not more ranting over fake news and it was leveled on all sides of the political philosophies, same with religion. Big difference in deliver now days. You want to be entertained not relieve all the crap being vomited on national news.
Politics, back then seemed to be "working" for the good of most Americans. Everyone was at least working and making enough to provide for a home and family, no need for much discussion. Today politics is failing us, therefore there is much discussion and alternative ideas as to how to fix it, creating polarized opinions.
Read the video description and you'll see there's a lot more to the story. 😆
“He has a hard boiled egg. - I don’t know why.” 😅😅😅
Somehow though I just find it hard to imagine Mr Brooks running out of things to say! ;
Great clip (and I read a story that the same thing happened with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman at the race track -- they were STUNNED by hanging out with Grant at first and later they dodged him), but I still love Mel's "Dancing in the Dark" story -- also on Carson.
Wow. When he tells a joke he really commits. The boiled egg was the genius icing.
No one:
Johnny: Tell the Cary Grant story.
you had me with "commissary:" ~Desert Storm veteran
Whenever Mel tells stories, they often involve breakfast or lunch with someone, and he always recalls what he ate.
Mel Brooks activated ...genius
How could anybody get tired of eating lunch with Cary Grant regardless of how many boiled eggs he eats? lol
That is an incredibly funny story delivered by a man with kaleidoscopic wit.
Mel gets up and skips around. So funny!!
MY ADMIRATION FOR MEL & JOHNNY IS IMMENSE....EVEN AT 85...
Loved it,...hope everyone enjoys this ,...these icons are starting to leave us.
I'd love to go to lunch with Mel & Rodney Dangerfield to see who stopped talking first 😂
he even did that tie nervous thing that Rodney does.
Well, technically, Rodney stopped talking first....
@@bretthess6376 too soon.
@@erflingnot Just a joke. I bet Rodney and Mel would both laugh.
Two funny Jews...You'd be on the floor. Hope its clean.
corned beef with mayo on white bread.. that is a subtle joke, I'm glad the audience got it.
I didn't.
@@davidwaterworth9594 , that's awful white of you.
@@kellyjay7448 Me neither. And i always had cornbeef sandwiches without dressing too. Maybe it's an English thing?
I'm pretty sure it's a Jewish thing.....I'm Jewish and we always joke that we like rye bread and like white bread and mayo. I think Billy Crystal referenced it as well.
Johnny was, and still is, THE paradigm of the Golden Age of television. There will never be his equal.
Great story. Same thing happened to Harvey Korman and Tim Conway. It’s in Carol Burnett’s book.
A lot of people talking here about how funny Mel was here. Johnny and Ed are doing their part to provide the laugh cues as well. Do not underestimate how important that is. There is a reason Johnny (and Ed) were on the air for decades. Even if you can see the host feigning laughter, it still helps you enjoy the show.
If I ever got to meet Mel Brooks, the conversation could go on for ever.
I think I would just listen
Classic Mel!
Love Grant and his movies… Notorious is in my top 5.
One legend storytelling about another. Beautiful stuff.
Everyone should see Mel Brooks on the series Mad About You. Classic, hysterical stuff.
The INCOMPARABLE Mel Brooks (June 28, 1926 - age 96) on Johnny Carson with Ed McMahon! Today's entertainers can't hold a candle to the ones we grew up with from 'The Greatest Generation.' And they were all on The Tonight Show with Carson!