Mel Brooks has made countless people laugh in his nearly 100 years on Earth, but it often came at a cost to his closest ones. The legendary artist is the subject of a new two-part documentary called Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! In the project, his children give testimony about the person Mel Brooks was before he found ultimate stardom.

Nicky Brooks discusses father Mel Brooke in new doc

Among many others like Rob Reiner and Jude Apatow, the documentary featured candid testimony from Mel Brooks and his children. Nicky Brooks, his second child with first wife Florence Baum, recalled how he was “intolerable” in the early years of his career.

“My dad was very hungry for stardom; he really wanted desperately to be a somebody,” said Nicky (via EW). “Not just to be a kind of industry success in some abstract way, but to be recognized and noticed and appreciated.”

Mel Brooks had an early taste of success with Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows. But as the show ended, he was left with nothing. Without the income, Mel said in the documentary that he had to stop seeing his therapist. “I cried for two years,” he said in an archival footage, “For two years, I did nothing but sob. I mean, I was broke.”

The impact of this was direct on his family. Nicky Brooks continued, “My dad tended to express anxiety, stress through anger, and he became a very angry person, very volatile mood-wise. It was difficult for my mom trying to raise these babies, and I think it just reached a point where my dad was just frankly so difficult to live with. It was just intolerable.”

After struggling for a significant bit, Mel finally got back on track after Carl Reiner released their popular 2000 Year Old Man comedy album in 1960. Following this, Mel embarked on a successful career and remained a pivotal figure in the industry for decades.

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! will premiere on January 22, 2026, on HBO.