Patrick McGilligan’s biographies include the acclaimed Oscar Micheaux: The Great and Only; the Edgar-nominated Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light; Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast; and George Cukor: A Double Life. The author of several New York Times Notable Books, he has also penned biographies of Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, Robert Altman, and James Cagney, along with the oral history Tender Comrades: A Backstory of the Hollywood Blacklist (with Paul Buhle). McGilligan lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“Comprehensive….illuminating….teeming with fascinating details
about Brooks’s life and career.” — New York Times Book Review
“The author ably chronicles Brooks’ career arc from the Brooklyn
kid born Melvin Kaminsky to the loudest member of Sid Caesar’s
writing staff on NBC’s Your Show of Shows and Caesar’s Hour in the
1950s to the driving force behind some of the most successful film
comedies of his time.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Well researched, engaging, and of interest to all of Brooks fans.
McGilligan has found a good critical balance as he extols his
subject’s comedic and artistic virtues while being forthright about
Brooks’s occasional stubborn attitude toward creative and financial
control. McGilligan is one of the few film biographers not to
indulge in extensive criticism of the projects themselves, instead
offering commentary through the contemporary reviews or financial
results of a given work.” — Library Journal
“After a career Funny Man: Mel Brooks tells the story of a man who
has never stopped hustling in an almost pathological pursuit of the
twin needs to entertain and be famous for it.” — New York
“Highly detailed....A veteran showbiz biographer, McGilligan has
produced a book rich with knowledge of the industry and overflowing
with the fruits of his research.” — Newsday
“This superb account by film biographer McGilligan of Mel Brooks’s
life and career persuasively sketches two sides of the
comedian-filmmaker’s personality….. McGilligan’s exhaustive
biography will be essential reading for anyone interested in Brooks
or, more broadly, how Hollywood functioned during the second half
of the 20th century.” — Publishers Weekly
“McGilligan skillfully profiles Brooks’s two sides--the bullying,
raging and credit-grabbing “Rude Crude Mel” and the “Nice Mel,” who
performed discreet and generous acts of kindness and was a
lightning rod for laughter in public. This fascinating and
exhaustive biography presents a complicated and immensely talented
man whose inner demons fed his hilarious output of films, TV series
and albums.” — Shelf Awareness
“While devoted Brooks fans may recognize some of these tidbits,
there are enough new trivia nuggets that most readers will come
away with something they did not know before. For those who want an
in-depth account of Mel Brooks, the ruthless businessman, Funny Man
is for you.” — Washington Post
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