or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
69 used & new from $0.50

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: gourmet club, writing squad, home viewers, Mel Brooks, The Producers, Anne Bancroft (more...)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

List Price: $25.95
Price: $17.13 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $8.82 (34%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Ordering for Christmas? This item requires additional time to ship. To ensure delivery by December 24, choose Standard Shipping at checkout. Read more about holiday shipping.

41 new from $2.47 24 used from $0.50 4 collectible from $20.00

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Hardcover, February 25, 2007 $17.13 $2.47 $0.50
  Paperback, February 25, 2008 $10.85 $0.50 $0.49

Frequently Bought Together

It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks + Rickles' Book: A Memoir + Backstage at the Tonight Show: From Johnny Carson to Jay Leno
Price For All Three: $34.26

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks by James Robert Parish

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Rickles' Book: A Memoir by Don Rickles

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Backstage at the Tonight Show: From Johnny Carson to Jay Leno by Don Sweeney

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Special Offers and Product Promotions


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Rickles' Book: A Memoir

Rickles' Book: A Memoir

by Don Rickles
3.9 out of 5 stars (84)  $5.60
I'm Chevy Chase... and You're Not: Revised & Updated

I'm Chevy Chase... and You're Not: Revised & Updated

by Rena Fruchter
3.5 out of 5 stars (34)  $10.36
Backstage at the Tonight Show: From Johnny Carson to Jay Leno

Backstage at the Tonight Show: From Johnny Carson to Jay Leno

by Don Sweeney
4.3 out of 5 stars (9)  $11.53
It's Not Easy Bein' Me: A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugs

It's Not Easy Bein' Me: A Lifetime of No Respect but Plenty of Sex and Drugs

by Rodney Dangerfield
4.4 out of 5 stars (42)  $11.96
The Book of David

The Book of David

by David Steinberg
3.3 out of 5 stars (9)  $19.66
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Parish, author of many books including Katharine Hepburn: The Untold Story and Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flaps), here traces the life and career of mirthmaker Mel Brooks from the Borscht Belt to Broadway. Born Melvin Kaminsky, he grew up as a Brooklyn classroom clown, honing his stage skills in the Catskills before arriving in WWII France as an army combat engineer. The bombastic Brooks clawed his way into early television as a writer for Sid Caesar: "I was aggressive. I was a terrier, a pit bull terrier. I was unstoppable. I would keep going until my joke or my sketch was in the show." Caesar's shows were a launchpad, catapulting Brooks into a multifaceted comedy career that embraced theater (Shinbone Alley) and sitcoms (Get Smart), recordings (the 2000 Year Old Man series) and acting (Mad About You). He began directing in 1968 with The Producers, followed by the equally hilarious Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. Along the way, he picked up Emmys, Tonys, a Grammy, an Oscar and Anne Bancroft, whom he married in 1964. Brooks's probing self-insights and clever quotes abound. While his sense of timing, delivery and charming goofiness may not always translate to the written page, readers will be satisfied with the details unearthed by Parish's exhaustive research. 16 b&w photos. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Review

Parish, author of many books including Katharine Hepburn: The Untold Story and Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flaps), here traces the life and career of mirthmaker Mel Brooks from the Borscht Belt to Broadway. Born Melvin Kaminsky, he grew up as a Brooklyn classroom clown, honing his stage skills in the Catskills before arriving in WWII France as an army combat engineer. The bombastic Brooks clawed his way into early television as a writer for Sid Caesar: "I was aggressive. I was a terrier, a pit bull terrier. I was unstoppable. I would keep going until my joke or my sketch was in the show." Caesar's shows were a launchpad, catapulting Brooks into a multifaceted comedy career that embraced theater (Shinbone Alley) and sitcoms (Get Smart), recordings (the 2000 Year Old Man series) and acting (Mad About You). He began directing in 1968 with The Producers, followed by the equally hilarious Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. Along the way, he picked up Emmys, Tonys, a Grammy, an Oscar and Anne Bancroft, whom he married in 1964. Brooks's probing self-insights and clever quotes abound. While his sense of timing, delivery and charming goofiness may not always translate to the written page, readers will be satisfied with the details unearthed by Parish's exhaustive research. 16 b&w photos. (Mar.) (Publishers Weekly, January 1, 2007)

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 360 pages
  • Publisher: Wiley (February 26, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0471752673
  • ISBN-13: 978-0471752677
  • Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #85,636 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category: (What's this?)

    #93 in  Books > Arts & Photography > Performing Arts > Theater > Acting & Auditioning

More About the Author

James Robert Parish
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's James Robert Parish Page

Inside This Book (learn more)

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks
86% buy the item featured on this page:
It's Good to Be the King: The Seriously Funny Life of Mel Brooks 4.6 out of 5 stars (12)
$17.13
Rickles' Book: A Memoir
4% buy
Rickles' Book: A Memoir 3.9 out of 5 stars (84)
$5.60

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars This book on Mel Brooks' life falls short of being authoritative, still, author Parish has made a noble effort, June 24, 2007
By B. A Varkentine (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
He is properly appreciative of Brooks' most wonderful work, but not indifferent to his creative slumps (also known as the eighties). I agree with most of his assertions, but wish he'd credited them more specifically.

Especially since, having no original interviews with his subject, he relies on previously published works. To such an extent I couldn't help but feel a collection of interviews with the hardly press-shy humorist might have served just as well or better for his fans.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The King is Crowned, June 3, 2007
Admittedly, Mel Brooks is an acquired taste, because so much of his humor is of the "hit or miss" variety. (Confessed: I'm a Brooks fan - but he can occasionally "miss" even me.) Parish has turned out another one of his excellent books with this biography of funmeister Brooks. Mel's path to fame is an interesting one, and Parish tracks it well. He's one of the rare Hollywood writers - and more experienced ones, too - who doesn't delve into sensationalism in his books. Parish writes "biography" and relates stories, all in an informative, easy to read manner. This is an enoyable read from beginning to end. I was particularly intrigued with the "love story" aspect to Mel's life: namely, the romance and marriage of Brooks and Bancroft. Over the years, aside from their marriage being mentioned in the press, very little has been written about it. Parish does an encellent job of detailing it. Brooks didn't participate in the writing the book, but he should be very pleased with how it turned out. Parish does a superb job with this book on Mel's life. A most enjoyable book about one of the funniest men in the latter half of the twentieth-century.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Seriously Good Reading, March 27, 2007
The life of Mel Brooks reads like a history of comedy of the last 60 years - from his humble beginnings in Brooklyn, through summers at the Jewish resorts in the Catskills Borscht Belt, through recordings, T.V. theater and movies Mel Brooks did it all and worked with many of the comedy greats of the past half century (sometimes for better or worse). Brooks worked with Sid Ceaser, Jerry Lewis, Carl Reiner and countless others and married one of the great Hollywood actresses. This is a colorful look at his many triumphs and low points in between. And just when many would have written him off - he has roared back with the huge success of the musical Producers on Broadway. As with all his books, Mr. Parish has done extensive research and wonderfully describes the life of Mel Brooks.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars "The definitive biography of a comedic genius"
This book is highly recommended for anyone who is a hard core aficionado of Mel Brooks-Robert James Parrish has written what I would consider to be the definitive biography of a... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Scott N. Burton

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Bio on Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks has had an incredible career in television, films, and theater. James Robert Parish's book puts it all in perspective. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Booklover

4.0 out of 5 stars Mel Brooks Dissected
The life of Mel Brooks has been a scattered affair with Sid Caesar highs and Robin Hood lows. In between has been a rogues gallery of memorable screen characters from Max... Read more
Published on October 26, 2007 by reelplanet

2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre Bio on Fascinating Subject
While Parish appears to have done some research (a lengthy bibliography is included), he apparently did little more than read books/articles/reviews and listen to DVD... Read more
Published on July 9, 2007 by Erik NYC

5.0 out of 5 stars I always knew he was a genius.
This book proves that nutty people are simply covering up their underlying genius. Mel can succeed in any endeavor he tries because beneath it all, he has a brilliant mind. Read more
Published on May 12, 2007 by Thomas R. Hurley

5.0 out of 5 stars Serious and Funny
Anyone-especially anyone who learned to love movies by watching Mel Brooks movies in the 1960s and 1970s or who was lucky enough to catch The Producers on Broadway--will... Read more
Published on March 21, 2007 by John Kern

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Standard for Mel Brooks Fans
I am a true Mel Brooks fan, I'll take the good, the bad and everything in between. In the past dozen years or so I've tried to learn as much as possible about this man who makes... Read more
Published on March 21, 2007 by Brookslyn

5.0 out of 5 stars Sober Account of Over-the-Top Performer
Whether or not you're a Mel Brooks fan -- I'm not -- Parish's biographical tome is a must read because the author, as he's done before in other bios, delves deeply into Brooks's... Read more
Published on March 8, 2007 by Writeras

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Winner from Parish
There is simply no more reliable and readable commentator on show business than Jim Parish. His knowledge is seemingly inexhaustible. Read more
Published on March 3, 2007 by M. L. Kennedy

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   



So You'd Like to...


Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.