Talk:Mel Brooks

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There is No Filmography on this page

Someone as famous and prolific as Mel Brooks should have a filmography on his Wikipedia page.

I was going to add it myself, but every time I edit/add to a Wikipedia page, it gets undone by admins. Dwilliamsiddall (talk) 17:50, 6 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

You will find it on Mel Brooks on screen and stage, which the page links too.CRBoyer 18:19, 6 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I just spent several minutes looking for it. The link could be displayed more prominently in the article, rather than buried under "Acting credits and accolades." Given that Mel Brooks is well known as a filmmaker, his filmography is incredibly well hidden. 81.105.46.48 (talk) 19:08, 29 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Did you look under Acting Credits and Accolades?CRBoyer 19:40, 29 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, that is perfectly clear from my comment, and the point stands. 81.105.46.48 (talk) 09:00, 15 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Mel Brooks--Military Service

In the bio of Mel Brooks in the passage concerning his military service, there is this: " Brooks says he boarded the SS Sea Owl at the Brooklyn Navy Yard around February 15, 1945. A reporter for the United States Department of Defense writes that Brooks arrived in France in November 1944, and later to Belgium, serving with the 78th Infantry Division as a forward artillery observer. In December 1944, a short while later, Brooks was transferred to the 1104th Engineer Combat Battalion as a combat engineer, participating in the Battle of the Bulge." This makes no sense. He could not have boarded a ship in NY in Feb. 1945 and arrived in France in November, 1944 and then fought in the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944." I think that he arrived in Europe in 1945 and worked on clearing mines from the area where the Battle of the Bulge was fought, but I am not certain. 173.64.76.25 (talk) 01:23, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This passage is based on two sources, one by Brooks and the one by David Vergun. They are correctly cited, but it seems one of them must be erroneous.

In the article written by Brooks he says "AND THEN ONE NIGHT—I think it was around February 15 or 16, 1945—together with three or four hundred other guys, I boarded a troop transport at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the SS Sea Owl." Later in that article, he says "I was lucky to get through Belgium on my way to Germany a couple of months after the Battle of the Bulge. Had I been born six months earlier, I probably would have been fighting in that and who knows what would have happened?"

The Vergun article says In November 1944, he arrived in France and then Belgium, serving as a forward artillery observer with the 78th Infantry Division. A short time later, he was transferred to the 1104th Engineer Combat Group, participating in the Battle of the Bulge. He was sent to the forward edge of the battle areas, helping to clear German land mines so Allied forces could advance. On five occasions, Brooks' unit had to fight as infantry and suffered casualties doing so.

I don't see any conclusion other than that either Brooks or Vergun is mistaken. The Vergun article is published in DOD News (Dec 29, 2021), so one would think it would be based on Dept. of Defense records. Brooks published his article on April 8, 2022. He might have forgotten the exact date of his departure for France, but it would be odd if he forgot fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. I guess our article should simply acknowledge that the sources disagree. CodeTalker (talk) 03:40, 30 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This is speculative, but the 78th arrived in November and participated in the Bulge. He may have arrived later as a replacement for losses. It is almost inconceivable that he would forget being there, so either he does not wish to talk about it or he is correct and the other sources are just assuming that he moved in lockstep with the Division, when there is no reason to think would be the case. MyIP19216811 (talk) 02:28, 18 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]