The “dangerous” 1986 performance that almost killed Mel Brooks: “It was really terrible”
Having recently turned 100 years old, there’s every reason to believe that Mel Brooks will eventually see life imitate art and become the 1,000-year-old man, especially when he once almost died on set.
He’s already immortal in comedy terms, with Brooks becoming one of the most influential comics of his or any other era, and the hooks he’s sunk into Hollywood endure to this day, with everyone from Judd Apatow to Sacha Baron Cohen citing him as one of their paramount sources of inspiration.
Hypothetically speaking, had the EGOT-winning veteran been killed by the performance he was genuinely concerned would claim his life, then things would be much the same, with The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein cementing him as an all-time great by the end of the 1970s, never mind the 1980s.
However, as a man always in search of the next laugh, Brooks took some bad advice and almost paid the ultimate price for it. By the time the cameras started rolling on Spaceballs in October 1986, the writer, director, and producer of the Star Wars-inspired sci-fi spoof had already committed to two roles.
Playing President Skroob was easy, since the character looked exactly like Mel Brooks, albeit with a wig and moustache for added effect. On the other hand, the Yoda-like Yogurt was an entirely different matter, with the part requiring makeup, prosthetics, and no small amount of gold paint plastered on his face.
He’d been told the paint wasn’t toxic or hazardous to his health, and we went along with it, no questions asked. In hindsight, that maybe wasn’t the best idea, as he explained when reflecting on his Spaceballs experience. “Well, except for a life-threatening rash, it was fine,” the filmmaker deadpanned.
“My eyes broke out because of the fumes of the gold paint,” Brooks elaborated. “It was right in the middle of shooting it. I just kept taking Benadryl and all that stuff to fight the allergy. It was really terrible; it was dangerous.” To add insult to the increasing chance of injury, he remembered being “assured” that the makeup was non-toxic: “And it was toxic.”
As if the pressures of co-writing the script, financially backing the picture, calling the shots from behind the camera, having to deal with a painfully unfunny Bill Pullman, and playing two separate characters in Spaceballs weren’t enough, Brooks also had to contend with the prospect of meeting his maker.
“I’m supposed to chalk it up to showbusiness,” he mused. “But I nearly died.” Obviously, he didn’t, and 40 years later, he still hasn’t, with Brooks going strong as Hollywood’s most iconic centenarian.
