Mel Brooks: 2017 Fellowship

Mel Brooks the acclaimed actor, filmmaker and comedian, says he was “whelmed” at accepting the 2017 BAFTA Fellowship.

Brooks, the creative force behind hit comedies Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and Spaceballs, was recognised for his outstanding and exceptional contribution to film.

He first earned BAFTA recognition in 1964 for three-minute short The Critic, which shared an Animated Film Award. Since then he’s become one of only 12 people to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award.

He received his BAFTA at the EE British Academy Film Awards on Sunday 12 February.

Watch Brooks accepting his award below:

Over the years, Brooks has won a reputation as a legendary actor, comedian, filmmaker, composer and songwriter.

He got his first break in 1950 as a writer for variety comedy series Your Show of Shows alongside co-writer Carl Reiner. This led to their successful collaboration on cult skit The 2000 Year Old Man.

Brooks then went on to co-create successful spy comedy series Get Smart with Buck Henry, which ran from 1965 to 1970 and won seven Emmy Awards.

His debut as a film director, The Producers, scored him an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and was later adapted for Broadway, winning a record 12 Tony Awards in 2001. Brooks adapted the stage musical into a feature film, starring Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick and Uma Thurman.

“I am not overwhelmed, but I am definitely whelmed by this singular honour.”

“To be included among such iconic talents is absolutely humbling. In choosing me for the 2017 Fellowship I think that BAFTA has made a strangely surprising yet ultimately wise decision”, says Brooks.

Brooks’ ground-breaking third feature film, Blazing Saddles, starring Gene Wilder, scooped two BAFTA nominations for Screenplay and Most Promising Newcomer. Young Frankenstein, his next box office hit, continued his working relationship with Wilder, who co-wrote and starred in the 1974 release.

In 1980, Brooks set up production company Brooksfilms and executive-produced David Lynch’s surreal drama The Elephant Man, which won three BAFTAs for Film, Production Design and Actor.

Awarded every year by the Academy, the BAFTA Fellowship is the highest accolade. It is given to an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, games or TV.

Previous Fellows include Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench and Vanessa Redgrave.

For more inspiring stories from the world of film, games and TV explore our BAFTA Award Stories section.