>> produced by mel brooks. >> directed, written and produced by mel brooks and has his name over it.> our show with mel brooks has to go down as one of our favorites, he is a legend obviously and never minds being controversial and he tackles racial prejudice and other issues and done that long before it was the norm. what you are about to watch is extended of our conversation with mel that never aired on television. in the past 60 years mel brooks has done his share to shake things up on the silver screen from space balls and robin hood in tights and breaking barriers as a director and writer and puts a spin on historical and religious events like the french revolution and the last supper. >> does everyone want soup, this may be our last supper. it's my first order. one question and i will let you go, are you altogether or is it separate checks? >> go away >> humor is known for testing boundaries of what is politically correct to expose real bias through satire, 1974 film blazing saddles caught heat from studio executives for scenes and racial satire made it a cult classic and who c

mel brook, i'm honored to have you on this program.'ve got one question then i'll go. >> what? >> where did tavis come from? >> my aunt. >> was there somebody in the family, an uncle or -- >> my aunt was living in -- i was in mississippi, and in texas. she must have met some man in texas. >> traveling salesman. that's the only guy that would have a name like that. how do you do? my name is tavis i would love to have a cup of tea. >> he told my mother to name me tavis. >> as well. it's good. would you like to do the tavis smiley show? i said, give me a minute. no, i joke. >> that is not in mel brooks but anyway -- >> there's many i say no to, many. and i like you. >> i feel honored. i have heard you on radio and television. so, thank you. >> yeah, the next thing is radar. that's the next thing i do. we got to do radar together. >> "blazing saddles," 40 years later. love you, mel brooks. >> love you, tavis. >> announcer: visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. >>> the director of the acclaimed movie bell. that's next time. we'll see you then. >>>

where's mel brooks? where's mel brooks?e finds me, grabs me and he goes, how could you do such a thing? nazis, the holocaust, how could you do such a thing? i was in world war ii and i said to him, i was in world war ii. i didn't see you there. but, anyway, so that was brave, too. the jews didn't think -- i must have gotten more -- i got more on "the producers" than i ever got in mail. and to each jew i have wrote a letter saying, you can't get on a soapbox with hitler. he's an orator. he's a great speaker. but if you make fun of him with the little mustache and hair -- if you just make fun, you can beat the [ muted ] out of him. so i wrote letters to everybody trying to explain why i would do such a thing -- >> where did you get the -- i want to find the right word here. the fortitude, it's a good yiddish word, the chutzpah. >> the chutzpah. >> right. where did you get that to advance these ideas knowing you were going to catch hell on the other end? >> i knew i would catch hell. >> but you went for it anyway. >> yeah beca

here is young mel brooks. wherever i open it up, here is battista.his will get me in trouble. >> my favorite is -- >> oh, this is a book within a book. >> it's my call rimer. >> cart rimer. >> i always hit -- one day i said, i'll leave car. i'll write a romance noefl about myself. it's a three-page romance novel which i'm very proud to say has the longest -- the longest title in the history of -- >> it's the gorgeous photo of you and your wife. >> i do love that. >> you and your wife. >> love of my life. >> i'm always honored to have you on this program, rob reiner and to bring your daddy is a special treat. congrats on the new movie starring diane keaton and michael douglas. >> i'll bet anybody a dollar to a penny that it's a sensational movie. >> i'm delighted to have you on this program. >> not as delighted as i am to be here. >> everybody is delighted. >> on this note we'll say good night. as always, keep the faith. thanks for watching. >> announcer: for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. >> i am tavis smiley. join m

the conversation with a true legend, mel brooks, coming up right now. ♪

. ♪ >> on the stream, >> comedic legend mel brooks and native american performers the 1491's, show ushey use edgy culture satire to confront serious issues. the stream on al jazeera america when you run a business, you can't settle for slow. that's why i always choose the fastest intern. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business. with the top speedou compare of comcast the top speed of business dsl from the internet... phone company well, there's really no comparison. why pay more for less? call today for a low price on speeds up to 150mbps. and find out more about our two-year price guarantee. comcast business. built for business. ♪ >>> you are watching al jazeera, a reminder of our top stories, a 24-hour ceasefire in gaza has broken down. the israeli military has been hitting targets in gaza in many response, it sa

september 7th only on al jazeera america hi, i'm lisa and you are in "the stream," comedy legend mel brooks talks about how he pushed the boundaries for more than laps and comedies stars. native troop the 1941s break down how they are tackling serious issues facing their community with humor. ♪

. >> on the stream, >> comedic legend mel brooks and native american performers the 1491's, show us how they use edgy culture satire to confront serious issues. the stream on al jazeera america >> the war to end all wars didn't, but it did change things in ways big and small. world war i began 100 years ago this summer, and we live in the world it made. it's the "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez, 100 years ago the leaders of europe failed to head off a war they find of stumbled in to, and their people assured each other it would be over quickly. home by christmas, they said. what followed was blood-letting on a scale that stunned societies. at the the battle of the sum, on one day of that battle british forces lost an estimated 27,000 men dead. in eight and a half years in iraq some 40 americans were killed. a war ended with aerial bombardment that ended civilizations, ending the war as monarchs dead. meeting at the site of one of europe's most intense battles french president franÇois hollande looked at how much the continent changed after world war i. >> it is up to us to recal

what was mel brooks doing? he was drawn from something that was widely known and prevalent at that time, these d-day phrases were something that people understood. he's trying to turn them on their head. this wasn't the only place you could see d-day in the 60's and 70's. "the world at war," the very popular documentary from 1973, also showed, i'm not getting into documentaries, but even there you can see how we depict d-day is changing very notably. it is more grim and destructive. anyway, what "the americanization of emily" and "blazing saddles," what we see is to zany films that are poking holes at the common d-day stories. they're trying to challenge american conceptions of warfare through d-day specific stories. yet d-day in film often told a story that americans want to hear. we are good guys, we're winning the war and saving the world and making it right for democracy. with that characterization of the second world war in general and d-day in particular, we can see why d-day comes back to its own in the

. >> on the stream, >> comedic legend mel brooks and native american performers the 1491's, show us howgy culture satire to confront serious issues. the stream on al jazeera america >> the war to end all wars didn't, but it did change things

. >>> part one of a conversation for mel brooks, one of the funniest men alive. that's next time.ll see you then. irks >> welcome to "film school shorts," a showcase of the most exciting new talent from across the country. experience the future of film, next on "film school shorts." "film school shorts" is made possible by a grant from maurice kanbar. celebrating the vitality and power of the moving image. and by the members of kqed.

. >>> part one of a conversation for mel brooks, one of the funniest men alive. that's next time.ll see you then. irks >> rose: welcome to the program, we begin this evening with 0 john micklethwait the editor too much economist magazine he and his colleague conducted a fascinating interview with the president of the united states. >> it is a very contemplative president, and that's the part of obama in some ways i am surprised me doe't do more interviews like that because if you give obama time to talk he is an interesting thoughtful man and i think that is really the obama that americans first voted for and stweal still do in large numbers. he has looked to the world and learn a great deal. >> and tonight another perspective on the israeli palestinian conflicts having heard from the israeli am bass for to the united states, tonight three palestinians and an egyptian talk about the palestinian perspective. >> palestinians cannot choose israelly leaders, israel lis should not be choo choosing palestinian leaders if you a

just ninety two years old walks around the block every day writes every day mel brooks comes over they sit they watch a movie they have dinner you see says changes you've always been in favor of equality in marriage yet gay marriage is definitely coming and we see it everywhere how do you account for the swiftness of the well i mean a couple of things happen one is. you know. there's a there's a thing that happens when you hit a critical mass in a particular movement when proposition eight passed here in california we thought this is incredible how could a liberal state like california endorse you know. a ban on gays and you know gays lesbians getting married so my wife and chad griffin and christina shop shockey we decided to you know to to file a federal lawsuit against proposition eight and we got ted olson and david boies the two guys who oppose each other in bush v gore when i met ted olson i told him i said you know you put me in bed for duty for two days after that that that supreme court ruling we got those guys to come together and we challenge proposition was the first time t

so many coming in from steve carell, mia farrow, mel brooks, all of them heartbroken. it's true of those who knew him and those of us who were just fans who were moved and entertained by his work. david, i remember being a 7-year-old boy in front of the tv watching mork and mindy. >> we grew up in the same era. i remember the outfits. the cover of time magazine being shared on twitter when mork and mindy and happy days were huge hits for abc right here on the network. in fact, there's a statement coming in from pam dauber's publicist who played mindy saying she can't speak right now but she offers a statement saying i'm completely and totally devastated. what more can you be said. robin williams was truthful through the years about the struggles he had with addiction, often using humor to get through it all. he sat down for one of those interviews with our own diane sawyer in 2006 to talk about his battle with addiction. take a look. >> was there one moment that you fell into it again? was it one day? >> it's usually gradual. you're standing at a press sis and you look

miss the discussion we have check out the social media pages: >> on the stream, >> comedic legend mel brooks native american performers the 1491's, show us how they use edgy culture satire to confront serious issues. the stream on al jazeera america >>> the end of the 5-day ceasefire expired on monday, not before netters dread to ex -- negotiators agreed to extend it by 24 hours to give more time. it was seen as a sign the two sides might be close to a deal officially both are far apart, with one egyptian official saying there was no progress in the past 24 hours. meanwhile israeli troops demolished the homes of two palestinians expected in the abduction and killing in juan. and sealed up the home of a third. joining us from washington is greg and the digital editor for news and he reported from jerusalem, and is the co-author of this burning land. lessons from the front line of the transformed contact. >> good to have you back on the show. what should we read into the fact that we should only read. both sides are a little exhausted and don't want to fight any more. >> there were reports tha

mel brooks gets into an elevator and two people in it, he goes to work. robin, robin was -- he was an entire person. it turns out that he was a tormented person. and in the end, he did something to himself that -- that is heartbreaking. it was he who made the decision that there would be no more robin williams. and that is infinitely heartbreaking. if we had known, if only someone could have known and we're in the realm of psychology and i'm talking through the hats. >> james lipton, thank you so very much. we'll have more on this, including talking to psychologists and experts on these issues, coming up next. >>> but now to breaking news out of the iraq. iraq's military spokesman tells state tv a helicopter delivering aid on mountain crashed. a correspondent for "the new york times" and a freelance reporter both injured and a statement from executive editor today alissa j. rubin a correspondent for "the new york times" and adam ferguson were injured when an iraqi military helicopter carrying aid to stranded refugees crashed in northern iraq. they have be

it is something that mel brooks did, sid caesar did, and that is how i was trained at "the office," and puts a huge value on the hard joke, and i wanted that to be in my show. >> what is a hard joke? >> i will tell you what it is not, if that is ok. there is a lot of shows that are with attitude, and it is irreverent attitude, which, by the way, is very interesting, and fashion and poses. a hard joke to me, first of all, makes you laugh out loud. in a lot of comedies that i watched -- by the way, i am not saying necessarily that my show would make you laugh out loud. i think it is funny. a show that sounds like it is like a crafted joke, and it has that. yes. >> exactly. >> well-written. people know that it has been fine tuned. people like seinfeld have said that it is not easy. they finally stopped the "seinfeld" show because it was not easy, and when he went to nbc, they wanted to almost drop a truck of money on him. he was, "no, i was writing on christmas eve last year. i don't want to do that anymore." it is hard. >> it is hard, particularly for jerry, a master of jokes, because he

, i take such pride in writing jokes and it is a very old-fashioned thing, it is something that mel brooksid, cesar did and that's how i was trained at the office and tina fey but the central on the hard joke, and i wanted that to be in my show. >> rose: what is a hard joke? >> if that is okay there are a lot of shows that are on like attitude -- and fashion and poses and -- hard joke to me, first of all makes you laugh out loud and a lot of comedy, and i think my show necessarily would make you laugh out loud, i think it is nun i. but it is like there is a crafted joke and it has like -- >> rose: it shows craftsmanship? >> yes. >> rose: well written. people know it has been finely-tuned? >> yes, like seinfeld said to me and others it is not easy. he stopped the seinfeld show because it was so hard, and they came to him, nbc and just want dodd load up the truck and just drop money on him and he said no, i mean, i was writing on christmas eve last year, i don't want to do that this year, it is hard. >> rose:. >> it is hard. like she the master of jokes because he is so good and he doesn't -

chris allman and horoscope are in let's get back to it on monday alabama republican congressman mel brooks told laura ingram that republicans are forced to take a hard stand on immigration because democrats are waging a war on whites check it out. this is a part of the war on whites that's being launched by the democratic party in the way in which they're launching this war is by claiming that white hate everybody else it's a part of the strategy that barack obama implemented in two thousand a campaign event in two thousand and twelve divides us all in race and sex greed envy class warfare all those kinds of things. later in the day monday brooks doubled down on these comments telling a that if are good for the redemption crowds are doing where they're dividing america by race is that they are waging a war on whites and i find that repugnant he went on to say they're attacking by the democrats openings soliciting openly soliciting votes of people based on skin color they are in turn. they in turn are attacking whites based on skin color and that's wrong nobody should be attacked based on s

at first when i heard that mo brooks made these remarks, i wondered if they were perhaps some mel brooks it seems so comical to me that people would feel so besieged at this point. after all, what ron fornier and many others were pointing out is just a matter of simple statistics. we are reaching a point in this country where i think the census says 2043, where whites will no longer be the majority. it doesn't mean somebody else will be the majority. it means we're no longer a white majority country. we're very close to that now already. rather than seeing that as some sort of a threat to white people, why not see it as a celebration of what america is and what it was supposed to be? >> before i get your response to, are you leading the war on whites, dana, since you brought it up, you wrote something in your column that was beautifully stated. it was the battle cry of the white man, particularly the soirnth white man feeling besieged. i don't share the fear but i understand it. the united states is experiencing a rapid decoupling of race and nationality. whiteness has less and less to d

we were sitting having dessert and laughing and telling stories and afterwards we're leaving and mel brookslike -- >> mind-boggling. >> and robin and billy went over and talked to him. i didn't know mel. and robin went out of his way to go oh, you should have seen gilbert over at the club. then he started quoting my lines to him and everything. >> just such a generosity. i can't get past that. dog eat dog world in the world of comedy. you've had times where you shared the stage with robin and we all loved that manic sort of crazy rif f-ing stream of consciousness comedy that he has. i imagine that's invigorating to work with. >> yes. it was a few times when he was at the clubs and i would be there. he would call out my name and i would go on stage. and we would griff off each other which was exhilarating but exhausting. you had to be on your toes with him. >> one of the things that's hard for so many people is to know he struggled so hard and we even saw yesterday many comedians voicing their, their sadness over his passing. chevy chase issued a statement on his death. and also revealed to

it's true that my first thought was that you would call mel leery, and get mel leery to suspend the clearance security at brookings and order the papers returned. i had not dealt with jack koffield. an ex-cop that had been security for nixon campaign. i didn't know what he did, except he reported to john dean and john erlichman. i called him, and he said, i want to meet you in the men's room. he said, tell me what it is. i heard from haldeman -- erlichman's office that you had a message from the president. i said, he wants to get these documents back, i told him. he looked at me, and i said, you can probably, the best thing to do is call mel leery. and he said, oh, no, he said, we won't get them that way. when i was with the new york police, we would create a fire to create a diversion and then go in and get papers out of anybody's office. i don't know how you do your business, but all i can tell you is the president wants his papers back. that's the last i heard of it until watergate. nothing did happen, as a matter of fact. but much was made out of that. to one of the explosive allegations in watergate, like pro

it's true that my first thought was that you would call mel leery, and get mel leery to suspend the clearance security at brookings and order the papers returned. i had not dealt with jack koffield. an ex-cop that had been security for nixon campaign. i didn't know what he did, except he reported to john dean and john erlichman. i called him, and he said, i want to meet you in the men's room. he said, tell me what it is. i heard from haldeman -- erlichman's office that you had a message from the president. i said, he wants to get these documents back, i told him. he looked at me, and i said, you can probably, the best thing to do is call mel leery. and he said, oh, no, he said, we won't get them that way. when i was with the new york police, we would create a fire to create a diversion and then go in and get papers out of anybody's office. i don't know how you do your business, but all i can tell you is the president wants his papers back. that's the last i heard of it until watergate. nothing did happen, as a matter of fact. but much was made out of that. to one of the explosive allegations in watergate, like pro

it's true that my first thought was that you would call mel leery, and get mel leery to suspend the clearance security at brookings and order the papers returned. i had not dealt with jack koffield. an ex-cop that had been security for nixon campaign. i didn't know what he did, except he reported to john dean and john erlichman. i called him, and he said, i want to meet you in the men's room. he said, tell me what it is. i heard from haldeman -- erlichman's office that you had a message from the president. i said, he wants to get these documents back, i told him. he looked at me, and i said, you can probably, the best thing to do is call mel leery. and he said, oh, no, he said, we won't get them that way. when i was with the new york police, we would create a fire to create a diversion and then go in and get papers out of anybody's office. i don't know how you do your business, but all i can tell you is the president wants his papers back. that's the last i heard of it until watergate. nothing did happen, as a matter of fact. but much was made out of that. to one of the explosive allegations in watergate, like pro