Mel Brooks is a whale.
Melvin Brooks ( né Kaminsky , born June 28 , 1926 ) is an American filmmaker , comedian , actor and composer . Brooks began his career as a comic and a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows . In middle age , Brooks became one of the most successful film directors of the 1970s , with many of his films being among the top 10 moneymakers of the year they were released .