2000 Year Old Man
The 2000 Year Old Man is a comedy sketch. It was first created by Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks in the 1950s. It was then first performed public in the 1960s. Brooks plays a 2000-year-old man. He is interviewed by Reiner in a series of comedy routines that were turned into a collection of records and also performed on television.[1][2][3]
History
changeThe main story for the sketches were laid during the making of Your Show of Shows. Here, Reiner was an actor and Brooks was a writer. Reiner explains the first sketch:
I remember the first question I asked him. It was because I had seen a program called We the People Speak, early television. [He puts on an announcer voice] "We the People Speak. Here’s a man who was in Stalin's toilet, heard Stalin say, 'I’m going to blow up the world.' I came in, I said this is good for a sketch. No one else thought so, but I turned to Mel and I said, "Here's a man who was actually seen at the crucifixion 2,000 years ago," and his first words were, "Oh, boy." We all fell over laughing. I said, "You knew Jesus?" "Yeah," he said, "Thin lad, wore sandals, long hair, walked around with 11 other guys. Always came into the store, never bought anything. Always asked for water." Those were the first words, and then for the next hour or two I kept asking him questions, and he never stopped killing us.[1]
It was originally a joke between the two that was then shared at parties. Reiner started bringing a tape recorder to the parties because of this. Lots of people such as George Burns said to the two that they should their sketches on an album. Only Steve Allen, however, wasa able to convince them to record it in his studio.[2][3][4][5]
Recordings and performances
changeTheir first television appearances while doing the sketch were on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1961. It was then seen on The Steve Allen Show 8 months later.[2]
Reiner and Brooks released five comedy albums. The 2000 Year Old Man character was shown on one track for each of the first three albums and was always shown in the last two.
- 2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks (1960)[6]
- 2000 and One Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks (1961)[7]
- Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks at the Cannes Film Festival (1962)[7]
- 2000 and Thirteen with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks (Warner Bros. Records, 1973)[8]
- The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000 (1997)[7]
It won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Comedy Album.[9]
References
change- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Karpel, Ari (November 12, 2009). "A Shtick With a Thousand Lives". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Holmes, Bill (February 3, 2010). "The 2000 Year Old Man: The Complete History". popmatters.com. PopMatters. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lee, Tom (January 18, 1974). "The Musical Fruit". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ↑ Manilla, Ben; Strolovitch, Devon (September 6, 2018). "Mel Brooks and 'The 2000 Year Old Man'". pri.org. Public Radio International. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ↑ "Brooks And Reiner's 2,000-Year-Old Man Turns 50". npr.org. NPR. November 28, 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
- ↑ This album was originally released in 1960 as World-Pacific #1401. It was reissued as Capitol #1529 in 1961. See, Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks The Complete 2000 Year Old Man (Los Angeles, CA: Rhino Records), 1994, p. 32.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Carl Reiner – Artist". Grammys.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
- ↑ "Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks - 2000 And Thirteen". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2020-07-02.
- ↑ "41st Annual Grammy Awards | 1998 Grammys". grammy.com. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved February 26, 2021.