Mel Brooks sat down with David Steinberg on "Inside Comedy" (Thu., 11 p.m. EST on Showtime) and joked about how he's "made a fine living from Nazis!"
Brooks' biggest hit was his Oscar-winning 1968 film, "The Producers."
It followed the fortunes of two Jewish theatrical agents in New York who planned to bilk investors of their money with a sure-fire musical flop about Hitler and the Nazis. Unfortunately for Bialystock and Bloom, the musical is a smash hit.
Featuring singing and dancing Nazis and numbers like "Springtime For Hitler," it's since developed a life of its own as a hit Broadway musical and then a second film, this time of the stage version.
Why did Brooks decide to use Hitler as comedic fodder?
"The only way to get even with anybody is to ridicule them," he said. "So, the only real way I could get even with Hitler and company was to bring them down with laughter."
"Inside Comedy" airs Thursdays at 11 p.m. EST on Showtime.
TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.
Related on HuffPost:
Launch Slideshow
HIDE THUMBNAILS
SHARE
BACK TO ARTICLE
1 of 21
PLAY ALL
VOTE ON THIS SLIDE
ADVERTISEMENT
[{"entry_id":"3466912","entry_url":"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/06\/19\/the-newsroom-season-2_n_3466912.html","content_type":"image","image_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/302988\/slide_302988_2569339_small.jpg","thumbnail_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/302988\/slide_302988_2569339_small.jpg","title":"'The Newsroom' Season 2 Character Posters","slideshow_id":"302988","vertical":"tv"},{"entry_id":"3464962","entry_url":"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/06\/19\/paul-feig-freaks-and-geeks_n_3464962.html","content_type":"image","image_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/245349\/slide_245349_1394288_small.jpg","thumbnail_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/245349\/slide_245349_1394288_small.jpg","title":"TV Reunions We Want To See","slideshow_id":"245349","vertical":"tv"},{"entry_id":"3468063","entry_url":"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/06\/19\/breckin-meyer-mark-paul-gosselaar_n_3468063.html","content_type":"image","image_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/293035\/slide_293035_2376161_small.jpg","thumbnail_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/293035\/slide_293035_2376161_small.jpg","title":"Summer TV Guide","slideshow_id":"293035","vertical":"tv"},{"entry_id":"3466168","entry_url":"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/06\/19\/sally-draper-arya-stark-mashup_n_3466168.html","content_type":"image","image_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/276487\/slide_276487_2493148_small.jpg","thumbnail_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/276487\/slide_276487_2493148_small.jpg","title":"\"Mad Men\" Season 6","slideshow_id":"276487","vertical":"tv"},{"entry_id":"3467678","entry_url":"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/06\/19\/kristen-bell-game-of-thrones_n_3467678.html","content_type":"image","image_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/208655\/slide_208655_2475430_small.jpg","thumbnail_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/208655\/slide_208655_2475430_small.jpg","title":"\"Game Of Thrones\"","slideshow_id":"208655","vertical":"tv"},{"entry_id":"3468591","entry_url":"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/06\/19\/cher-wig-the-voice_n_3468591.html","content_type":"image","image_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/227308\/slide_227308_994531_small.jpg","thumbnail_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/227308\/slide_227308_994531_small.jpg","title":"Cher Style Evolution","slideshow_id":"227308","vertical":"tv"},{"entry_id":"3469053","entry_url":"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/06\/19\/james-gandolfini-the-sopranos_n_3469053.html","content_type":"video","image_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/304065\/slide_304065_2590703_small.jpg","thumbnail_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/304065\/slide_304065_2590703_small.jpg","title":"The Best Of James Gandolfini On 'The Sopranos'","slideshow_id":"304065","vertical":"tv"},{"entry_id":"3467896","entry_url":"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2013\/06\/19\/kelly-bensimon-scary-island_n_3467896.html","content_type":"image","image_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/218992\/slide_218992_845762_small.jpg","thumbnail_url":"gadgets\/slideshows\/218992\/slide_218992_845762_small.jpg","title":"Real Housewives of New York City Season 5","slideshow_id":"218992","vertical":"tv"}]
Mel Brooks sat down with David Steinberg on "Inside Comedy" (Thu., 11 p.m. EST on Showtime) and joked about how he's "made a fine living from Nazis!"
Brooks' biggest hit was his Oscar-winning 1968 ...
Mel Brooks sat down with David Steinberg on "Inside Comedy" (Thu., 11 p.m. EST on Showtime) and joked about how he's "made a fine living from Nazis!"
Brooks' biggest hit was his Oscar-winning 1968 ...
Mel Brooks sat down with David Steinberg on "Inside Comedy" (Thu., 11 p.m. EST on Showtime) and joked about how he's "made a fine living from Nazis!"
Brooks' biggest hit was his Oscar-winning 1968 ...
Mel Brooks sat down with David Steinberg on "Inside Comedy" (Thu., 11 p.m. EST on Showtime) and joked about how he's "made a fine living from Nazis!"
Brooks' biggest hit was his Oscar-winning 1968 ...
Sarah Silverman was David Steinberg's guest on "Inside Comedy" (Thu., 11 p.m. EST on Showtime) Thursday night. Steinberg asked the "Jesus Is Magic" star about...
Larry David sat down with David Steinberg on "Inside Comedy" (Thurs., 11 p.m. EST on Showtime) and reminisced about working as a writer on "Saturday...
Many successful British television shows have crossed the pond over the years to be remade for an American audience with variable results. For every "Sanford...
Chris Rock talked to "Inside Comedy" host David Steinberg about the legacy of two of the funniest black stand-up comedians in history, Bill Cosby and...
UPDATE: Jerry Seinfeld tweeted a response to this story: Our original headline, "Jerry Seinfeld: I Wasn't Comfortable With 'Seinfeld' Success," referred to his quote, "I...
First Posted: 03/ 9/2012 8:14 am Updated: 03/ 9/2012 9:53 am