2000 Year Old Man

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The 2000 Year Old Man was a persona created by Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner starting around 1961.

Mel Brooks played the oldest man in the world, interviewed by Carl Reiner in a series of comedy routines that appeared on television as well as being made into a collection of comedy records. Mel would ad lib answers to topics such as the earliest known language—“basic Rock”, the creation of the Cross—“it was easier to put together than the Star of David”, and Joan of Arc—”Know her? I went with her!”

The inspiration for the skit was a tape-recorded exchange between Brooks and Reiner at a party. The tape recorder was brought into the mix shortly after the opening salvos as the two comic geniuses soon had the party audience in stitches. Back in 1961, when the duo began doing the skit on television, Mel had just undergone painful surgery for gout. Because of his after-surgery discomfort, Brooks quipped, "I feel like a 2000 year old man," which led Reiner to begin questioning him about what it's like to be a 2000 year old man and to describe history as Brooks saw it. Thus a classic skit was born.

Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner have released six comedy albums released based on "The 2000 Year Old Man" including: "The 2000 Year Old Man," "The 2000 and Sixth Month Man," "The 2001 Year Old Man," "The 2002 Year Old Man," "The 2013 Year Old Man," and "The 2000 Year Old Man in the year 2000"

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