My dad died right after performing at the Friars' roast for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. I have that tape somewhere. There's still a lot of good jokes in there. I mean, that was 1958. Albert Brooks arnazballdad Change image and share on social
My dad played a character on the radio called 'Parkyakarkus.' A Greek-dialect comedian. He did Friars' roasts and wrote material and made people laugh that way. But he wrote his own shows with other writers. Albert Brooks callcharactercomedian share on social
My roots were in acting. That's all I wanted to be. Even though my father was a radio comedian, it wasn't cool to say, at a young age, 'I want to be a comedian.' Albert Brooks actagecomedian Change image and share on social
You know, I became a director out of necessity. I was writing comedies, and I couldn't find anybody to deliver it correctly. Albert Brooks comedycorrectlydeliver Change image and share on social
I'm not interesting enough on my own that you'd want to see a film about me. Albert Brooks filminterest Change image and share on social
All improv turns into anger. All comedy improv basically turns into anger, because that's all people know how to do when they're improvising. If you notice shows that are improvising are generally people yelling at each other. Albert Brooks angerbasicallycomedy share on social
There's always the standard six people you can hire that have played all these villains in Hollywood. Instinctively, when they come on screen, you know what's going to happen. You don't know the story, but you know what they do. Albert Brooks happenhirehollywood share on social
Wouldn't it be great if cars came equipped with screens like that thing they have in Times Square that spells out the news? You could punch out your own instant messages: 'Will the small red car with the ugly driver please stay a little further behind?' Albert Brooks cardriverequip share on social
By the way, movies are like sporting events in that you're as good as the movie you're in. You can sit in a room for 20 years and go do a movie and you can just kill in it and you move to the head of the line again. By the same token, you can do five movies a year and if they're dreck, it's nothing. Albert Brooks dreckeventgood share on social