
Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner on their 70-year friendship - tintinnabula
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/feb/20/love-and-free-food-mel-brooks-and-carl-reiner-share-the-secrets-of-their-70-year-friendship
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gabagool
Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks also appear in an episode of Jerry Seinfeld's
Comedians in Cars getting Coffee. It can be found, officially, on Netflix in
the "Light and Sweet" season:
[https://www.netflix.com/title/80171362](https://www.netflix.com/title/80171362).

As I recall, the episode was initially just focused on Carl Reiner, but
Seinfeld was invited back later that evening to join Reiner and Brooks for
dinner.

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staticautomatic
"You'll look at [the bacon] and you'll say 'That's too crisp!'. That's how I
want it."

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pfarrell
If you’ve seen it. On the episode with Jerry Lewis. He asks for “a large order
of very, very, very stiff bacon”. I’ve wondered about that synchronicity.

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tomcam
The real news is that Mel Brooks drives from Santa Monica to Beverly Hills
during rush hour on a daily basis. I’d barely do that for my own kids! JK, but
that’s super impressive. It is a brutal drive of the sort known to people from
SV where absolutely no shortcuts work anymore.

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melling
Looks like a 9 mile drive.

When I was a kid in the 1970s, I remember people in California joking about
how they loved to drive. They couldn’t see the point of mass transit.

They even tried to build a high speed rail, but no one saw the value. 50 years
later and it’s nearly impossible to build one now.

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scruple
9 miles in LA...

I remember when I moved to LA in March of 2008. I remember telling my
girlfriend how awesome it was that I was 6 miles from work. How exciting. Back
in Ohio, I lived over 30 miles from work! SGV to Pasadena? No sweat. She
giggled. I didn't understand. Then I started spending an hour one way and 45
minutes back. Now I get it.

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nicoburns
And I hate it when I'm more than a mile from work!

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coldcode
Two of a kind, never repeated. I don't think you could make people like this
today, they came from a different era. Not even sure you could make Blazing
Saddles today either.

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rocmcd
I've always viewed Tropic Thunder as somewhat of a successor to Blazing
Saddles, but I largely agree that it couldn't be recreated today.

The time period in which these movies were made is a lot of what makes them so
special. That's not to say that what we'll have next won't be special, but
1974 (and 2008) was a different time.

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oh_sigh
Thinking back to when Tropic Thunder came out, I remember the scandal relating
to the movie had nothing to do with RDJs character, but with the fact that
they say "retarded" in it.

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Ididntdothis
I have to admit the “full retard” is one of the best lines I have ever heard
in a movie. Maybe “10-20 million dead, tops” from Dr Strangelove is on that
level.

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senderista
"I'm not saying we won't get our hair a little mussed."

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thombat
Back in the dark ages (pre-streaming) Sky Movies showed "Dr Strangelove". The
UHF scrambling only affected the picture, not the audio, so even though we
didn't have a Sky subscription we could still listen in: it works wonderfully
as a radio play too.

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luckydata
I wish any of my friendships was that robust. I've met a lot of people and I'm
very social but for one reason or another friendships in the Bay Area never
seem to become very deep (and most people I like end up leaving).

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d4mi3n
I can’t speak to friendships of 70 years, but I have a number of friends I’ve
known for the better part of 10 to 15 years. I find there’s a few things that
help foster these kinds of relationships:

1\. You genuinely like each other.

2\. The relationship is positive, meaning each party contributes in positive
ways to the well-being of each other.

3\. Proximity helps, but in cases where friends get separated due to
circumstances of life: stay in touch. Make a point to call now and then, send
a holiday card, involve them in travel plans, etc. maintaining contact is key.

4\. For people you do lose contact with: check in. I know SO many people who
let fantastic friendships wither due to fear of getting back in touch. What’s
a year or two of downtime compared a friendship that can last decades? Reach
out, they’ll be happy to hear from you.

Relationships take effort, and friendships are no different. Look for ones
that add to your life in positive ways, try to do the same for them, and hang
on to them as best you can. Good luck!

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anonymousiam
Buck Henry died last month. It made me wonder how much longer Mel Brooks will
last. When I saw his name cross the Hacker News ether, my heart skipped a
beat. I'm glad he's still going strong.

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justlexi93
It is so hard to find true friends nowadays, I feel jealous and happy while
reading this article.

