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[this one should include the sources because I copied from the "edit" version of the article instead of the "read" version of the article]

Early life and education
Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, to Max (1895-1929) and Kate (née Brookman) Kaminsky (1896-1989), and grew up in Williamsburg. His father's family were German Jews from Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland); his mother's family were Jews from Kiev, in the Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine). He had three older brothers: Irving, Lenny, and Bernie. Brooks' father died of kidney disease at 34 when Brooks was 2 years old. He has said of his father's death, "There's an outrage there. I may be angry at God, or at the world, for that. And I'm sure a lot of my comedy is based on anger and hostility. Growing up in Williamsburg, I learned to clothe it in comedy to spare myself problems—like a punch in the face."

Brooks was a small, sickly boy who often was bullied and teased by his classmates because of his size. He grew up in tenement housing. At age 9, Brooks went to a Broadway show with his uncle Joe—a taxi driver who would drive the Broadway doormen back to Brooklyn for free and was given the tickets in gratitude—and saw Anything Goes with William Gaxton, Ethel Merman and Victor Moore at the Alvin Theater. After the show, he told his uncle that he was not going to work in the garment district like everyone else but was absolutely going into show business.

When Brooks was 14 he got himself a job as a pool tumeler. Brooks kept his guests amused from his crazy antics. In a playboy interview Brooks explained that one day he stood at the edge of a diving board wearing a large overcoat and 2 suitcases full of rocks who then announced: "Business is terrible! I can't go on!" before jumping, fully clothed into the pool. He was taught by Buddy Rich (who had also grown up in Williamsburg) how to play the drums and started earning money at it when he was 14. During Brooks' time as a drummer he was given his first opportunity as a comedian at the age of 16 following an ill emcee. During his teens Melvin Kaminsky officially changed his name to Mel Brooks because it was more consumer-friendly name.

After attending Abraham Lincoln High School for a year, Brooks graduated from Eastern District High School and then spent a year at Brooklyn College as a psychology major before being drafted into the army in 1944. He was placed in the Army Specialized Training Program and sent to the Virginia Military Institute to be taught skills such as military engineering and later underwent basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He served in the United States Army as a corporal in the 1104 Engineer Combat Battalion, 78th Infantry Division, defusing land mines as the allies advanced into Germany during World War II. As World War II came to an end Mel Brooks took part in organizing shows for Germans and for American Soldiers.

[possible edits for Mel Brooks' page]

Early life and education[edit source]
Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, to Max (1895-1929) and Kate (née Brookman) Kaminsky (1896-1989), and grew up in Williamsburg. His father's family were German Jews from Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland); his mother's family were Jews from Kiev, in the Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine). He had three older brothers: Irving, Lenny, and Bernie. Brooks' father died of kidney disease at 34 when Brooks was 2 years old. He has said of his father's death, "There's an outrage there. I may be angry at God, or at the world, for that. And I'm sure a lot of my comedy is based on anger and hostility. Growing up in Williamsburg, I learned to clothe it in comedy to spare myself problems—like a punch in the face."

Brooks was a small, sickly boy who often was bullied and teased by his classmates because of his size. He grew up in tenement housing. At age 9, Brooks went to a Broadway show with his uncle Joe—a taxi driver who would drive the Broadway doormen back to Brooklyn for free and was given the tickets in gratitude—and saw Anything Goes with William Gaxton, Ethel Merman and Victor Moore at the Alvin Theater. After the show, he told his uncle that he was not going to work in the garment district like everyone else but was absolutely going into show business. He was taught by Buddy Rich (who had also grown up in Williamsburg) how to play the drums and started earning money at it when he was 14.

After attending Abraham Lincoln High School for a year, Brooks graduated from Eastern District High School and then spent a year at Brooklyn College as a psychology major before being drafted into the army in 1944. He was placed in the Army Specialized Training Program and sent to the Virginia Military Institute to be taught skills such as military engineering and later underwent basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He served in the United States Army as a corporal in the 1104 Engineer Combat Battalion, 78th Infantry Division, defusing land mines as the allies advanced into Germany during World War II.