Don’t mess with Mrs. Robinson.
In the upcoming HBO documentary, “Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!,” Dave Chappelle reflected on the awkward interaction he had with Brooks’ wife, Anne Bancroft, when they met.
“Sometimes he’d take me to lunch, and his old friend Carl Reiner was directing a movie on the next soundstage, and then at some point, the two of them started doing the ‘2,000 Year Old Man,’ the greatest comedy routine by two of the greatest comics, and me as the audience. I’ll never forget it,” said Chappelle, 52, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Dave Chappelle onstage during the Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala in April. Getty Images for Jazz At Lincoln Center
Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft at the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Awards in 1992. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images“Then I met his wife,” the comedian recalled. “She comes and says, ‘Oh, Mel says so many wonderful things about you.’ She goes on and on and gushes about how much she likes me.”
But according to Chappelle, the pleasantries were ruined once he brought up Bancroft’s iconic 1967 film “The Graduate.”
“I go, ‘Oh, you’re not trying to seduce me, are you, Mrs. Robinson?’ ” he said in the doc. “Not thinking that she’s heard that joke a million times. Nothing. Silence. All you could hear was Dom DeLuise’s labored breath,” Chappelle recalled of the uncomfortable moment. “That was really f–king terrible and hilarious.”
Bancroft in “The Graduate.” Everett Collection / Everett Collection
Bancroft in “The Graduate.” Courtesy Everett Collection
“Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!” comes out Jan. 22. HBOBancroft starred in “The Graduate” as Mrs. Robinson, the older married woman who has an affair with recent college grad Benjamin Braddock, played by Dustin Hoffman.
The film was directed by Mike Nichols and also starred Katharine Ross, William Daniels, Murray Hamilton and Elizabeth Wilson. It was nominated for seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actress for Bancroft and Best Director, which it won.
Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman in “The Graduate.” Everett Collection / Everett ColBrooks and Bancroft met in 1961 at a rehearsal for Perry Como’s variety show “Kraft Music Hall.” They got married in 1964 and had one son together, author Max Brooks.
Bancroft died in 2005 from uterine cancer. She was 73.
The late actress appeared in several of Brooks’ movies including “Silent Movie,” “To Be or Not to Be” and “Blazing Saddles.” They also collaborated on the 1980 movie “The Elephant Man,” which Bancroft starred in and Brooks produced.
Bancroft and Brooks in a photo from “Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!” HBO
Bancroft and Brooks during the opening night of “The Producers.” FilmMagic
Chappelle and Cary Elwes in “Robin Hood: Men in Tights.” ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett CollectionChappelle, for his part, worked with Brooks on the filmmaker’s comedy “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” also starring Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, Roger Rees and Amy Yasbeck.
Directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, “Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!” covers the comedy legend’s life and career, featuring interviews with Brooks, the late Rob Reiner, and other famous comedians such as Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld and Ben Stiller.
“Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man” premieres Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. on HBO.
