Albert Brooks

ALBERT BROOKS is among the most inventive practitioners of motion picture comedy, as well as one of its most incisive commentators on contemporary life. Brooks began his career as a stand-up comic, and went on to become an award-winning actor, writer and filmmaker. Brooks has written, directed and starred in seven feature films: Real Life, Modern Romance, Lost In America, Defending Your Life, Mother, The Muse and Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World. Brooks made his acting debut in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 classic, Taxi Driver. His other acting credits include such films as Private Benjamin, Unfaithfully Yours, I’ll Do Anything, Critical Care, Out of Sight and My First Mister. He earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance in Broadcast News. Finding Nemo, which he starred in, received an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and has become one of the highest grossing animated films ever made. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Brooks studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University before starting his performing career in 1968 doing stand-up comedy on network television. He began on The Steve Allen Show, later became a regular on The Dean Martin Show, and performed on such variety programs as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Hollywood Palace and had over forty appearances on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson. Brooks has recorded two comedy albums: Comedy Minus One and A Star is Bought, the latter earning him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Comedy Recording. His first directorial effort was in 1972 for the PBS series The Great American Dream Machine. He adapted an article he had written for Esquire Magazine, “Albert Brooks’ Famous School for Comedians” into a short film. Following this, he created six short films for the debut season of Saturday Night Live. Brooks has been honored by the American Film Institute with a retrospective of his work at the first U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen Colorado. He is married to artist Kimberly Brooks and has two children.