Mel Brooks' Wild 1974 Comedy Nearly Fell Apart Thanks to a Vomiting Staroriginally appeared onParade. Mel Brooks'satirical Western comedy,Blazing Saddles, cemented its place in the pop culture canon all the way back in 1974, but it didn't come together easily. Patrick McGilligan, film historian and author of the biographyFunny Man: Mel Brooks, recently rehashed some of the issues the director faced during filming, including how comedian Richard Pryor almost landed the role that ultimately went to Cleavon Little. While filming a TV special in Acapulco, Brooks ran into lawyer Norman Steinberg, who admitted he had always dreamed of being a comedy writer. Steinberg also told Brooks he had written comedy with his dentist friend,Alan Uger, and theSpace Ballsdirectordecided to give the two men a shot. "So he gets these three guys together in a room," McGilligan said in an interview with Wisconsin Public Radio's "Beta" podcast on July 11. "And he says, 'I see four Jews here, and I think we need a Black person because of all the scenes with this Black sheriff.'" He continued, "They bring Richard Pryor in, and he doesn't last too long because he's drinking and doing coke. But he lasts long enough to really, really put his imprint on the film. Mel always said that Warner Brothers vetoed him because they were afraid that he wouldn't show up and that they wanted a bigger box office name. Pryor wasn't really established as a film personality at this point in time." Pryor wasn't the only one who had issues on the set, however. When they cast Gig Young to play Jim, aka the Waco Kid, Brooks was under the impression that Young was a recovering alcoholic, but that wasn't the case. While trying to say his line on the first day of filming, he began vomiting mid-sentence. Young was rushed to the hospital, and Brooks ran outside to a payphone and callednone other than Gene Wilder. McGilligan said that Brooks asked Wilder to come save the film, and theWilly Wonkastar agreed. It may have taken a dentist, a lawyer and a last-minute phone call, but somehow, it worked. 🎬SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox🎬 Mel Brooks' Wild 1974 Comedy Nearly Fell Apart Thanks to a Vomiting Starfirst appeared on Parade on Jul 11, 2025 This story was originally reported byParadeon Jul 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
