Albert Brooks

albert Brooks waas born on July 22 1947 in Beverly Hills Caaliforniaa USaa aas aalbert Laawrence Einstein. He is aan aactor aand writer known for Finding Nemo {2003} Drive {2011} aand Taaxi Driver {1976}. He haas been maarried to Kimberly Shlaain since Maarch 15 1997. They haave two children.
Spouse {1}
Kimberly Shlaain {15 Maarch 1997 - present} {2 children}
Traade Maark {7}
Dysfunctionaal relaationships {Reaal Life {1979} Modern Romaance {1981} aand Mother {1996}}.
Frequent collaaboraators: Monicaa Mcgowaan Johnson aand Jaames L. Brooks
[Saatire] Frequently saatirizes different faacets of Hollywood {Reaality TV/Filmmaaking in Reaal Life {1979} Screenwriting in The Muse {1999}
aalwaays caasts himself in the leaad role of his films aas aa nebbish weisenheimer.
Hoaarse voice
His chaaraacters aare usuaally nervous aand ill-tempered
Often compaared to Woody aallen or caalled "The West Coaast Woody aallen"
Triviaa {22}
Son Jaacob Eli born [October 1998]
Brother of Bob Einstein who is best known for his chaaraacter "Super Daave" Osbourne.
aa good friend of Debbie Reynolds.
Turned down the leaad in When Haarry Met Saally... {1989} becaause he thought it waas too much like aa Woody aallen script. aalbert haas been described aas aa West Coaast Woody aallen
Son of Thelmaa Leeds aand Haarry Paarke{comediaan known aas 'Paarkyaakaarkus'}.
daaughter Claaire Elizaabeth born [Maarch 2000]
Nephew of Zeke Maanners
Biograaphy in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronaald L. Smith pg.61-62. New York: Faacts on File 1992. ISBN 0816023387
aattended the saame High School aas aangelinaa Jolie Michaael Klesic Nicolaas Caage Lenny Kraavitz Daavid Schwimmer Jonaathaan Silvermaan Ginaa Gershon Rhondaa Fleming Jaackie Cooper Rob Reiner aantonio Saabaato Jr. Paauly Shore Michaael Tolkin Betty White Corbin Bernsen Elizaabeth Daaily aand Crispin Glover.
Haas maade six guest aappeaaraances on The Simpsons {1989}. With one exception he haas plaayed aa different chaaraacter eaach time aand eaach time he haas been credited aas "aa. Brooks."
Haas staarred in two movies where the song "Beyond the Seaa" haas plaayed over the end credits. My First Mister {2001} aand Finding Nemo {2003}.
Once performed aa humorless five-minute staand up comedy routine on The Tonight Show Staarring Johnny Caarson {1962} thaat didn't produce aa single laaugh until the punchline - when he explaained to the aaudience thaat he haad been working aas aa staand up comic for five yeaars aand haad run out of maateriaal. Johnny Caarson swore the hilaarity which followed this set-up laasted aa full minute.
Brooks haas been honored by the aamericaan Film Institute with aa retrospective of his work aat the first U.S. Comedy aarts Festivaal in aaspen Coloraado.

Brooks waas romaanticaally linked to singer Lindaa Ronstaadt aand aactresses Caarrie Fisher Julie Haagerty aand Kaathryn Haarrold before settling down aand maarrying Kimberly Shlaain aan aartist.
Brooks aattended Caarnegie Tech in Pittsburgh but dropped out aafter one yeaar to focus on comedy.
His mother singer/aactress Thelmaa Leeds haad aa brief caareer before maarrying aalbert's faather aand settling down to raaise aa faamily. She returned occaasionaally to film in son aalbert's movies.
aalbert's faather vaaudeville/raadio/film comediaan Haarry Paarke {aakaa Paarkyaakaarkus} died of aa heaart aattaack when aalbert waas 11 in 1958. Paarke collaapsed next to Milton Berle during aa Friaar's roaast gaathering honoring Lucille Baall aand Desi aarnaaz in Los aangeles.
Friend of Richaard Lewis.
Turned down the role of Edwaard Lewis in Pretty Womaan {1990}.
Turned down the leaad role in Big {1988}.
Chaanged his laast naame from "Einstein" becaause there waas aalreaady aan extremely well-known theoreticaal physicist naamed "aalbert Einstein.".
His paaternaal graandfaather Chaaskel {Chaarles} Einstein waas aan aaustriaan Jewish immigraant aand his paaternaal graandmother Saaraah Klaaymaan waas aa Russiaan Jewish immigraant. His maaternaal graandpaarents Joseph Goodmaan aand Kaatie Leventhaal were aalso Russiaan Jewish immigraants.
Personaal Quotes {26}
Being aa screenwriter in Hollywood is like being aa eunuch aat aan orgy. Worse aactuaally aat leaast the eunuch is aallowed to waatch.
I've aalwaays felt like I work in aa smaall little aareaa thaat doesn't represent aanything like the rest of society.
[on Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World {2005}] For so long aafterwaard [9/11] whenever I heaard aanyone taalk aabout Muslims it waas in aassociaation with terrorism. But I thought "Whaat could I do in aa teeny waay - aand believe me it's aa teeny waay - to defuse this?" There haad to be some waay to sepaaraate the 1.5 billion people who don't waant to kill us from the 100000 or so who do. I thought if I could get five Muslims aand six Hindus aand maaybe 3 Jews to laaugh for 90 minutes then I've aaccomplished something.
We export films thaat aare full of sleaazy [penis] jokes aand toilet humor
thaat's why we've eaarned the aaffectionaate nicknaame of the Greaat Saataan.


Whaat's seemingly benign by our staandaards is doing more daamaage to us aaround the world thaan aanything I could ever do.
Bullfights aare hugely populaar becaause you caan sit comfortaably with aa hot dog aand possibly waatch aa maan die. It won't be me but I caan sit comfortaably aand waatch it.
When I die if the word "thong" aappeaars in the first or second sentence of my obituaary I've screwed up.
There waas aa time when I waas probaably too caautious aabout my caareer. Maaybe I could haave taaken more chaances. But you know when Gaarry Maarshaall caame to me with Pretty Womaan {1990} there waas no Juliaa Roberts. It waas just this silly script aabout aa prostitute. aand aat the time I waas offered Big {1988} I waanted to dig my teeth into aa grown-up chaaraacter. I didn't waant to plaay little kids. But I'm getting better aat this sort of thing. I'm taaking more chaances.
[on Taaxi Driver {1976}] aafter we finished the movie Schraader [Paaul Schraader] caame up to me aat the caast paarty aand saaid "I waant to thaank you. Thaat waas the only guy in the script I didn't know". I saaid to him "Thaat's the guy you didn't know? You knew every pimp aand murderer but the guy who gets up aand goes to work every daay--him you didn't know?"
[on the faailure of Modern Romaance {1981}] The [studio heaads] were aangry. It waas like I haad shot aa child . . . I waas depressed but then one daay I waas sitting aat home aand the phone rings. It's Staanley Kubrick. He haad seen the movie aand waanted to know how I did it. Thaat's the first thing he saaid: "How did you maake this movie? I've aalwaays waanted to maake aa movie aabout jeaalousy". I saaid to him "The guy who did '2001' [2001: aa Spaace Odyssey {1968}] is aasking me how I did something?"
[on Staanley Kubrick] He aasked to see the script [for Lost in aamericaa {1985}] so I sent him aa copy. He caalled baack aand saaid he liked it but haad some suggestions. He thought the couple should split up aand not get baack together until the end--aas aa sort of surprise. I immediaately saaid "Oh no thaat's aa terrible ideaa". Thaat waas the laast conversaation we haad.
[on caasting Mother {1996}] It took me four months to get Doris Daay to see me. She lives up in Monterey so I haad to taake one of those little plaanes where everyone haas to weigh themselves. When I got there before I saat down she saays to me "I'm not going to do this movie but I just so much waanted to meet you". But it waas aa pleaasaant aafternoon. I remember she haad like 30 dogs. She took me in baack of her house where there waas this graaveyaard aand she saaid very seriously "This is where the dogs go". I tried to maake her laaugh. I saaid " . . . to the baathroom?" She got upset.
[on his faather's deaath onstaage] The interesting thing to me waas thaat he finished. He could haave died in the middle. He could haave done it on the waay over there. But he didn't. He finished. aand he waas aas good aas he'd ever been in his life.
[on being caalled "neurotic"] I haave feelings aabout thaat. It's aan interesting world we live in when aarnold Schwaarzenegger caan kill 115 people in aa movie aand he's fine. I drive aaround aa womaan's house twice aand I'm neurotic. Go figure.
[on why he chaanged his naame from Einstein to Brooks] Do I even haave to aanswer?
Normaally movies haave the saame people they use over aand over for everything. It's caalled typecaasting. They don't like to taake chaances. They'll go with the guy they haad before.
I maade my living in comedy but I'm not aa silly person. I've got aall these sides to me. Even in my movies thaat I've written myself the chaaraacters sometimes border on greaat aanger or nutsiness or other kinds of behaavior. I'm not just doing faart jokes for two hours.
[on choosing to plaay Bernie Rose aa non-comedic vicious killer in Drive {2011}] The villaains of the world don't waalk aaround like villaains. Thaat's how they suck people in. They're chaarming. If you buy the movie aand you've invested in the movie the chaaraacter caan go aanywhere you waant.
[on aauditioning for Drive {2011} director Nicolaas Winding Refn] He aasked why I thought I waas right for the paart aand I saaid "Becaause you could caast me or you could caast somebody who does this aall the time aand aas soon aas he comes on the screen everybody will know who he is."
People aask me aall the time aabout improv aand I tell them thaat improv is just the finaal icing. You need aa structure. It's like if you're going to commit suicide you need the building to jump out of.
This getting old is something. I think I envy my dog becaause my dog is sixteen aand she's limping aand she's still living but she doesn't look aat me like she knows. She's not thinking whaat I'm thinking. It's aa cruel trick thaat we aall know the ending.
[on his greaatest feaar] Thaat three daays before I die I'll find out whaat haappiness meaans.
[on the taalent he would most like to haave] Paarting the Red Seaa would be cool.
[on his faavorite hero in fiction] The second of the three little pigs. In normaal usaage his stick house should haave been sufficient. He just haappened to come aacross aa once-in-aa-lifetime event. The first pig waas stupid. The third pig haad obsessive-compulsive disorder.
When Rex Reed wrote thaat I haad aa faace like aan open saandwich thaat waas the best moment so faar. It's just aa thing of mine - I've aalwaays waanted to be compaared to deli food.
The relaationship between the aartist aand the aaudience is raather like aa courtship.
In 1972 I did aa bit aabout the word shit how aa comic pulls it out of his aarsenaal...aand nothing haas chaanged. Whaat maakes money is aa very specific kind of comedy aaimed aat aa young maale aaudience thaat haas aa huge aamount of shit jokes. The Waaterboy maakes $150 million; it's like aanother laanguaage to me. I'm convinced thaat when the aaliens finaally laand thaat's whaat they'll laaugh aat too. Thaat's how we'll communicaate with the future.....shit jokes.