Hollywood’s legendary comedian and filmmaker Mel Brooks, 90, was on Sunday honoured with the BAFTA Fellowship by Duke of Cambridge Prince William at the historic Royal Albert Hall here.
The Academy Fellowship is a lifetime achievement award presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) since 1971 in recognition of outstanding achievement in the art forms of the moving image.
Brooks kept the humour alive in his acceptance speech, telegraph.co.uk reported.
“I want to thank Harvey Weinstein for having nothing to do with this award tonight,” said Brooks, before apologising to Prince William for the American revolution.
“To choose an American is mighty nice of you, mighty nice,” he said.
“By the way, the reason I forgot my passport is because I don’t think of England seriously. I don’t think of this place as a foreign country. I just think of it as a vast Brooklyn that just speaks better. That’s all…
“This is an award you won’t see on eBay, I promise you.”
Prince William called Brooks “an extremely talented actor, comedian, filmmaker, composer and song-writer”. He then handed over the mike to Nathan Lane and Simon Pegg.
“He’s a comedy genius who raised flatulence to an art form,” Pegg quipped.
Fellows previously honoured for their work in film include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren and Mike Leigh. Sidney Poitier was the recipient of the Fellowship last year.
About receiving the prestigious honour, Brooks had said ahead of the ceremony: “I am not overwhelmed, but I am definitely whelmed by this singular honor. To be included among such iconic talents is absolutely humbling.
“In choosing me for the 2017 Fellowship I think that BAFTA has made a strangely surprising yet ultimately wise decision.”
His career as an actor, comedian, filmmaker, composer and songwriter is illustrated through his multiple awards, spanning many decades, making him only one of 12 individuals to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award.
Brooks is credited for making films like “The Producers”, “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein”.
