Hollywood icon Mel Brooks, 97, was full of his usual cheery charm as he received a prestigious career achievement award at the Peabody Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles.
The garlanded comedy legend, who has seen huge success as a screenwriter, filmmaker actor and songwriter, is just days away from turning 98 later this month, on June 28.
Posing both on the red carpet and for a series of portraits, the star was dapper in a double-breasted dark suit with a cream shirt and grey tie.
Mel was photographed with When Harry Met Sally actor Billy Crystal, 76, on the red carpet at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, where the awards ceremony was held.
He was also snapped afterwards – with his impressive prize – alongside his adult son Max, 52, who he shared with late wife Anne Bancroft, and his grandson Henry, 19.
Mel, whose career started as a writer on Sid Caesar’s variety show in the 1950s, is one of the just 19 individuals to have achieved EGOT status over his seven-decade-plus career – that is someone who holds an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award for their work across the spectrum of stage and screen in the performing arts.
Alongside his Peabody Award, Mel has received all sorts of honorary awards, including a Bafta Fellowship, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a National Medal of Arts and even an honorary Academy Award earlier this year.
Spoof comedy pioneer Mel also has another Academy Award, four Emmys, three Tonys, and three Grammys.
The Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein writer and director’s career achievement gong ‘is reserved for individuals whose work and commitment to broadcasting and streaming media have left an indelible mark on the field and in American culture’, according to the Peabody Awards website.
He won his first Oscar for penning the screenplay for musical film The Producers in 1969 – his breakthrough project – 55 years before his honorary one bestowed upon him in January.
Mel is following in the footsteps of industry luminaries such as Rita Moreno, Lily Tomlin and Cicely Tyson in scooping the Peabody Award for his illustrious career.
Abbott Elementary creator and actress Quinta Brunson, 34, was also honoured the same evening with the trailblazer award.
It also capped a remarkable weekend for Hollywood’s nonagenarians, after Dick Van Dyke, 98, became the oldest-ever winner of a Daytime Emmy Award on Friday.
The Mary Poppins star celebrated his groundbreaking win by dancing a merry jig on the red carpet, delighting fans and journalists in attendance alike.
He played amnesiac Timothy Robicheaux for the four-episode role, otherwise known as Mystery Man – which he took on after a friend of his suggested that he take the part.
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