Kenneth Mars, co-star in Mel Brooks comedies, dies: "Kenneth Mars, a Mel Brooks collaborator who played a Hitler-worshipping playwright in 'The Producers' and an earnest police inspector with a malfunctioning artificial arm in 'Young Frankenstein,' has died.
He was 75. In a statement Monday, Mars family said the actor died Saturday of pancreatic cancer at his home in Grenada Hills. In Brooks' 1968 romp 'The Producers,' Mars co-starred as Franz Liebkind, a Nazi enthusiast whose play, 'Springtime for Hitler,' is the basis for a scheme by two conniving showmen (Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder) to bilk investors by putting on a surefire Broadway flop.
Brooks cast Mars again in 1974's 'Young Frankenstein' as the constable poking around the castle grounds on the trail of mad scientist Wilder's monster. In both films, the Chicago-born Mars demonstrated his talent for vocal farce, lending over-the-top German accents to the characters.
Mars' nearly 50-year career included a long list of voice credits, including 'The Little Mermaid,' 'The Jetsons' and the 'The Land Before Time' movies and TV series."
5 comments:
Well, damn. I became a fan of his from He and She. Such a wonderful talent.
Is there anything or anyone funnier than Mars in THE PRODUCERS?
Max, possibly Dick Shawn in The Producers. :)
"You shut up! You are the audience! I am the author! I OUTRANK you!"
He was a genius in “Young Frankenstein,” as well as many other movies.
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