Martin Short
Delivering one of the night's funniest lines, Martin Short quipped: "The thing about Mel is he never lets his love of Scientology affect his work."
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Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, a past AFI Life Achievement winner, complained that Mel Brooks had never cast him in his films.
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Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal recalled how, after years of idolizing Mel Brooks, he finally met him at a PTA meeting, and confessed, "It was Mel who really made me want to be a comedian — up close, there is nobody funnier."
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Amy Poehler
Saturday Night Live alum Amy Poehler paid tribute to Mel Brooks during the black-tie dinner at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
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Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman, known for her button-pushing topical humor, took the stage to testify her love for Mel Brooks.
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Conan O’Brien
Quirky late-night host Conan O'Brien was among the starry roster of speakers paying homage to the Oscar-winning writer, performer and director.
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Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman, one of the comedy icon's troupe of onscreen repertory players, observed, "As you may know, I have an Oscar. I won it in 1971 for The Last Picture Show. I started working with Mel Brooks a year later and I haven't won one since — not even a nomination, bupkis."
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Morgan Freeman
Past AFI Life Achievement winner Morgan Freeman was also on hand for the star-studded tribute.
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David Lynch
David Lynch directed The Elephant Man, which was produced by Mel Brooks’ production company Brooksfilms.
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Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese, who presented Mel Brooks with his AFI Life Achievement Award, reminded the crowd of the long tradition of classic American film comedy, noting “that is a tradition of true greatness to which Mel Brooks does not belong because Mel has made his own tradition of greatness."
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Martin Scorsese and Mel Brooks
"This is nearly an important occasion," quipped Mel Brooks, upon receiving the honor from Martin Scorsese.
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Martin Scorsese and Mel Brooks
"Normally, I don’t agree with the AFI choices. Tonight, I kinda do. I thank them for this honor," said Mel Brooks in his acceptance speech.
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Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner, riffing on one of Mel Brooks' most famous catchphrases, "It's good to be the king," said of his decades-long friendship with the comedy legend, "Well, Mel, it's better to be one of your subjects, because you have made your subjects laugh."
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Bob Gazzale, Mel Brooks and Howard Stringer
Welcoming guests to the dinner, Howard Stringer, chair of the AFI board of trustees, proclaimed: "Yes, I know, Mel has himself said, 'I've been accused of vulgarity.' I say that’s bullshit!"
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Mel Brooks
"Finally, a Lifetime Achievement Award for Mel Brooks — wow, what an eloquent way to say, hey, let’s wrap it up," cracked Sarah Silverman from the stage.
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Judd Apatow and Jay Roach
Comedy directors Judd Apatow and Jay Roach joined in on the fun at AFI's Mel Brooks tribute.
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Isla Fisher
Great Gatsby actress Isla Fisher is married to another funnyman, Sacha Baron Cohen.
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Richard Lewis and Larry David
"I said to myself, I can never, ever be a comedian. What’s the point? So Mel Brooks didn’t get me into comedy — he kept me away from it. I wasted years doing nothing because of him," joked Larry David.