Legendary writer, director, and actor Paul Mazursky passed on Tuesday. Among his credits are classics like Moscow On The Hudson, Down and Out In Beverly Hills, and Scenes From A Mall. You might also recognize him as the guy Larry David kills in S7 of Curb (“how’s your wife?”).
Mazursky leaves a rich and textured legacy that’s on par with the greats of the 20th century filmmaking, and yet, when I think of him, I’m constantly drawn to this scene from his “IT’S ALL CRAP” talk show. Here we find Mazursky and Leonard Nimoy cracking wise like a couple of Hebrew school delinquents, replete with ample “Uranus” jokes. It is, like so much for Mazursky’s work, a genuine pleasure to watch:
And as an extra bonus, here he is grilling longtime friend Mel Brooks on one of Brooks’ favorite topics: Hitler
At the time of his death, Paul Mazursky was 84. His films, however, are timeless.
[h/t Jon for reminding me about that Nimoy clip]
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