It was an era of the general entertainer. Ronny Graham’s parents were both vaudeville players towards the end of that epoch and Graham was a multi-talented performer: comedian, composer, lyricist, actor. Like his contemporaries which were Mort Sahl, Lenny Bruce and Shelley Berman his stage persona was the dismayed at the state of the world man, but he shied away from direct political commentary and testing the boundaries of obscenity and morals at the time.
Two of his well-known characters were a literary creation named Truman Kaput, introduced in the New Faces of 1952 on Broadway and a deranged pianist known as the bop professor; an affectionate tribute to the berserk cabaret performer Harry the Hipster Gibson.
---In 1979, I was a 19-year old writer being mentored by the gentle comedic genius Ronny Graham. A frequent Mel Brooks collaborator ' he wrote the parody tune The Inquisition for Brooks' History of the World, Part One ' Ronny was Story Consultant for M*A*S*H. Once a week for months on end I would meet Ronny Graham for lunch either in the M*A*S*H production offices on the Fox lot or at one of the neighboring delis on Pico or Westwood Boulevard . He was bringing me along slowly, teaching me the finer points of television writing, encouraging me to pitch him ideas for episodes. I was far too green to even be considered for a script assignment, but if I came up with a good enough pitch, I was guaranteed a sale and a 'story by' credit. I admired Ronny Graham. His talent was limitless. With his frizzy hair, rubbery face, and animated gestures, he was a natural comedic actor. Like most comics, Ronny was deathly serious off-screen and did not suffer fools gladly. --- Read More:http://www.strike-the-root.com/4/jacobs/jacobs9.html image:http://images.google.com/hosted/life/f?imgurl=e204c723e60d2bf0
aFrom his mother, he acquired a feeling for the grotesque. She was fond of reading to her children particularly graphic newspaper accounts of murders, and she rid herself of a maid by appearing wailing and gibbering, in the girl’s bedroom late one night with a bed sheet over her head. He was influenced by Robert Benchley with regard to narration, and Dwight Fiske for musical construction. Lastly, Danny Kaye accentuated his affinity for pure nonsense, a kind of logic laid over meaninglessness.
---Although he had a starring role in Peter Weir's Gallipoli in 1981, most of Graham's latter film appearances were in association with Mel Brooks, who'd been one of the staff writers for New Faces; among the Brooks endeavors in which Graham was featured (and sometimes made screenplay contributions) were History of the World -- Part One (1981), To Be or Not to Be (1982), Spaceballs (1989), Life Stinks (1991), and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). Graham died in 1999 at the age of 79.--- Read More:http://movies.amctv.com/person/219750/Ronny-Graham/details image:http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=cfee038e5d8c55c4
Mel Brooks:Let me tell you one more story, about Ronny Graham. Have you ever heard of Ronny Graham? He was the star and the MC back in 1952 when I had my first sketch on Broadway. It was called New Faces Of 1952, and Leonard Sillman was the genius behind it. He discovered a lot of people. He did New Faces Of 1934 and found Henry Fonda and Imogene Coca. And then he did New Faces Of 1952, and he discovered Paul Lynde and Eartha Kitt and Carol Lawrence and Robert Clary and Alice Ghostley. All wonderful, talented people. But the MC was Ronny Graham. And like I waited for Buster Crabbe, people would wait for Eartha Kitt, and Paul Lynde and Alice Ghostley to some degree, and they’d sign autographs. There was always a big tumult at the stage door of the Royale Theater at 45th Street. And for some reason, Ronny Graham would come out much later, and there was never anybody waiting for Ronny Graham or his autograph. But that didn’t bother Ronny. He would burst out of the door, saying, “Let me live! I have a life, too, you know! I can’t sign autographs every night! Give me a break! I can’t breathe here!” [Laughs.] He’d do this whole bit as if he was surrounded by an audience. It really had me on the floor. Every night, he’d say, “I’m just like you! I’m just an ordinary person!” So, anyway, fans, I’ve never been ungrateful. I’ve been assaulted by press and fans, but for me, it’s fine. It’s like chocolate pudding with whipped cream. Thank you, and thank you again. I’m glad to do it as long as I can. Read More:http://www.avclub.com/articles/mel-brooks,61517/
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