Mel Brooks Talks About His Argument With Gene Wilder Over ‘Puttin’ On the Ritz’ in ‘Young Frankenstein’

While appearing on the ABC News show Nightline in December 2021, the great Mel Brooks spoke about the only argument he ever had with longtime friend Gene Wilder, with whom he co-wrote Young Frankenstein. After Wilder wrote the now-iconic “Puttin’ on the Ritz” scene, Brooks wasn’t convinced that it would work. The pair argued back and forth until Brooks agreed to film it.

I had this one big fight with Gene when he had this idea that he and the monster would sing and dance. I said “Gene, I’ll film it and if one person in that screening, one person says it’s silly or it’s stupid, it’s out”. We filmed it…the audience went crazy. And I said “Gene, I apologize”.

The Full ‘Nightline’ Interview With Mel Brooks

Gene Wilder Shared His Side of the Argument in 2005

Wilder talked about the argument while appearing on Late Night With Conan O’Brien on April 29, 2005.

One night he came over and he looks at the pages and he says, “You tap dance to Irving Berlin? In top hat and tails with the monster?”…He said, “Are you crazy? “It’s frivolous.” And…I argued for about 20 minutes…all of a sudden he says, “Okay, it’s in.” And I said, “Well why did you put me through this?” He said, “Because I wasn’t sure if it was right or not. And if you didn’t argue for it, I knew it would be wrong, but if you really argued I knew it was right.”

The Scene That Caused the Argument

Wilder Was Known to Stick By His Ideas

Wilder explained how was ready to walk away from his role in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory if they didn’t allow him to perform his acrobatic grand entrance.