I am struggling to publish a second book. The first one was a piece of cake. McGraw-Hill approached me,
assigned an editor, paid me a fee and I was off-and-running. The follow-up, though, has been a bear. I’ve been through countless agents, publishers and editors, and have nothing to show for it. And, yet, I believe the second book runs rings around its predecessor in terms of style and content.

So I can relate to what Mel Brooks felt with the debut of his new play, ‘Young Frankenstein’.

Chris ‘Repman, Jr’ Cody and I saw the play last week. It stunk. The casting was horrible, the songs forgettable and the few, new laugh lines mediocre at best. Coming off the mega success of ‘The Producers,’ I’m sure Brooks felt he had a sure fire follow-up hit on his hands. But, Frank shot a blank.

Mel Brooks has had a long and successful career that will easily survive his soon-to-be failure. I hope, though, he learns a lesson from it and, as he contemplates turning ‘Blazing Saddles’ or one of his other movie properties into a play, he thinks twice.

Lightning almost never strikes twice, whether it’s a mega Broadway hit (or a modest self-help book). And, I’d hate to see Mel’s stellar image and reputation suffer at the very end of a long and glorious career.