“My dad played a character on the radio called 'Parkyakarkus.' A Greek-dialect comedian. He did Friars' roasts and wrote material and made people laugh that way. But he wrote his own shows with other writers.”

American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter

Albert Brooks, born Albert Lawrence Einstein, is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He is known for his work in film, both in acting and in writing and directing comedies. Brooks received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Broadcast News (1987), and was also widely praised for Drive (2011). He has appeared in Taxi Driver, Private Benjamin, Unfaithfully Yours, Out of Sight, My First Mister, and Concussion. As a filmmaker, he wrote, directed, and starred in Modern Romance, Lost in America, and Defending Your Life, and he wrote the book 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America.