“When I started out, I tried out all my stuff on national television. There were no comedy clubs, but even if there were, I don't think I would have gone to them. I used to do stuff in the bathroom, and then I'd drive down to NBC and do it on 'The Golddiggers' with Dean Martin.”

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.