Humility, Thy Name Has Never Been Mel Brooks

Loose talk

Jerry Seinfeld on his attitude toward work (in the Los Angeles Daily News): “There are so many lazy goodfor-nothings out there that you’re supposed to feel guilty for accomplishing something. Let me tell you, workaholism is one of the smallest problems I have.”

Nigel Hawthorne has one of those faces that you swear you’ve seen before but can never pair with his name.

For the record, he portrays the title character in the forthcoming film “The Madness of King George.” But according to him, playing a madman was much better than acting for one.

Hawthorne, who had a small part in the Mel Brooks-directed film “History of the World - Part I,” said, “I don’t think he ever knew I was in the picture.”

Little wonder why. “Mel Brooks is a law unto himself,” Hawthorne told the Village Voice. “They’d put the camera on him and he’s the director, too, so he calls `Action!’ and then you’ve just got to stop him talking. He’d be improvising and throwing himself around and singing `I’m Alabammy Bound.’ You couldn’t stop him.”

And he’s getting his very own aircraft carrier

Ronald Reagan turns 84 today.

His new clarion call? `Attention Kmart shoppers’

The Rome fashion show of Prince Egon von Furstenberg featured a low-budget ensemble. “I have bills to pay - like rent, electricity and gas - so I have to make money,” he said. “I really believe that haute couture cannot be fantasy alone. The designer has to make money, too.”

We see Ethan Hawke and Winona Ryder in the miniseries

Here’s a coupling of modern cinema history: Elizabeth Guber, daughter of ex-Sony Pictures chief, Peter Guber, is dating Eduardo Ponti, son of Carlo Ponti and Sophia Loren.

Kind of like the show has been doing to us viewers

Mike Myers, the “Wayne’s World” guy, is leaving the show that brought him fame, “Saturday Night Live.” He claims the commute from Los Angeles was “killing” him.

Take out the trash, Eddie… Eddie?… Eddie?

Rocker Eddie Van Halen accepts his advancing age. “I’ve been told that at 10,000 HZ cycles I have the hearing of a 70-year-old,” he says. “But it isn’t too bad because that’s the frequency of someone screaming at you. So, when Valerie (Bertinelli) and I fight, I just don’t hear it.”

Oh yeah, Mickey coulda beena contenduh

What has boxing given Mickey Rourke? “One broken cheekbone, two broken ribs, one broken toe, four broken knuckles, a split tongue…” Rourke told Esquire magazine. It’s also given him a 7-2 record.

Yeah, Paul, and I even got your autograph

“Nobody’s Fool” is not the first time Paul Newman and Bruce Willis have worked together. In the 1982 film “The Verdict,” Willis was an extra playing a jury member. The ex-“Moonlighting” star showed Newman a tape of the film to prove it.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Dan Webster