| Albert Lawrence Einstein was born on July 22, 1947 to
Harry Einstein, better known as radio comedian
Parkyakarkus, and former actress-singer
Thelma Leeds.
Changing his name to Albert Brooks ("You know, the real
Albert Einstein changed his name to sound
more intelligent!"), Brooks began his career as a stand-up
comic and appeared on the "Tonight Show" and other talk shows.
During the early 1970s, Brooks moonlighted as a chauffeur for John Lennon and Paul McCartney when they were in Los Angeles. "I was actually friends with Harry Nilsson and through him I got this job of driving the Beatles when they were drunk."
Brooks's also recalls that he "... also used to drive Harry and John Lennon all the time. I was doing stand-up at the Troubadour and Harry called me and said, 'I'm gonna bring John Lennon tonight.' I wound up having the worst show - the only two hecklers I ever had were John and Harry that night."
Brooks made his recording debut in 1974 with the
album Comedy Minus One. His second album
was A Star Is Bought which was released in 1975. Harry Nilsson appears briefly on the album which earned
Brooks a Grammy nomination.
Brook's acting career began with an appearance in an episode of
"Love, American Style" which was directed by
Garry Marshall. He also appeared in a few episodes
of Marshall's "The Odd Couple".
In 1979, Brooks co-wrote and directed Real Life in which
he plays himself in a parody of PBS's documentary
"An American Family". In one scene in Real Life, Harry Nilsson's "Jump Into the Fire" is playing on a radio.
Books appeared in several films such as Taxi Driver and
Private Benjamin. In 1985 he wrote and directed
Modern Romance which was included in AFI's list of the
100 Greatest Comedies of all time.
Brooks was nominated for
a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award in 1987
for Broadcast News. Since then he's appeared in
Defending Your Life,
Mother, Out of Sight,
The Muse, and other films.
In a 2008 Associated Press article promoting his appearance on the cable TV show "Weeds," Brooks is quoted as saying "I was friends with (singer-songwriter) Harry Nilsson, who said the job of the artist is to get way ahead and sort of scout. It's like Davy Crockett." Visitor Comments:Connections:Albert Brooks ... | 
