Dave Chappelle has recalled an embarrassing moment from his first meeting with Mel Brooks’ late wife, Anne Bancroft. The comedian shared a joke he thought was “hilarious,” but it ultimately didn’t land well with the couple.
Dave Chappelle remembers Anne Bancroft’s reaction to his joke about Mrs. Robinson
Dave Chappelle appears in comedian-director Mel Brooks’ upcoming documentary, Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! In the documentary, the comedian recalls the joke he made to the late actress Anna Bancroft during their first meeting (via PEOPLE).
“She comes and says, ‘Oh, Mel says so many wonderful things about you,’” Chappelle recalled. “She goes on and on and gushes about how much she likes me,” he added.
Instead of a formal greeting, the Half Baked star cracked a joke. “I go, ‘Oh, you’re not trying to seduce me, are you, Mrs. Robinson?’” Chappelle shared. His joke was a reference to Bancroft’s 1967 movie The Graduate, in which she played Mrs. Robinson, an unhappy wife who has an affair with a recent college graduate.
The 52-year-old admitted that he quickly realized the actress must’ve heard that joke a million times. At that moment, no one reacted, causing an awkward silence. Chappelle joked that the room became so quiet that the only sound was the labored breathing of his Men in Tights co-star, Dom DeLuise. “That was really f—– terrible and hilarious,” he shared.
Chappelle also reflected on his pleasant memories of Brooks. He said, “Sometimes he’d take me to lunch, and his old friend Carl Reiner was directing a movie on the next soundstage, and then at some point.” At one point, Brooks and Reiner performed their iconic stand-up routine, The 2000 Year Old Man, for him. Chappelle described it as “the greatest comedy routine by two of the greatest comics.”
Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! is an upcoming two-part HBO documentary celebrating the Brooks’ illustrious career that spans more than seven decades. It will also feature interviews with Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Nathan Lane, Judd Apatow, and Amy Schumer, among others. The documentary will debut on HBO Max on January 22, 2026.
Originally reported by Harsha Panduranga for ComingSoon.
