Kenneth Mars
Kenneth Mars
Over-the-top comic actor Kenneth Mars made an unbearably funny screen debut as the ex-Nazi playwright responsible for the smash miss "Springtime for Hitler" in Mel Brooks' The Producers (1968). He was just as exaggerated, though not quite as amusing, as the one-armed police inspector in Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974). Mars seemingly never held anything back, a trait that was prized by his admirers but caused discomfort among his detractors: reviewing the actor's performance in Peter Bogdanovich's What's Up Doc? (1972), Jay Cocks noted, "As a pompous middle-European intellectual, Kenneth Mars mugs and drools in a manner that Jerry Lewis might find excessive." Still, Mars nearly always delivered the laughs -- especially on TV, where he was a regular on such programs as He and She and The Carol Burnett Show. Another of his screen appearances was as a remonstrative rabbi in Woody Allen's Radio Days (1986). Kenneth Mars has also provided voices for dozens of TV cartoon shows, wherein he has sometimes been subject to the indignity of having his name spelled Len Mars in the credits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Filmography of Kenneth Mars:
- The Producers with Zero Mostel , Gene Wilder , Estelle Winwood , Renee Taylor , Dick Shawn , William Hickey , Mel Brooks
- Illegally Yours with Rob Lowe , Harry Jr. Carey , Rick Jason
- Fletch with Chevy Chase , Tim Matheson , Joe Don Baker , Geena Davis , George Wendt , M. Emmet Walsh , William Sanderson
- Shadows and Fog with Woody Allen , Mia Farrow , John Malkovich , Kathy Bates , Madonna , Donald Pleasence , Lily Tomlin , Jodie Foster , John Cusack , Kate Nelligan , Fred Gwynne , Julie Kavner , David Ogden Stiers , Philip Bosco , Kurtwood Smith , Wallace Shawn , William H. Macy , John C. Reilly , David Strathairn , Juliet Taylor
- Thumbelina with Carol Channing , June Foray , Gilbert Gottfried , John Hurt
- Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder , Peter Boyle , Marty Feldman , Teri Garr , Madeline Kahn , Cloris Leachman , Gene Hackman , Leon Askin , Liam Dunn , Richard Haydn , Arthur Malet , Rolfe Sedan , Mel Brooks
- Yellowbeard with Graham Chapman , Peter Boyle , Tommy Chong , Eric Idle , Peter Cook , John Cleese , Marty Feldman , Michael Hordern , Madeline Kahn , James Mason , Susannah York , Bernard Fox , Spike Milligan , Beryl Reid , Nigel Stock , David Bowie , David Bowie , Peter Bull , Cheech Marin
- Get Smart, Again! with Don Adams , Fritz Feld , Harold Gould
Kenneth Mars Trivia
