Mongo (in real life he was retired NFL football star Alex Karras, but to me and the bazillions of other folks who think Blazing Saddles may well have been the most brilliant movie of all time, he’ll always be “Mongo- just pawn in game of life.”) died nine years ago today at age 77 due to kidney failure.
Jim (the Waco Kid), Hedley Lamarr, Lili von Shtupp, Sheriff Bart, Taggart, Buddy Bizarre, Reverend Johnson, and Howard Johnson, among others, are all waiting for him with a plate of beans around that big campfire in the sky. I don’t believe Governor LePetomaine (although Mel may be, as a God of Fun, in fact immortal) will keep them waiting much longer, either. A big part of truly American humor will have passed with them, and we richly deserve the pallid and constipated politically correct “comedy” movies we have inflicted on ourselves since the final credits of Blazing Saddles rolled.
Mongo! You done good, big fella. You made us laugh so hard- it is only appropriate that now, in your memory, we cry a little for you too.
#𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰 #𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰
