My friend Harry Nilsson used to say the definition of an artist was someone who rode way ahead of the herd and was sort of the lookout. Now you don't have to be that to be an artist. You can be right smack-dab in the middle of the herd. If you are, you'll be the richest.

-- Albert Brooks (2012) [1]

 

Singer Harry Nilsson recalls sleeping off a drunk one night on the floor at Brooks' small house in the Hollywood hills. His host appeared before him dressed in a clown suit and whispered his name like a beckoning ghost.

-- Time Magazine (1975) [2]

 

Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein; July 22, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1987 comedy-drama film Broadcast News and was widely praised for his performance in the 2011 action drama film Drive. Brooks has also acted in films such as Taxi Driver (1976), Private Benjamin (1980), Unfaithfully Yours (1984), and My First Mister (2001). He has written, directed, and starred in several comedy films, such as Modern Romance (1981), Lost in America (1985), and Defending Your Life (1991). He is also the author of 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America (2011). Brooks has also voiced several characters in animated films and television shows. His voice acting roles include Marlin in Finding Nemo (2003) and its sequel Finding Dory (2016), Tiberius in The Secret Life of Pets (2016), and several one-time characters in The Simpsons, including Hank Scorpio in "You Only Move Twice" (1996) and Russ Cargill in The Simpsons Movie (2007).

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Albert Brooks", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.