An NFL All-Star
Alex Karras, who played the character of Mongo, was actually a successful football player in his day. Karras played in the NFL for 12 seasons. Karras was part of the All-Pro team 9 times and even part of the NFL’s All-Decade team in the 1960s. Karras was a four-time Pro Bowler as well, but after leaving the Detroit Lions, he pursued a career in acting and joined the cast of ‘Webster.’
Source: IMDB
Part of Mel Brooks’ creative genius was his method of doing things differently. This was seen when he wanted to use foreground music rather than the commonly used background music. He chose one of the best band leaders out there at the time: Count Basie. He used Basie and his band to play the song “April in Paris” for the movie. Brooks also composed the movie’s theme song, which ended up being sung by Frankie Laine.
See which actress sued Mel Brooks for a character’s name in the movie, next!