Early Life
Brooks was born Melvin James Kaminsky in Brooklyn, New York, a son of James Kaminsky and his wife Kate (née Brookman). His father's family were German Jews from the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (the modern Polish port of Gdansk); his mother's family were Ukrainian Jews from Kiev. He had three older brothers, Irving, Lenny and Bernie. His father died of kidney disease at 34 when Brooks was only two years old. Brooks has said of his father's death that "there's an outrage there. I may be angry at God, or at the world, for that. And I'm sure a lot of my comedy is based on anger and hostility. Growing up in Williamsburg, I learned to clothe it in comedy to spare myself problems - like a punch in the face. "
Brooks was a small, sickly boy who was often bullied and picked on by his classmates. He was taught by Buddy Rich (who had also grown up in Williamsburg) to learn how to play the drums and started earning money at it when he was fourteen. After graduating from Abraham Lincoln High School, he spent a year at Brooklyn College as a psychology major before being drafted into the army. He attended the Army Specialized Training Program conducted at the Virginia Military Institute (although not actually as a VMI cadet) served in the United States Army as a corporal during World War II, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
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