James L. Brooks - Early Life

Early Life

Brooks was born James Lawrence Brooks on May 9, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, United States and raised in North Bergen, New Jersey. His parents, Dorothy and Edward Brooks, were both salespeople (his mother sold children's clothes; his father furniture). Brooks' father abandoned his mother when he found out she was pregnant with him, and lost contact with his son when Brooks was twelve. His mother died when he was 22. He has described his early life as "tough" with a "broken home, poor and sort of lonely, that sort of stuff", later adding: "My father was sort of in-and-out and my mother worked long hours, so there was no choice but for me to be alone in the apartment a lot." He has an older sister, Dianne, who helped look after him as a child.

Brooks spent much of his childhood "surviving" and reading numerous comedic and scripted works, as well as writing; he sent comedic short stories out to publishers and occasionally got positive responses although none were published, and he did not believe he could make a career as a writer. Brooks attended Weehawken High School but was not a high achiever. He was on his high school newspaper team and frequently secured interviews with celebrities including Louis Armstrong. He lists some of his influences as Sid Caesar, Jack Benny, Lenny Bruce, Mike Nichols and Elaine May, as well as writers Paddy Chayefsky and F. Scott Fitzgerald.