The Only Major Actors Still Alive From 1974's Blazing Saddles

A strong case could be made that Mel Brooks co-writing and directing "Young Frankenstein" and "Blazing Saddles" in the same year (1974) is one of the greatest filmmaking one-two punches of the 20th century. It's hard enough to make a single comedy that becomes a stone cold classic, but for both of them to have such fantastic reputations 50 years later (despite "Blazing Saddles" having some aspects in it that don't age well for modern viewers) makes this achievement downright legendary. Of course, the fact that these movies came out 50 years ago sadly means that most of the actors who starred in these projects are no longer with us.

For "Blazing Saddles," a film that was so controversial even upon its release that Brooks thought he might be killed because of its content, that means we've already lost towering performers like Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Corman, Slim Pickens, the great Madeline Kahn, and more. But there are still two major actors from the movie who are still with us in summer 2024 — two actors who are helping to carry on the legacy of Brooks' hilarious and biting satire in a big way.

That's right, Brooks himself is still alive and kicking at age 98. In addition to co-writing and directing "Blazing Saddles," Brooks played multiple roles in the film (including, unfortunately, a Native American), and his most prominent was Governor William J. Le Petomane, a horny, racist, harumphing, and ludicrously incompetent politician who is out to disenfranchise as many minorities as possible while enriching himself and his cohorts. If you've never seen the movie, check out the banter he has with Harvey Corman in this hilarious scene:

Brooks, of course, is one of the most celebrated comedians in Hollywood history, an EGOT winner whose career has spanned more than 70 years and is still going; his list of credits as an actor, writer, director, and producer is extraordinarily impressive, and his acting credits go all the way up to 2023, with two more projects yet to be released. His producing work continues apace as well — earlier this summer, it was confirmed that Brooks will produce a long-promised sequel to "Spaceballs," one of the other stone cold classics in his filmography.

Burton Gilliam is the only other actor from "Blazing Saddles" who's still with us. In only his second movie role, he played Lyle, a minion of Slim Pickens' character, Taggart. With his eyes in a perpetual squint juxtaposed with a broad, toothy grin, Gilliam brought a unique vibe to his character and infused Lyle with a genuine sense of joy. Even though the character was purposefully a backwards, racist, piece of s*** cowboy, it works in the story because Gilliam is so blissfully uninterested in his own shortcomings. And despite the fact that he's in a position of power over the subjugated citizens of the West, Lyle is often the butt of the joke — as in the scene in which he tries to bully a bunch of Black railroad workers into singing a "work song," only for them to subtly trick him into performing a silly-ass rendition of "Camp Town Ladies" and getting him in trouble with his boss.

Lyle also breaks wind before anyone else during the classic campfire fart scene, which Brooks systematically shaved down to the exact proper length through a rigorous testing process:

Gilliam went on to appear in nearly 100 films and TV shows, including "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot," "Fletch," and "Back to the Future Part III," before he settled into this late phase of his career, where he travels the country introducing screenings of "Blazing Saddles," often dressed as Lyle and bringing joy to audiences' faces.