[Rocko]

Blame Richard Pryor (who co-wrote the screenplay). ;’)

[Richard Kimball]

Pryor was originally pitched to play the sheriff, but the studio got cold feet. Pryor had just had huge problems with his show and was at the height of his drug problems. A ton of Pryor's stuff was very UNpc. He did one skit on his show where he was a television evangelist, and nobody was calling in and pledging any money. He tried saying the money was for education, to feed the hungry, to do missionary work and to build a new church. Finally, he said, "Okay, next we're going to raise money for STBBTA. That stands for 'Send the Brothers Back to Africa.' For every hundred dollars, we'll send a black guy out of the country." The phones started ringing off the walls.

One of the gags the studio forced out in "Blazing Saddles" was that when the lights go out and Madeline Kahn says, "It's twue! It's twue!" the next line was supposed to be the sheriff saying, "Woman, get my elbow out of your mouth!"

Off topic, but in Animal House, when the float with Kennedy's head lands on top of the fire hydrant, the original gag was supposed to be a beer keg hitting him in the back of the head and going through. The studio nixed that.

[300winmag]

Blame Richard Pryor (who co-wrote the screenplay). ;’)

Richard Pryor wrote most of the Mongo shtick. Mel Brooks was going to have him play Bart, but after seeing the comedy he wrote, he kept Pryor on as a writer. Brooks said his only real worry was the farting scene, which shows how much things have changed in the movies.

"Blazing Saddles" has been credited with singlehandedly killing the traditional American western. It offended just about every aspect of the genre, although some themes were trashed more than others.

I love the movie.