When Mel Brooks was honored by the Ellis Island Family Heritage Awards last week, he was introduced by a video clip showing his father's trip from Austria to New York, where his family had a herring business.
"That photo was not of my father," Brooks said after taking the stage. "That was my great-uncle." He went on to say that while his uncle was a good-looking man who "wore a nice hat," as seen in the snapshot, his father, Max Kaminsky, was better looking.
The awards honor immigrants or their descendants who have made a major contribution to the American experience. In addition to Brooks, author Mary Higgins Clark, University of Miami President Donna Shalala, and the Forbes family received the 2008 awards.