Rootin’ Tootin’ “Blazing Saddles” Facts

Feb 4, 2026

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I think I was probably 10 when I saw Blazing Saddles for the first of probably a hundred times. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as hard at anything since, and it instilled in me a love of a particular kind of comedy and a diehard devotion to the work of Mel Brooks.

First released in 1974, Blazing Saddles is a silly send-up of old Westerns but with a vicious satircal twist. A tiny racist town can barely handle it when their new sheriff is a Black man.

It sounds like the production of the movie was equal parts delightful and chaotic. Here are some facts about the making of Blazing Saddles.