It was announced this morning that funnyman Mel Brooks, 86, has been named the recipient of the 41st American Film Institute�s Life Achievement Award, which will be awarded at a tribute gala on June 6. It will be televised on TNT in late June, with encore airings on TNT�s sister network, Turner Classic Movies.

The gala will honor �America�s long-reigning king of comedy,� according to a statement released this morning by Howard Stringer, chairman of AFI's board of trustees, Deadline reports.

This award is the highest honor to receive for a career in film, and it will only add to Brooks� already impressive resume, in which he is one of few people to boast an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony).

The writer-producer-director-actor is the man behind comedic film, TV, and theater gold such as Blazing Saddles, The Producers, Spaceballs, Young Frankenstein, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Your Show of Shows.

�He�s a master of an art form that rarely gets the respect it deserves,� Stringer says, �and it is AFI�s honor to shine a bright light on laughter.�

Source: www.hollywood.com