History of the World, Part I/Trivia


 * Actor Allusion: Unbelievably, this is a plot point. The Count de Money Monet tells King Louis that he looks exactly like the piss boy. Naturally, both characters are played by Mel Brooks himself.
 * Beam Me Up, Scotty: "It's good to be the King!" is often misquoted without the 'the' in shout-outs by other works.
 * Hey, It's That Guy!:
 * A group of cavemen is led by Sid Caesar.
 * The Ethiopian slave Josephus is played by tap-dancer Gregory Hines.
 * John Hurt is Jesus!
 * One of the two Jews describing how they were tortured by the Spaniards is everyone's favorite Jewish stand-up comic, Jackie Mason.
 * Bea Arthur cameoed as the lady in the vnemployment booth.
 * Cloris Leachman as Madame Defarge.
 * Hugh Hefner in Ancient Rome mentioning his invention of the centerfold.
 * David Lee Roth has a line during the Spanish Inquisition musical number.
 * And Madeline Kahn is Empress Nymphomaniac Nympho!
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Orson Welles is the narrator.
 * What Could Have Been: The role of Josephus was written with Richard Pryor in mind, but he was unable to accept due to his infamous freebasing accident in 1980.