The 2000 Year Old Man was a creation of Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner starting around 1961. Brooks played the oldest man in the world, interviewed by Reiner in a series of comedy routines that appeared on television as well as being made into a collection of records. Brooks would ad lib answers to topics such as the earliest known language ("basic Rock"), the creation of the Cross ("it was easier to put together than the Star of David"), and Joan of Arc ("Know her? I went with her!"). The inspiration for the skit was a tape-recorded exchange between Brooks and Reiner at a party. The tape recorder was brought in and the two of them had the party audience in stitches.