More than once I arrived to start the day at camp my eyes red from tears. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed so hard at a movie and, truth be told, it still makes me laugh just as uproariously today. When and if it happens it’s going to be a sad day — for everybody but me,’ Brooks told the Associated Press in 2021. Among the features of this year’s festival is an array of original artefacts donated by Brooks himself to the city’s National Comedy Center. “I’ve always been proud to say that I make people laugh for a living, so knowing that my work will have a home at comedy’s national archive and continue making people laugh leaves me with a deep sense of pride,” said Brooks earlier this year.