Society's "stupidly politically correct" sensibilities will lead to the "death of comedy", the veteran Hollywood comedian Mel Brooks has warned.

Brooks, known for his plethora of acclaimed comedy movies, said political correctness was becoming a stranglehold on comedians.

"It's not good for comedy. Comedy has to walk a thin line, take risks," he said.

"Comedy is the lecherous little elf whispering in the king's ear, always telling the truth about human behaviour."

The producer and director said that his iconic western parody Blazing Saddles could not be made in today's political climate.

Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little in Blazing Saddles credit: Alamy

The 1974 comedy western starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder featured a black sheriff in a racist town.

Brooks said it was the racial prejudice portrayed within the film that was the mechanism behind its cultural significance.

"Without that the movie would not have had nearly the significance, the force, the dynamism and the stakes that were contained in it,” he said.

Mel Brooks clowns around as he poses for photographers with the 2001 Tony Award credit: Brad Rickerby

The director said he could find comedy in almost everything but conceded there were areas even he would not mine for material.

"I personally would never touch gas chambers or the death of children or Jews at the hands of the Nazis," he told the BBC's Radio 4's Today programme.

"Everything else is ok."

Among his many credits, Brooks - whose directorial debut The Producers won him an Oscar for best original screenplay - is one of only 12 people to have scooped an Emmy, a Grammy, an Academy Award and a Tony.

He has now turned his attention to transforming another of his award winning films, Young Frankenstein, into a West End stage show starring comedian Ross Noble and Birds Of A Feather actress Lesley Joseph.

The director said he hopes he is able to recreate Blazing Saddles on the stage in the future