MARTY FELDMAN
Name: Martin Alan Feldman
Born: 8 July 1934 London, England
Died: 2 December 1982 Mexico City, Mexico
Martin Alan "Marty" Feldman (8 July 1934 – 2 December 1982) was an English
writer, comedian and BAFTA award winning actor, notable for his bulging eyes,
which were the result of a thyroid condition known as Graves Disease.
Feldman was born in London's East End, the son of Jewish/Russian immigrants.
Leaving school at 15, he started his show-business career as a trumpet player
but soon turned to comedy.
In 1954, Feldman formed a successful writing partnership with Barry Took. For
British television, they wrote situation comedies such as The Army Game, Bootsie
and Snudge, and most notably the ground-breaking BBC radio show Round the Horne,
which starred Kenneth Horne and Kenneth Williams.
The television sketch comedy series At Last the 1948 Show featured Feldman's
first on-screen performances. In one sketch first broadcast on 1 March 1967,
Feldman harassed a patient shop assistant (John Cleese) for a series of
fictitious books, finally achieving success with Ethel the Aardvark Goes
Quantity Surveying. The sketch was revived as part of the Monty Python stage
show repertoire, and on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (both
without Feldman).
Marty Feldman was co-author, with John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Tim Brooke-Taylor,
of the "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch, which was written for their television comedy
series At Last the 1948 Show. The "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch was performed
during Amnesty International concerts (by members of Monty Python — once
including Rowan Atkinson in place of Python member Eric Idle), as well as during
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl and other Monty Python shows and record
albums. This has led to the "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch now being considered a
Monty Python sketch, with the origin and co-authorship of the sketch by non-Monty
Python writers Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor being overlooked or forgotten
by many people. Feldman was also a writer on The Frost Report with several
future members of Monty Python.
Following his success on At Last the 1948 Show, Feldman had a series of his own
on the BBC called Marty (1968), which also featured Tim Brooke-Taylor, John
Junkin and Roland MacLeod and for which he won two BAFTA awards. The second
series (made in 1969) was renamed It's Marty (with the second title being
retained for the DVD release of the show). In 1974, Dennis Main Wilson (producer
for the UK television show Till Death Us Do Part) produced a short sketch series
for Feldman entitled Marty Back Together Again — a reference to reports about
the star's health. But this series never recaptured the impact of the earlier
series. The Marty series proved popular enough with an international audience (the
first series won the Golden Rose Award at Montreaux) to launch a film career.
His first feature role was in 1970's Every Home Should Have One.
Marty Feldman's performances on American television included The Dean Martin
Show and Marty Feldman's Comedy Machine. On film, he is best remembered for his
role as Igor (pronounced "EYE-gore") in Young Frankenstein where, as usual, many
of his lines were improvised. At one point, Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder)
scolds Igor with the phrase "Damn your eyes!" Feldman then turns to the camera,
points to his already-misaligned eyes, grins and says, "Too late!"
Feldman met American comedy writer Alan Spencer on the set of Young Frankenstein
when Spencer was just a teenager. Spencer was a devout fan of Feldman as both a
writer and performer. Feldman took Spencer under his wing and offered him key
guidance that eventually led the young scribe to create the offbeat, critically-acclaimed
television show Sledge Hammer!.
He also released one long-playing record called I Feel a Song Going Off (1969),
re-released as The Crazy World of Marty Feldman. The songs were written by
Dennis King, John Junkin and Bill Solly (a writer for Max Bygraves and The Two
Ronnies).
In 1976, Marty Feldman ventured into Italian cinema, starring with Barbara
Bouchet in 40 gradi all'ombra del lenzuolo, (Sex with a Smile), a farcical sex
comedy.
Feldman appeared in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother and Mel
Brooks' Silent Movie, as well as directing and starring in The Last Remake of
Beau Geste. He guest-starred in the "Arabian Nights" episode of The Muppet Show.
Name: Martin Alan Feldman
Born: 8 July 1934 London, England
Died: 2 December 1982 Mexico City, Mexico
Martin Alan "Marty" Feldman (8 July 1934 – 2 December 1982) was an English
writer, comedian and BAFTA award winning actor, notable for his bulging eyes,
which were the result of a thyroid condition known as Graves Disease.
Feldman was born in London's East End, the son of Jewish/Russian immigrants.
Leaving school at 15, he started his show-business career as a trumpet player
but soon turned to comedy.
In 1954, Feldman formed a successful writing partnership with Barry Took. For
British television, they wrote situation comedies such as The Army Game, Bootsie
and Snudge, and most notably the ground-breaking BBC radio show Round the Horne,
which starred Kenneth Horne and Kenneth Williams.
The television sketch comedy series At Last the 1948 Show featured Feldman's
first on-screen performances. In one sketch first broadcast on 1 March 1967,
Feldman harassed a patient shop assistant (John Cleese) for a series of
fictitious books, finally achieving success with Ethel the Aardvark Goes
Quantity Surveying. The sketch was revived as part of the Monty Python stage
show repertoire, and on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (both
without Feldman).
Marty Feldman was co-author, with John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Tim Brooke-Taylor,
of the "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch, which was written for their television comedy
series At Last the 1948 Show. The "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch was performed
during Amnesty International concerts (by members of Monty Python — once
including Rowan Atkinson in place of Python member Eric Idle), as well as during
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl and other Monty Python shows and record
albums. This has led to the "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch now being considered a
Monty Python sketch, with the origin and co-authorship of the sketch by non-Monty
Python writers Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor being overlooked or forgotten
by many people. Feldman was also a writer on The Frost Report with several
future members of Monty Python.
Following his success on At Last the 1948 Show, Feldman had a series of his own
on the BBC called Marty (1968), which also featured Tim Brooke-Taylor, John
Junkin and Roland MacLeod and for which he won two BAFTA awards. The second
series (made in 1969) was renamed It's Marty (with the second title being
retained for the DVD release of the show). In 1974, Dennis Main Wilson (producer
for the UK television show Till Death Us Do Part) produced a short sketch series
for Feldman entitled Marty Back Together Again — a reference to reports about
the star's health. But this series never recaptured the impact of the earlier
series. The Marty series proved popular enough with an international audience (the
first series won the Golden Rose Award at Montreaux) to launch a film career.
His first feature role was in 1970's Every Home Should Have One.
Marty Feldman's performances on American television included The Dean Martin
Show and Marty Feldman's Comedy Machine. On film, he is best remembered for his
role as Igor (pronounced "EYE-gore") in Young Frankenstein where, as usual, many
of his lines were improvised. At one point, Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder)
scolds Igor with the phrase "Damn your eyes!" Feldman then turns to the camera,
points to his already-misaligned eyes, grins and says, "Too late!"
Feldman met American comedy writer Alan Spencer on the set of Young Frankenstein
when Spencer was just a teenager. Spencer was a devout fan of Feldman as both a
writer and performer. Feldman took Spencer under his wing and offered him key
guidance that eventually led the young scribe to create the offbeat, critically-acclaimed
television show Sledge Hammer!.
He also released one long-playing record called I Feel a Song Going Off (1969),
re-released as The Crazy World of Marty Feldman. The songs were written by
Dennis King, John Junkin and Bill Solly (a writer for Max Bygraves and The Two
Ronnies).
In 1976, Marty Feldman ventured into Italian cinema, starring with Barbara
Bouchet in 40 gradi all'ombra del lenzuolo, (Sex with a Smile), a farcical sex
comedy.
Feldman appeared in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother and Mel
Brooks' Silent Movie, as well as directing and starring in The Last Remake of
Beau Geste. He guest-starred in the "Arabian Nights" episode of The Muppet Show.