I knew Marty Feldman only as a funny supporting cast member in comedies. His bulging wide eyes that looked in different directions made him instantly recognizable as can be seen in this clip from Young Frankenstein (1974) with the late Gene Wilder where he plays Igor, his debut film role that made him known to a worldwide audience.
Here is a clip from the film where we see him for the first time.
A 2008 BBC documentary about him reveals a much more versatile person who was an extremely successful, much sought after comedy writer on British radio before he became a performer with even a TV series named after him and who had members of the Monty Python troupe writing for him, and this led him to Hollywood where he was a leading man and director in films that, unfortunately, were not successful. I also learned that he was not born with his trademark eyes but they became that way following surgery for an overactive thyroid.
Here’s the documentary.
I had no idea how closely the Monty Pythons and Feldman were connected. I guess it’d have to be. But as a secondhand consumer of Pythonry who only saw a few products of BBC’s golden age, it was a surprise to me. Thanks for sharing that!
The ’60s and ’70s British comedians were all connected, either directly or via David Frost. Recommended reading: The Pythons Autobiography by the Pythons.
http://www.montypython.com/book_The%20Pythons%20Autobiography%20by%20The%20Pythons/14
The Marty Feldman Show predated Young Frankenstein; he was already a fixture on television.
One of my favorite song parodies:
Marty Feldman Eyes
“The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Golfer” — brilliant
Surprised, no mention of “The Bed Sitting Room”. Although it is pretty much DVD unobtanium, if you get the chance take it.