Marty Feldman

Actors

Martin Alan Feldman (July 8, 1934 – December 2, 1982) was a British actor, comedian and comedy writer, known for his prominent, misaligned eyes. He starred in several British television comedy series, including At Last the 1948 Show (with Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, and Aimi MacDonald) and Marty, the latter of which won two BAFTA awards. He also co-created the BBC Radio comedy programme Round the Horne.

Feldman was part of an ensemble cast of British comic actors (including Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and Spike Milligan) that appeared in Richard Lester‘s The Bed Sitting Room (1969), his film debut. He starred in the comedy Every Home Should Have One (which he also co-wrote), one of the most popular comedies at the British box office in 1970.

Feldman was the first Saturn Award winner for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Igor in Mel Brooks‘s comedy horror film Young Frankenstein (1974), with Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Terri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, and Gene Hackman

He also appeared in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (1975), with Wilder (in his directorial debut), Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Roy Kinnear, and Leo McKern; and would reunite with Brooks and DeLuise again in Silent Movie (1976), with Bernadette Peters, and Sid Caesar, with cameos by Anne Bancroft, Liza Minnelli, Burt Reynolds, James Caan, Marcel Marceau, and Paul Newman as themselves.

He also directed two films, The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977), with Michael York, Ann-Margret, Peter Ustinov, James Earl Jones, Trevor Howard, Henry Gibson, Kinnear, Milligan, & Terry-Thomas; and In God We Tru$t (1980), with Andy Kaufman, Louise Lasser and Boyle. His last two films were Slapstick of Another Kind (1982), with Jerry Lewis, Kahn, Jim Backus, Merv Griffin, and Pat Morita; and Yellowbeard (1983), with Chapman, Cook, Boyle, Cheech & Chong, Martin Hewitt, Michael Hordern, Eric Idle, Kahn, James Mason, Cleese, Milligan and Peter Bull. He died from a heart attack, in a hotel room in Mexico City on 2 December 1982 at age 48, during the making of Yellowbeard.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

  • The Bed Sitting Room (1969) – directed by Richard Lester
  • Every Home Should Have One (1970) – directed by Jim Clark – also co-writer
  • The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (1971) – directed by Graham Stark – cameo
  • Young Frankenstein (1974)** – directed by Mel Brooks
  • The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (1975) – directed by Gene Wilder
  • Closed Up-Tight (1975) – directed by Cliff Owen
  • Sex With a Smile (1976) – directed by Sergio Martino a aka 40 gradi all’ombra del lenzuolo – Italy
  • Silent Movie (1976) – directed by Mel Brooks
  • The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977) – also director, co-story
  • In God We Tru$t (1980) – also director, co-writer
  • Slapstick of Another Kind (1982) – directed by Steven Paul
  • Yellowbeard (1983) – directed by Mel Damski