Marty Feldman

[2][3][4] He initially gained prominence as a writer with Barry Took on the ITV sitcom Bootsie and Snudge and the BBC Radio comedy programme Round the Horne.

Feldman went on to appear in films such as The Bed Sitting Room and Every Home Should Have One, the latter of which was one of the most popular comedies at the British box office in 1970.

[2][4][8][9] He later described his appearance as a factor in his career success: "If I aspired to be Robert Redford, I'd have my eyes straightened and my nose fixed and end up like every other lousy actor, with two lines on Kojak.

"[10] Leaving school at 15, Feldman worked at the Dreamland funfair in Margate,[8] but had dreams of a career as a jazz trumpeter, and performed in the first group in which tenor saxophonist Tubby Hayes was a member.

Although his early performing career was undistinguished, Feldman became part of a comedy act—Morris, Marty and Mitch—who made their first television appearance on the BBC series Showcase in April 1955.

[1] They wrote a few episodes of The Army Game (1960) and the bulk of Bootsie and Snudge (1960–62), both situation comedies made by Granada Television for the ITV network.

[8] In a sketch broadcast on 1 March 1967, Feldman's character harassed a patient shop assistant (played by Cleese) regarding a series of fictitious books, achieving success with Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying.

[12] Feldman was co-author—along with Chapman, Cleese and Brooke-Taylor—of the sketch "Four Yorkshiremen", which was written for At Last the 1948 Show, later adapted by Monty Python for their stage performances.

[8] Feldman was given his own series on the BBC, Marty, in 1968;[8] it featured Brooke-Taylor, John Junkin and Roland MacLeod, with Cleese as one of the writers.

Marty proved popular enough with an international audience (the first series winning the Golden Rose Award at Montreux) to launch a film career.

He later appeared in The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother and Brooks' Silent Movie, as well as directing and starring in The Last Remake of Beau Geste.

The songs on his second album were written by Denis King, John Junkin and Bill Solly (a writer for Max Bygraves and The Two Ronnies).

"[21] An exception was during a promotional tour for The Last Remake of Beau Geste, when he denounced the campaign led by Anita Bryant against homosexuality.

[25] Feldman is buried in the Garden of Heritage at Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery, California, near his idol, Buster Keaton.

Promotional photo for The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine , 1972
Feldman's gravestone in Forest Lawn Memorial Park