Marty Feldman: The Biography of a Comedy Legend by Robert Ross
| Marty Feldman: The Biography of a Comedy Legend by Robert Ross | |
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| Category: Biography | |
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Reviewer: John Van der Kiste
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| Summary: A biography of the pioneer comedy writer, director and performer, who made his name in Britain before going to Hollywood. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 336 | Date: August 2011 |
| Publisher: Titan Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0857683786 | |
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Some years ago, I was given a Penguin edition of Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, with what looked like a uniquely fearsome face on the front cover. A year or two later, I saw a photograph of Marty Feldman and was convinced he must have inspired it if not actually been the model.
Born in 1934 in the East End of London of Jewish immigrant stock, Feldman initially had aspirations to be a jazz musician. However, after realising his musical prowess went little further than playing the trumpet, bass and drums rather badly but on the other hand he had the gift of making people laugh, he made comedy his career instead. A vivid imagination was always there, notably when he was told at school to write an essay on what he did on his half-day holiday. What he had done was boring, he said, so instead, he filled the exercise book with a child's novel about parachuting into occupied France and capturing a German general. It was sadly wasted on the teacher, who rewarded him with punishment for his efforts.
With his face – as old friend Bill Oddie said, like a clown in kit form - he was clearly cut out for such a calling. The protruding eyes, he said, were the result of a thyroid condition caused by a boyhood accident when somebody stuck a pencil in one eye. Even so, his initial forays into showbusiness were as an author. In the 1960s, old establishment taboos were being broken, and he was one of the barbarians at the gate, collaborating with Barry Took in writing for TV series like 'The Army Game' and radio shows such as the seminal 'Round The Horne', a major influence on 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' and so many of the innovative new comedy programmes which followed. His authorship of the famous class sketch on 'The Frost Report' with John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett will alone ensure his immortality as a comic writer. Later he starred in 'At Last the 1948 Show', followed by his own series for BBC Television.
At the height of his success, he went to Hollywood as an actor and director, where he met and was feted by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Kermit the Frog. But by this time his career had peaked, and we read that at length he started questioning his ability as a comedian, the fateful point of no return, after which he descended into self-pity and deep insecurity. In 1980 his last major picture, the satirical 'In God We Tru$t', was released to 'a thundering silence'. Within another two years he was dead at the early age of 48.
Trying to convey the character of a true comic genius in prose is notoriously difficult – although one might make an exception for the tragic Tony Hancock, whose story has been told movingly several times. But Ross has brought much of the anarchic spirit of Feldman to life, through a wealth of memories and anecdotes from those who knew and worked with him, and from interviews with the man himself. The result is an affectionate portrait of a very funny man who also had his serious side.
To give away too many stories would be to spoil it, but one which left me chuckling was when Marty, Tim, John Cleese and Graham Chapman appeared jointly on 'Dee Time'. The host Simon Dee was being 'particularly poncey' and so they decided to play a trick on him. After their slot, Dee turned to address the audience, then back to the four guests on the sofa – but they were nowhere to be seen. They had hidden behind it, much to his annoyance. As the programme went out live, there was nothing he could do.
Our thanks to Titan for sending a review copy to Bookbag.
If you enjoyed this, why not also try The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi: Laughter, Madness and the Story of Britain's Greatest Comedian by Andrew McConnell Stott. You might also appreciate Tommy Cooper 'Jus' Like That!': A Life in Jokes and Pictures by John Fisher.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Marty Feldman: The Biography of a Comedy Legend by Robert Ross at Amazon.com.
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