Marty Feldman was a comedic actor who is most fondly remembered for his work with Mel Brooks, particularly from his role as Igor (EYE-gor) in Young Frankenstein. Much like a great deal of comedy actors of the seventies, Feldman was not a man to shy away from the excessive lifestyle, and was witnessed by Brooks to smoke anywhere up to six packets of cigarettes per day, mixed with a rich diet and vast quantity of alcohol. Sadly for Feldman, he also suffered the same fate as a great deal of his peers, as he succumbed to a fatal heart attack in December 1982. There were thought to be a number of contributors to the episode, as not only did Feldman keep such an excessive lifestyle as previously mentioned, but he had also shared a lobster meal with film maker Michael Mileham the day before his death, after which Mileham suffered from a serious bout of shellfish poisoning. Add to this that the high altitude of Mexico City (where Feldman was filming), and you have a fateful cocktail for a man of debatable health. Feldman was filming Yellowbeard at the time of his death, a pirate-comedy film with an eye-popping (sorry) cast of comedic stalwarts which included Graham Chapman, Peter Cook, Peter Boyle, Eric Idle, Tommy Chong, John Cleese and Spike Milligan. In true dark comedy style, the film dealt with Feldman's death during recording with a sense of humour, cutting the last scene of his character and having a stunt double fall into a pool of acid, allowing Feldman to go out in slapstick style for the audience.
