David Challinor

Read the following about a possible cause of Marty Feldman's early untimely death....
has anyone else heard of this before, I only knew he was a heavy smoker previously....

'Feldman died from a heart attack in a hotel room in Mexico City, Mexico during the making of the film Yellowbeard. The famous cartoonist Sergio Aragonés was filming a movie nearby and when he introduced himself to Feldman earlier that night, he frightened Feldman and possibly induced his heart attack. Aragones was dressed for his role in the film as an armed police officer. He ran up to Feldman, apparently startling him. He has told the story with the punchline "I killed Marty Feldman". The story was converted into a strip in Aragones' issue of DC Comics' Solo'

Steve Crook

Most reports attribute his death more to the shellfish poisoning - and to an over-stressed heart.

Steve

Dame Starry

I always thought it was a heart attack that was caused by shellfish poisoning.

There was a bit in a programme on BBC2 about Marty a few weeks ago; he started his career at 'Dreamland' in Margate with Mark Eden.
I always thought the man was a genius.

DS x.

Windthrop

A radio documentary last year about MF stated that he was a vegetarian who lived off eggs and cheese, chain-smoked and drank pints of coffee, none of which are good for the heart. He went filming on Yellowbeard on a high altitude location and that is thought to have brought about the strain on his heart. The roads in Mexico were gridlocked when an ambulance was summoned and he died during the delay IIRC.

Thats the joke that killed the Music Hall !

Dame Starry

There was also a docu repeated the other night on BBC2 - that I missed again!

Now I am confused; if MF was a veggie, where does the shellfish poisoning come into it? That rumour/theory has been kicking about for years.

DS x.

Steve Crook

There are degrees of vegetarianism. Some eat fish, including shellfish. I've even known some "vegetarians" that eat chicken and just draw the line at red meat

Steve

Angela87

Yeah, Feldman was a straight up vegetarian, but the whole shellfish food poisoning theory came from Michael Mileham, who made the behind the scenes movie "Group Madness" about the making of "Yellowbeard". He said that he and Marty swam to this surrounding island where a guy was selling lobster and coconuts and stuff, and Mileham and Feldman used the same knife. Mileham said he got sick with shellfish poisoning the next day from the lobster he ate, and he then theorized that since Marty used the same knife and sometimes it takes days to feel the effects of food poisoning depending on the person, that this could have also been a factor.

Regardless, I would say in the end it comes down to location. Mexico City doesn't exactly seem the greatest place to have a medical dilemma, not as if there is a good one, but you know what I mean....as someone mentioned traffic, lack of communication, etc.

Dame Starry

I appreciate that, Steve - although The Vegetarian Society would probably tell you that they are NOT vegetarians!
I would think it more likely that a vegetarian diet of mainly dairy foods would have been more likely to have attributed to his demise.

It was still a great shame - I can imagine him growing old very disgracefully!

DS x.

Steve Crook

I would say the same thing. But there are many "vegetarians" who say "well, I do eat fish" and I've met some who even eat chicken and other white meat, but still insist that they're vegetarians

Steve

Marky B

I remember having a Christmas dinner with some girls from a bank that was closing,and one of them had a go at me for putting turkey on her plate.
"You know I'm a vegetarian."
"I thought turkey was okay."
We still departed friends.
Ta Ta
Marky B

I once shot an elephant in my pyjamas - how he got in my pyjamas,I'll never know