A lost 1968 comedy sketch from Marty Feldman, star of "Young Frankenstein," has been discovered by film preservationists nearly 60 years after its initial airing on BBC television. The sketch, which featured Feldman as an ancient Egyptian tomb carving, was thought to be destroyed but was found hidden on a 16mm film reel in the archive of a former BBC film editor. Audio recordings of the sketch had survived for decades, but the footage itself remained missing until now. The newly uncovered clip will be made available to Film is Fabulous! Patreon subscribers this week and released to the public in October.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
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Story summary
A long-lost 1968 sketch from the comedy legend Marty Feldman, who is best known for his role as Igor in the 1974 film "Young Frankenstein", has been discovered by the English film archivist group Film is Fabulous!. The sketch, which features Feldman as an ancient Egyptian tomb carving, was believed to have been destroyed after its initial airing on a BBC television show called "Marty". However, a copy of the sketch was found hidden within an old 16mm film reel, which had been compiled by a former BBC film editor. The sketch is from the first episode of "Marty", a series that aired in 1968 and starred Feldman alongside fellow comedian John Junkin. Despite being lost for nearly 60 years, the sketch was rediscovered thanks to the efforts of Film is Fabulous!, which has been working to preserve and restore forgotten moments from media history.
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A long-lost sketch from comedy legend Marty Feldman was unearthed by dogged film preservationists, finally bringing images to a hilarious bit that was kept alive for decades through scraps of surviving audio.
asserted
that → lose → audio
Feldman — renowned for roles like the hunchback Igor in 1974’s “Young Frankenstein” — appeared as an ancient Egyptian tomb carving in the sketch, which dated back to a 1968 BBC show and was believed to have been destroyed sometime after it aired.
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it → renowne → show
But the English film archivist group “Film is Fabulous!” recently discovered a copy hidden within an old 16mm film reel, which a former BBC film editor had put together in an undisclosed time after the sketch first ran on television.
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sketch → discover → television
“Among the items on one of the reels is a missing sketch listed on the accompanying typed notes as ‘Egyptian Carvings’”
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sketch → miss → Carvings
Film is Fabulous! wrote on its Facebook page Thursday.
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Film → write → page
“The sketch was, in fact, from series one, episode four, of the BBC television show ‘Marty’, starring Marty Feldman,” it added, noting show writer John Junkin also appeared in the sketch.
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Junkin → star → sketch
In the sketch, Feldman and fellow hieroglyphics bickered back and forth about being forced to stare at each other for thousands of years, commenting and complaining about each other’s outfits and their inability to look anywhere but at each other.
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Feldman → bicker → other
“It’s a bit effeminate isn’t, I mean, for a priest?” Feldman asked the carving of Junkin opposite him.
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Feldman → ’ → him
“Well I cant help it, I was carved like it, wasn’t I?” Junkin replied.
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Junkin → help → it
Later, Feldman asked Junkin about the carving of an Anubis-like human-dog hybrid standing behind him.
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Feldman → ask → him
“For the last 4,000 years I’ve had a feeling that there’s something behind me, but I cant look ’round to see,” Feldman said.
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Feldman → have → me
“Hard to say, really, half a duck and half a human!” Junkin replied.
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Junkin → say → duck
Audio of the sketch has existed for years, but the footage itself remained missing.
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footage → exist → years
Networks like the BBC typically erased and recorded over tapes to save money before reruns became a television mainstay, leading to countless moments from media history being lost to time.
But now and again scraps will emerge — in attics of former studio employees, basements of fans and fanatics, as well as forgotten archive corners — with groups like Film is Fabulous! hunting them down to give them new life.
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Film → erase → life
Feldman’s Egyptian carving scene will be available to view by Film is Fabulous! Patreon subscribers this week, and will be released to the public in October.
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Film → view → October
Feldman died tragically in 1982 from a sudden heart attack at the age of 48.
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Feldman → die → 48
Feldman was best known for playing Igor in the 1974 comedy horror "Young Frankenstein."
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Feldman → know → horror
Feldman's Egyptian carving sketch was known only through surviving audio until the footage was recently found.
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footage → know → audio
