Eye-Gor

Igor is a fictional hunchback and assistant and one of the main characters in the 1974 horror/comedy Young Frankenstein. He was played by actor Marty Feldman.

Notes & Trivia

 * The character of Igor was created by writer/director Mel Brooks and co-screenwriter and lead actor Gene Wilder.


 * Igor is a pastiche of several characters connected to the Frankenstein mythos. The archetype of a hunchbacked lab assistant is taken from the character of Fritz, who was the assistant to Henry Frankenstein from 1931's Frankenstein as well as Karl, who worked for Henry in The Bride of Frankenstein (both roles were played by Dwight Frye). The name Igor is actually taken from Ygor, who was the malefic schemer with the twisted neck introduced in Son of Frankenstein and played by actor Bela Lugosi.


 * Typically, the name Igor is pronounced "Ee-gor", however, in this film, he makes it a point to mention that he pronounces it as "Eye-gor". This is done as a response to Frederick Frankenstein's insistence that his name be pronounced "Franhk-en-steen".
 * Igor is one of two characters in Young Frankenstein whose name begins with the letter I. The other is Inga.


 * The hump on Igor's back had a penchant for shifting from side to side. This was actually prompted by Marty Feldman, who kept moving the prop during shoots. The ad-libbed sight gag was later added as part of the script.


 * Playing the part of Igor is actor Marty Feldman's seventh film role. Not counting television movies, it is his third feature film.


 * When the character is first seen, he beckons Frederick and Ilsa to "walk this way", and then begins to hobble along with his cane, expecting them to do likewise. Director Mel Brooks disliked the scene at first, but after receiving positive reaction from test audiences, decided to keep it in. This dialogue became the inspiration behind the song "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith.
 * The scene where Marty Feldman was biting on Madeline Kahn's wrap had to be re-shot several times due to fur getting into the actor's mouth.