Peter Cook in His Own Words

by Peter Cook, Michael Palin (Narrator)

Peter Cook was an exceptional talent – verbally witty, surreally inventive and a true original. The father of modern satire and alternative comedy, he was voted the top comedian of all time in the Channel 4 show The Comedian’s Comedian. In this series, Michael Palin trawls Peter Cook’s back catalogue for his funniest and silliest moments, including much rare archive material never been previously broadcast. Covering Peter Cook’s 36-year career, it features all the best interviews, monologues and sketches, including conversations with Michael Parkinson, David Dimbleby and Clive James as well as extracts from Beyond the Fringe, Not Only... But Also... and Goodbye Again. There are monologues from the immortal E. L. Wisty and excerpts from Cook and Moore’s taboo-breaking ‘Derek and Clive’ dialogues. Here too are clips from panel games, chat shows, radio phone-ins and ‘The Secret Policeman’s Ball’. We also hear Peter Cook discuss school days, writing comedy at Cambridge University, his first encounter with Dudley Moore, and his involvement with Private Eye. Insightful and irresistible, this is a fascinating exploration of the life and career of a seriously funny man.

2 CDs. 2 hrs.

2 pages, Audio CD

First published October 3, 2005

About the author

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Peter Edward Cook was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishment comedic movement that emerged in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s.
Born in Torquay, he was educated at the University of Cambridge. There he became involved with the Footlights Club, of which he later became president. After graduating, he created the comedy stage revue Beyond the Fringe, beginning a long-running partnership with Dudley Moore. In 1961, Cook opened the comedy club The Establishment in Soho. In 1965, Cook and Moore began a television career, beginning with Not Only... But Also. Cook's deadpan monologues contrasted with Moore's buffoonery. They received the 1966 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance.
Following the success of the show, the duo appeared together in the films The Wrong Box (1966) and Bedazzled (1967). Cook and Moore returned to television projects continuing to the late 1970s, including co-presenting Saturday Night Live in the United States. From 1978 until his death in 1995, Cook no longer collaborated with Moore, apart from a few cameo appearances, but continued to be a regular performer in British television and film.
Referred to as "the father of modern satire" by The Guardian in 2005, Cook was ranked number one in the Comedians' Comedian, a poll of more than 300 comics, comedy writers, producers and directors in the English-speaking world.