Peter Cook (comedian)

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Peter Edward Cook (born November 17, 1937 in Torquay , Devon , † January 9, 1995 in Hampstead , London ) was a British author , actor and comedian . With his humor, he influenced the British comedians of the 1960s and 1970s significantly.

Life

Beginnings

The son of a diplomat Cook took after high school, first studying in French and German at the University of Cambridge on. There he worked alongside his studies as an actor and author in the student theater and joined the renowned Cambridge Footlights Club , whose president he became in 1960. At that time he was already writing skits for established British comedians such as Kenneth Williams .

His artistic breakthrough came with the successful stage program Beyond the Fringe , which Cook  wrote and played with Jonathan Miller , Alan Bennett and Dudley Moore - who had previously performed as a jazz pianist. Inspired by this success, Cook opened his own stage, the Establishment Club in Soho , in which, in addition to his own skits and musical programs, he also had many young, largely unknown comedians such as Barry Humphries perform.

In 1962, Cook received his first television show on the BBC , performing skits from the Establishment Club . This was followed by the satirical news program That Was the Week That Was and the comedy series Braden Beat , for which he developed a variety of bizarre characters.

Collaboration with Dudley Moore

The long-term collaboration with his friend and colleague Dudley Moore, which began with Beyond the Fringe, was particularly successful . Cook and Moore co-designed the absurdly humorous television show Not Only… But Also , for which they wrote skits and music and created various characters that they continued in later radio and television programs, e. B. in the 1968 produced series Goodbye Again , in which John Cleese also participated. Numerous other joint programs followed on television and on stage.

In 1965 they released the singles The Ballad Of Spotty Muldoon and Goodbye-ee , which were successful in the English singles charts.

In addition, the comedian duo also starred in some films, such as the comedies Last Greetings from Uncle Joe (with Michael Caine ), Monte Carlo Rallye (alongside Tony Curtis and Gert Frobe, among others ) and in the end-time satire After . They had their greatest cinema success in 1967 with a modern parody of Faust : In Bedazzled (English title: Faust '68 ), Cook, who wrote the script, embodies a young Mephisto, plagued by self-doubt, to whom a poor cook (Moore) sold his soul for the fulfillment of seven wishes. Every wish takes a completely different turn than intended, but this means that the chef increasingly realizes what is really worth living for. In 2000 Cook's screenplay with Elizabeth Hurley and Brendan Fraser was filmed again under the same title (German distribution title: Devilish ).

The collaboration became a stress test in the years that followed, as Cook came more and more under the influence of alcohol. In 1973 Moore and Cook performed their last joint program in New York with Good Evening . Although they received a Grammy and the prestigious Tony Award for it, they parted ways afterwards. While Moore stayed in Hollywood and celebrated success there, Cook continued to work mainly for British stage and television productions.

Nevertheless, both comedians appeared together in front of the camera a few times, for example in an episode of the American comedy show Saturday Night Live and in 1978 as a detective team Sherlock Holmes (Cook) and Dr. Watson in the comedy The Hound of Baskerville (alongside other popular British comedians such as Kenneth Williams , Terry-Thomas and Spike Milligan ).

However, there were further joint stage appearances only in 1987 at charity events for the benefit of the homeless and Amnesty International .

Movie and TV

In addition to his hugely successful television programs, Cook has also appeared in a number of movies, albeit mostly supporting roles. He starred alongside Laurence Harvey in the drama Death Dance of a Killer , alongside John Candy in the police comedy Police Epidemy , in the war satire Too Late - Bomb Flies! , alongside Helena Bonham Carter in the tragic comedy The Itchy First Time , in the comic book adaptation Supergirl and in another Sherlock Holmes parody: alongside Michael Caine (Holmes) and Ben Kingsley (Watson) in genius . He played a senile bishop in Rob Reiner's imaginative fairytale film The Prince's Bride and a guest appearance as a British reporter in the Jerry Lee Lewis biography Great Balls of Fire . He also played larger roles in the satire The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer , written by himself and John Cleese , the Treasure Island parody Dotterbart , for which he wrote the script together with Graham Chapman , and as King Richard III. in the pilot of Rowan Atkinson's Black Adder . Cook had his last film appearance in 1994 as Lord Wexmire alongside Sean Bean in a film adaptation of Anna Sewell's Black Beauty .

Next life

From 1962 Cook supported the satirical magazine Private Eye financially from its own resources and also sought other donors (including Dirk Bogarde ). He also wrote a weekly column in the Daily Mail in the late 1970s . He was also involved with several Amnesty International fundraisers with John Cleese .

1976 Cook also worked in various roles on the album Consequences by British musicians Kevin Godley (drums) and Lol Creme (guitar) from the rock band 10cc .

Peter Cook was married three times. On January 9, 1995, at the age of 57, he died in London of a gastric haemorrhage .

In 1998, a 63 pence postage stamp with his image was issued in England in honor of the comedian. In January 2005, Cook was voted # 1 of the most popular comedians (The Comedian's Comedian) in a UK Channel 4 poll of comedians and writers .

Awards

Peter Cook was honored with a star on London's Avenue of Stars .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Peter Cook  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Peter Cook  Quotes
personal data
SURNAME Cook, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cook, Peter Edward (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British author, actor and comedian
DATE OF BIRTH November 17, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Torquay , Devon, England, UK
DATE OF DEATH January 9, 1995
Place of death Hampstead , London, England, United Kingdom