Quote: Fred Sunshine @ March 12 2009, 7:28 PM GMT

I don't think Cook & Morecambe would have ever made a good double act

View original

Perverse as it sounds, and I have had a bottle of wine, BUT I think that might be quite good. For a one-off show of course....

Think about it- they both really cared about what was funny. By any measure they both WERE funny. I'm sure they would have appreciated each others style. That could really have worked- Cook would have gone off on flights of surreal fancy but he'd never quite get the better of the old school Morecambe.

Oooh, Spike was a hottie.

Quote: zooo @ March 12 2009, 10:20 PM GMT

Oooh, Spike was a hottie.

View original

Milligan ?

I'd go with him, but I'd be thinking of Sellers.

No. I don't like Milligan. In any way, unfortunately.

This Spike :

Fry and Laurie were both great. Top notch duo.

Quote: Maurice Minor @ March 12 2009, 10:17 PM GMT

Perverse as it sounds, and I have had a bottle of wine, BUT I think that might be quite good. For a one-off show of course....

Think about it- they both really cared about what was funny. By any measure they both WERE funny. I'm sure they would have appreciated each others style. That could really have worked- Cook would have gone off on flights of surreal fancy but he'd never quite get the better of the old school Morecambe.

View original

What?

Peter Cook was renowned for being able to write a three minute sketch in three minutes.

Eric Morecambe would insist on at least two weeks of daily rehearsals for a three minute sketch.

Hardly a partnership made in Heaven!

Also in the early 1980s Peter Cook wound up playing second banana to Joan Rivers in her chat show. One episode had Bernard Manning as a guest. Bernard was in full flow, Joan Rivers was working hard to keep up with him and keep control, Peter Cook sat quiet throughout and ended up getting taunted by Bernard.

The sad truth is when they were apart they were lost, Dudley never performed as well as he did when delivering Peter's materials and Peter never wrote as well for anyone as he did for Dud.

Ah they were both excellent ad libbers..

Quote: Peter Gash @ March 13 2009, 10:17 PM GMT

The sad truth is when they were apart they were lost,

View original

Cook did some great work without Dud; witness, for instance, Why Bother? with Chris Moriss, and his masterful interviews with Clive Anderson, as four separate characters.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ March 14 2009, 1:13 AM GMT

Cook did some great work without Dud; witness, for instance, Why Bother? with Chris Moriss, and his masterful interviews with Clive Anderson, as four separate characters.

View original

Why Bother? and the Clive Anderson special are two of the funniest things ever. And that includes The Grumbleweeds.

And Supergirl! Where was Dud then? Getting off with Bo Derek, that's where. The fool.

Quote: Balf @ March 14 2009, 2:25 PM GMT

And Supergirl! Where was Dud then? Getting off with Bo Derek, that's where. The fool.

View original

Ah, but Cookie was with Faye Dunaway in that film.

And Peter 'dude' O'Toole got to feel up Helen Slater. So it couldn't hve been all bad for them.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ March 14 2009, 1:13 AM GMT

Cook did some great work without Dud; witness, for instance, Why Bother? with Chris Moriss, and his masterful interviews with Clive Anderson, as four separate characters.

View original

So that's 2 thirty minute TV shows in 25 years?

Is there a Peter Cook thread anywhere ?

Quote: Peter Gash @ March 14 2009, 9:41 PM GMT

So that's 2 thirty minute TV shows in 25 years?

View original

It's well known that he did little work after Dud left due to a slight lack of confidence/purpose after so long in a successful partnership, as well as the fact that most of the time he just didn't want too, he'd done everything he'd ever wanted to; not because he COULDN'T. As is proven by the fact that when he did get off his drunken arse and did something, it was STILL brilliant. Cook never lost it, he just chose not to use it.