Peter Cook obituary (Newsnight, 1995)

Newsnight, 09/01/1995 - Includes interviews with Jonathan Miller and John Bird.
Not my copyright - just sharing found ephemera.

[@spottymaldoon4427]

I miss him. He was my friend even though he joked about my appearance. I'll never forget him.

[@Anglianpheuksudbury]

Pete n dud, still watching 2024 never to be repeated sadly. When true comedy was off the cuff!

[@jeanmyers1787]

Still watching 2019. RIP Peter still love you

[@__GALLANT__]

I do say, I love women who love peter. Therefore . . .

[@gibsonbrown7381]

Hey friends what's your favorite memories of Peter cook

[@MatthewJohnCrittenden]

2021 calling ... RIP.

[@maxwellfan55]

A great find, thank you for posting. Cannot get enough of Peter Cook so missed. Why are so many embarrassed about the mention of Derek And Clive? Cook regarded this his finest hour and I agree, everything pales before this and since.

[@gaskellr44]

Doing D & C enabled them to add lib/riff with some of the sketches, especially when they were on the booze. I was fortunate enough to stumble on D & C, hilarious but uve got to be in the mood I feel?

[@maxwellfan55]

@@gaskellr44 You got to be in the mood? What mood, the mood whether to to laugh, the mood not to be constrained by establishment censorship, political restraint?

[@Arareemote]

​@@maxwellfan55Derek and Clive was made during their rough patch with one another, so I think it's omitted out of respect truthfully. But Dudley said later on the BBC didn't really like it and that they probably destroyed it on purpose. They also did another show that was a lot worse; a lot more profane than D&C, that was directed more towards religion which was never released sadly.

[@stevendouglas3860]

Peter Cook well ahead of his time . So contemporary even in 2020 . The bias judge marvellous.

[@jeanmyers1787]

Still watching in 2021, loved him

[@mikeyk212]

Peter was a genius of comedy. And never cruel. He had a great humanity about him . I think he identified with the down trodden. He had soul.

[@drparnassus2867]

He *was* a genius, but he could be pretty cruel.

[@trevorbailey1486]

Rather than a champion of the poor, don't you think he was dominated by absurdity when and wherever it presented itself? His work is timeless precisely because his comedy was apolititcal. More N.F. Simpson than Simpson & his Donkey.

[@garymitchell5899]

Cook was extremely cruel to Dudley, as he later admitted.

[@Arareemote]

​@@garymitchell5899Fortunately they made up. Lin later said most of what was reported was utterly untrue and that they were the best of friends and that they had a very special relationship. Often calling and talking with one another. Peter even said later on towards the end of his alcoholism that he loved Dudley and he was his best friend. Dudley's memorial speech was very heartfelt too, if you can find footage of it I really recommend watching it.

[@kevinmost2719]

Isn't it a shame,that we don't have anyone as funny as him in 2019

[@kingy002]

That is an absurd statement. There are many superb comedians today, and especially in the UK.

[@JJONNYREPP]

Peter Cook obituary (Newsnight, 1995) 1149AM 25.7.23 SATIRE BOOM!? strange that satire is a commodity now whereas before we'd have satire on tap in any home that had deigned to read a newspaper or listen to the news... or speak to one another. woe the man who has a false family akin to a country's false economy foisted upon him with it's fLaby arse hanging out in the wind - whispering it's incessant disapproval... speaking as Lord Hobbit i will say he was surrounded by so much boredom and enforced ennui that it was inevitable that he would kill himself, albeit hazily seemingly legally by drink drugs and fags... and not to mention his loving forays into the strip clubs to be forever disappointed by whichever stripper deigned to hide from him. do we care how we are perceived? perhaps when it comes to civil society extending it's tawdry grip as it tries to "correct" whichever dupe has seen fit to utilize his freedom of speech soapbox. the whole edifice of law is built on hearsay and some fat c*** scribbling away as he makes out another report on whichever sot has farted without consent. the culture of denigration is called the history of a people. whatever people say about it is really par for the course... not one of them stood up for freedom of speech when it came down to it. or, rather, the wheat from the chaff was proffered up when that horrid and hoary old tome called the law courts hoved (sic) into view...

[@kingy002]

@trixiek942 It is purely a subjective thing.

[@PaulRoneClarke]

Paxman has a few unwarranted digs. When Stephen Fry did his requiem speech about Peter Cooke (also here on KZbin) I always thought he was answering Paxman directly.

[@tomitstube]

acerbic wit, he said it himself, he retained a boyhood charm of getting a rise out of people, and he was intelligent enough to amuse himself without being vulgar or direct about it.

[@petermills542]

Miller & Bird both had very interesting things to say . Stephen Fry's piece a few weeks after Cook's death is a must see, where he is quite scathing toward the ' wasted talent ' type obituaries ! ps It was good to see Paxman laughing so much !! Peter Cook would have enjoyed that I think! It all reminded me of 'Why Bother' with Chris Morris " So you find imagining my death very amusing ? " ...... ' Yes, I do actually ! '

[@MrDavey2010]

PC was a true genius who influenced so much British comedy upto the present day.

[@duncefunce1513]

Paddy Considine? Agreed

[@jeffstone2136]

A true genius, in a world where that title is bestowed far too readily. Arguably the funniest human being who ever lived.

[@petergreen2552]

Peter Cook was a fucking legend. Witty,erudite,clever and very dry. He pushed all the right buttons. Like Spike Milligan,he knew how to get his humour across.

[@edkaley1]

So funny, clever, astute and one of the great comedians the world will see. A complete "one off".

[@liamfraserobrien]

Supremely talented .. and had the respect not to go on to long ..he realised that...

[@simontaylor2319]

He was similar to Peter Sellers, in that he was never really himself

[@oliverchapman893]

The Princess of Wales rented a video of Moby Dick....good on the sun for covering the top stories!

[@stephaniehand9519]

peter was a genius.

[@RedcoatsReturn]

I have fond memories from the 60s when he was in his youthful post Cambridge prime, able to make his face look daft and do wierd voices but somehow still make others look like the silly ones and he remained the sophisticated and intellectual satirist. I see Stephen Fry in the same way.

[@garymitchell5899]

Then you don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

[@StrawberryCosmonaut]

@@garymitchell5899 what?

[@TheNollaigo]

tragically Peter was an only twin

[@ppotter]

I screamed when I read that. Thanks.

[@d7sfblab]

That's what I'd heard, yeah.

[@johannamix966]

nollaigo kelly fucking made me eloquently spit my beer out X

[@tunefultonyjohnson4100]

There was actually originally ONLY ONE Peter Cook, but he was later twinned with Dudley Moore and with the town of Carpentras, in the South of France......

[@katinkiplinkyplonk4933]

...said his Brother Kevin.

[@janepiepes2243]

My sister fell in love with Beyond the Fringe when she was 12 --around 1961 -- From Queens NY. .

[@PrinceWesterburg]

And that was the interview that Chris Morris berated saying that they forgot all about Peter and just went on about their egotistical view of what he was.

[@mccloryjim]

I'm trying to imagine Paxman listening to 'Derek and clive ' and getting it..... its terribly awkward, Peter Cook , legend

[@kalikalimai1]

Peter Cook, one of the funniest, most handsome & sexy men of his time.

[@piercemolony38]

9

[@missjones580]

Minus the perm.

[@hArtyTruffle]

Pipped to the post by Oliver Reed 🤤😏

[@michaelj.r457]

Craig Ferguson, a Peter Cook worshipper, told a funny story about how whenever someone would tell Peter "I'm writing a book." Peter would reply "Ah. neither am I."

[@JJONNYREPP]

Peter Cook obituary (Newsnight, 1995) 1159am 25.7.23 these guys can afford to play this game, though... merely kicking out at matron who has scolded them for eating some tuck or their ma and pas who were far too distant for them to bear...

[@fredfungalspore]

Classic wit without the F ing and blinding :).....From what i know of great comedians its a RARE GIFT .....Quick wit is a high form of intelligence

[@ppotter]

Yeah, I don't think I ever heard Cook swear... :D

[@d7sfblab]

Good point. He was terrifyingly ugly without profanity. He'd trash most comics of the last fifteen years with his twisted and compelling depth of mundane absurdity.

[@ppotter]

Have you not heard his and Dud's Derek & Clive...? ;)

[@d7sfblab]

Well, okay, apart from that.... Yikes.... yeah... that stuff. Still... I liked that material the least, if I recall correctly, because they did seem to lean on the profance language in a way that seemed consciously gratuitous. Am I off on that--?

[@fredfungalspore]

I knew someone would mention this ..Your on the money but all in all live he was pretty tame would you agree say unlike Bernard Manning Who I love with a passion....Laughter is good for the Sole :)

[@zackspaulding]

An ultimate genuine genuis.

[@baz770]

Really enjoyable and when viewed in 2022 the last 10 seconds in which it the title of a video is listed caps of the lunacy.

[@JoeRivermanSongwriter]

Ironic initials.

[@robbdavies7749]

He had a unique quality

[@Samgurney88]

The Sun headline at the end was comedic, whether intentionally or not.

[@WillScarlet1991]

Now, in November 2019, Jonathan Miller has died :(

[@jamesappleton7390]

Met Jonathan once at George Melly's funeral..... nice man. I got him a place next to the coffin....

[@kelvinlewis4065]

GENIUS ..R.I.P.

[@1000WinstonSmith]

Loved the guy

[@angelicaluce3230]

"The bottle" -- every Englishman knows what THAT is!

[@PrinceWesterburg]

Also known as 'The old enemy.' Though I prefer the observation that 'Working is the scurge of the drinking classes.'

[@KarlHamilton]

Chris Morris should be back on the TV again.

[@martydav9475]

Karl Hamilton Morris did an audio sketch with Cook in the nineties.It's somewhat uncomfortable to listen to: Morris at his peak, Cook the drink-sodden former great.

[@KarlHamilton]

@@martydav9475 Yes I've heard it. They were both brilliant.

[@pardymardy2003]

bloody amazing

[@robertcracknelljunior2691]

much love :)

[@misfit2022]

All modern comedy stems from Spike Milligan and Peter Cook.

[@2wayplebney]

Peter was a one - off. And as influential as Spike.

[@garymitchell5899]

Milligan was shit. Never ever funny in any way.

[@jaknkee]

Still watching in 2022 in USA. RIP!

[@Widmerpool99]

Paxman's mullet. Respect.

[@tedandrews405]

Such a loss.We need his humour more than ever now..

[@tanseygreen]

Peter would be cancelled now. Sad times indeed

[@chrisbennett606]

Very interesting

[@risteardohaodha23]

If you listen carefully, you can hear Peter's ghost groaning in the background.

[@secretsymphony]

Peter Cook will always be remembered for Supergirl...

[@HammerDownUnder]

like most true 'comedy geniuses' slightly (maybe more than slightly tbh) manic and somehow flawed… seems to be a common theme, certainly with British comedians (the best anyway) … have to say the 1979 perm was def a tragic low point .. possibly even more so than his foray into Hollywood. Both were doomed to failure imho RIP Pete AND Dud .. the afterlife must be laughing itself stupid these days.

[@shipaskof8371]

Ah john bird. I really miss bird and fortune. I laughed till my belly ached my sides ached and tears streaming diwn my face

[@Inthemixmedia]

Bring back Paxo.

[@sneekapeek707]

I saw him once, on a golf course, I was too young to realize who he was.

[@odoyipper3839]

Despite that awful perm, the charm was still there.

[@tonimoroni742]

Miller is very good here

[@garymitchell5899]

Must have been pure hell to straighten that naturally curly hair on a daily basis.

[@dvdextras-byvincentcorani9136]

An greta garbo is still hanging on.

[@davidrobinson2776]

Brando, Maradona, Lennon, Alex Higgins and Lester Piggott all had the same brilliance. A way of doing what they did that defied explanation. Peter Cook did it his way like all of them. No matter how hard you try to imitate them, you will never come close to their genius.

[@TheLisab56]

My hero.

[@johnclark3697]

Watch Alan Latchley football manager.. Clive Anderson talks back... hard to find copyright .. but funniest thing ever

[@stewartnicol3028]

'E was down the 'Ampstead Tube, down the lav, there.....

[@jeffstone2136]

And a note...comes under the fakkin' door....sayin' "Are you handy?"

[@daveerickson9524]

I thought "allo - some cunt is showin out"@@jeffstone2136

[@frflinstone]

Genius is a wholly overused word these days but in this case it is appropriate.

[@simonhawker9277]

I think peter cook could see through society and didnt think much of what he saw. It is ridiculous. Ican see what he saw but it makes me sad as much as laugh

[@garymitchell5899]

Peter Cook and Simon Hawker. Out of respect we must always use both names together.

[@stephaniehand503]

great

[@rael1999]

Ironically Peter parodied programmes and discussions like this ! People who think they see more in the arts and the people who work in them than the every day guy in the street ! I bet he's up there pissing himself at these self important types over analysing his work !

[@d7sfblab]

Ex-fucking-zactly.

[@MarkAtkin]

"These self important types" are not mere critics. They are people who have worked closely with Peter Cook and have some insight to share. But you are probably right that Peter Cook would have a laugh at this interview.

[@rael1999]

I know that Mark I'm a great admirer of Cook's work. But Cook came from a back ground where he would have been surrounded by people talking crap on the arts and people who had a high opinion of themselves and their own views. I like the fact he regularly mocked people like that. Those people of course aren't restricted to a certain class either, you can get them everywhere. I hear the same people talking shite about music and the deep meaning behind certain genres and why they came about. Best not to over analyse stuff, just enjoy it and let it enrich your life.

[@d7sfblab]

"I'd rather have been a judge, than a miner..." As you say. ;)

[@gaskellr44]

Only because as many said, he was a genius and didn't have to put much effort into his comedy, well as much as others did. John Cleese once said, what would take him a week or two to write comedy-wise, PC would just come up with it instantly.

[@steffanhoffmann]

Imagine for one moment what he'd think of WOKE nonsense etc etc etc 🙄

[@RIGTHEMORT]

11:55 That headline could be the plot to a derek & clive sketch

[@robflynn509]

Ot the one at 12.01

[@robertmccall379]

It’s amusing to see others trying to analyse Peter Cook. Their efforts are in vain as such a talent can not be easily copied and filed away. He is sadly missed.

[@business5368]

anyone have a copy of the Dimbleby interview?

[@darrenjones3784]

Several people.

[@andrewwilliams9599]

Spot on John Bird: "he had a tremendously strong bullshit detector."

[@StewartNicolasBILLYCONNOLLY]

Peter Cook would have tied this tribute spouting prick up in knots..ooh don't! I would love to hear his take on Theresa May's "Let's All Go Down The Brexit" - his masterpiece, "That Was The Week" was stolen by David Frost.

[@katinkiplinkyplonk4933]

9:08 Cookie and Me :-)

[@asmrfix24]

Miller looks like Paxmans Father

[@igolfjtweetler4097]

A shame he checked out early, achieved a lot early albeit.

[@robbryant52]

And in 2021

[@rachelled6763]

I just watched Peter play Richard III in Blackadder. Such brilliant satire. He stole the show from Rowan, a tall order for anyone.

[@Rxlrpl]

The Princess of Wales has been renting a video of Moby Dick. P

[@brianparsons5026]

was free willy not out then then for the pow to hire?

[@yabbadabbadoo8225]

The Cook & Carlin era has finished. Big Brother Controls it now.

[@laytonjones2093]

In my opinion the greatest satirist EVER

[@boychildnew1]

What i liked about Peter was that he existed, and moved...sometimes even both at once. I saw him in Hampstead and he said to me, "Who are you?", which i thought made him a wonderful human being. I replied, with all the dignity i could muster, "I'm your future best friend."...he walked off muttering "Well, see you in the future, but for now bugger off..." So I did.

[@ppotter]

I hope that's true.

[@googleisgay3289]

I would really like to watch Moby Dick with the princess of Wales.

[@gordondean9189]

So what has changed in UK politics since then? Labour is still as fragmented and the Tories as self serving, elitist and destructive as ever. Our inability to learn from experience is the only constant.

[@tunefultonyjohnson4100]

... When Jeremy Paxman used to be good-looking.... :)

[@flatearthstuff2565]

freemason cook

[@simonhawker9277]

Likewise a unconjoined survivor

[@mikefraser4513]

It was either that wafer-thin mint that killed him off, or getting stuck down Damions's underpants.

[@garymitchell5899]

The web-footed barking bollock. Which would be a new thing.

[@bob6432]

Leave Damian and his fleets of ships alone, you cu--s. It's a free world and as far as we're concerned he has the right for independence and a "seat" in the UN.. No Brekshit, no via necessary. Bog-roll welcomed.

[@jupitermoongauge4055]

Peter Cook with an afro ? 1:59

[@RedcoatsReturn]

jupiter moongauge He latently wanted to be black?

[@billy4072]

the awful awful awful whoever the interviwer is...

[@1966cain]

Jeremy Paxman was better at Interrogating/Interviewing MPs

[@zorki28]

Like all comedians, dated.

[@xmaseveeve5259]

Nope.

[@MrDaiseymay]

These two don't agree about anything, of Cooks . In my opinion, and from what I read after his death. He was very jealous of Dud's unexpected fame and fortune , resulting from his own talents and efforts in Hollywood. Dud didn't want to get involved with Cooks increasingly desperate attempts, to find ways of relaunching his fame and popularity. The Derek and Clive rubbish, was just pure obscenity for it's own sake, and to shock. Thereby getting huge attention and publicity. Dud was then aware of the danger this 'porno crud' might have on his new and massive fan base, especially in the USA, who mostly , were unaware of his original wacky , border-line stuff , with Cook. Dud had moved on, and very much UP, in the world. I think Peter Cook was jealous of this, because he thought himself the top dog ( and was ) during the good satire years. From then onward's, his drinking, drug taking , and odd behaviour, made him a regular on chat shows like 'Parkinsons etc. and just like Oliver Reed. Became a regular, because people hoped, to see /hear, the unexpected. SHAME, an original talent, wasted.

[@garymitchell5899]

Obviously Cook was jealous - this isn't a new suggestion. Do try harder.

[@MrDaiseymay]

@@garymitchell5899 Well, thats just an assumption on your part., isn't it ? TRY, not to act superior

[@624radicalham]

@@MrDaiseymay No assumptions. Try to stop looking at life through rose colored glasses

[@beniteztheconman]

whores in my head

[@richardlaversuch9460]

Jonathan Miller was even worse about Margaret Thatcher than Stephen Fry was. Why listen to Miller about anything at all?

[@TheBaconWizard]

Lack of dumb, binary-thinking tribalism is why.

[@TheJonnyzeus]

.....er.....because he is an intelligent man with an interesting opinion.

[@richardlaversuch9460]

@@TheJonnyzeus Clearly Miller is an intelligent man. That is part of the reason he should know better.

[@waynedavis7118]

Some great clips followed by 5 mins of two pompous old men blabbing on with elongated explanations of why Cooke was talented.Cooke would of probably laughed at their comments some of which were borderline satire themselves

[@peterd788]

Who had known him for decades.

[@garymitchell5899]

Wayne - not everyone adds an 'e' at the end of their name.

[@msl381]

genius, but why did he carry that unfunny dead weight dud moore?

[@rnw2739]

Dudley Moore an unfunny dead weight? You must be devoid of any humour if you think that of Dud. As for dead weight, his piano playing alone was on another level to most concert pianists! He was supremely talented and actually, this 'dead weight' you refer to carried Peter Cook throughout the entire 'Behind The Fridge' tour of New York in the late 70's, when Cook would turn up onstage pissed out of his mind. You clearly dont know what the fuck you're talking about!

[@Rosie6857]

Yes, brilliant pianist in almost any genre. And humourist.

[@mikefraser4513]

I wouldn't say "unfunny deadweight". Jules and Sandy (from "Round the Horne") were brilliant but it was Kenneth Williams who stole the show because he was the funnier of the two (Hugh Paddick)and everyone knew him.

[@thegiftedone]

Not funny

[@cautionTosser]

9:06 sounds like absurdism EDIT: 9:12 well, then...Confirmed :D