Peter Cook On His Clash With Zsa Zsa Gabor | The Dick Cavett Show

Peter Cook and Dudley Moore ad-lib a sketch before Peter describes the time he fell out with Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Date aired - 10/4/73 - Peter Cook, Dudley Moore & Kirk Douglas
#PeterCook #DudleyMoore #KirkDouglas #DickCavett
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Dick Cavett has been nominated for eleven Emmy awards (the most recent in 2012 for the HBO special, Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again), and won three. Spanning five decades, Dick Cavett’s television career has defined excellence in the interview format. He started at ABC in 1968, and also enjoyed success on PBS, USA, and CNBC.

His most recent television successes were the September 2014 PBS special, Dick Cavett’s Watergate, followed April 2015 by Dick Cavett’s Vietnam. He has appeared in movies, tv specials, tv commercials, and several Broadway plays. He starred in an off-Broadway production ofHellman v. McCarthy in 2014 and reprised the role at Theatre 40 in LA February 2015.

Cavett has published four books beginning with Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), co-authored with Christopher Porterfield. His two recent books -- Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets (2010) and Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic moments, and Assorted Hijinks(October 2014) are both collections of his online opinion column, written for The New York Times since 2007. Additionally, he has written for The New Yorker, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere.
#thedickcavettshow

[@timeherenowbe3126]

‘He committed suicide.....apparently for personal reasons.’ What a gem of a line!

[@bodsnvimto]

It was very funny indeed but he got the age wrong by a very wide margin.

[@Divocwax]

@@bodsnvimto yes I noticed that, and wondered if he intended it to have a meaning other. Coincidentally, Cook's great grandfather also "suicided" around the age he gave Freud.

[@paulf2898]

This is fabulous interviewing and hosting,no rude interuptions, fabulous

[@jayemartin9610]

Zsa Zsa Gabor was the best housekeeper in Hollywood - every time she got divorced she kept the house!

[@silverkitty2503]

she also never gave people free publicity..smart lady she dropped his name out of it

[@playitstrange129]

😅😂🤣😂😅

[@amandajones6481]

😅😅😅😅🤣🤣🤣 I've never heard that before!!! LOL! Do you remember when she slapped that policeman across the face??? OMG 😲!!!

[@baabaabaa2293]

Bob Hope line isn't it?

[@zapkvr]

My word thats original

[@Harvey3rdman]

"she drove off in a chaffeur-driven huff"

[@robg71]

There's a sketch they did about Religion, the first time I heard it I nearly choked. Peter says that he wrote to the Head of the Church of England, "You know, straight to the point, Dear C*nts in charge of Religion"

[@tomhamilton5261]

It’s from Derek and Clive Ad Nauseum and you’re so right , it’s so funny. They were just two funny guys bouncing off each other. Very talented and greatly missed.

[@jamiedalton2623]

This was made before I was born and discovering these shows for the first time really brings home how much television sucks these days.

[@robbie_]

Chat shows these days have no class. A guy on a base plays a note whenever there's a wisecrack, as if the audience wouldn't know it. Stupid little desks with the "personality" lower than the interviewer, nonsense 30 second sound bites followed by adverts. You're right, compared to this they're all terrible.

[@nelixsulu6201]

I know. I’m young and it’s something about old Hollywood that fascinates me

[@carolkotcheck6065]

American TV always sucked! Seriously,, Petticoat Junction was about what we had when this was broadcast in the States. So, when you’d like to go back in time, remember to land in Britain, not Hollywood!!!

[@ThePaulv12]

@@carolkotcheck6065 I've been watching Petticoat Junction on KZbin actually. I must say I've been thoroughly enjoying it.

[@MothGirl007]

@@carolkotcheck6065 I don't agree - both had some great shows.

[@richardhoyle3440]

Such a shame Peter died in 1995 and Dudley had to die in 2002 from that horrible condition. Legends!

[@northerly86]

Another great Dick Cavett clip. Kirk is always impressive. The improvised sketch which Pete and Dud did would now take a team of writers 6 weeks to write. In that sense we are watching a bit of magic here.

[@alm4655]

It wasn't improvised, still great though.

[@1972brianmcneill]

@@alm4655 its basically mrs woolleys curse innit?

[@thekitowl]

@@alm4655 it was an improvisation around the Pete & Dud sketch “Dud Dreams “ .

[@shirleypena4133]

@Mj Steel To his dying day, Kirk Douglas remained a class act...which is more than I can say for 99% of his peers in Hollywood.

[@AnyoneCanSee]

@@shirleypena4133 - 99% of his peers? That seems a little extreme. There were a lot of incredibly talented actors that were also decent people in Hollywood's 'golden age.' Paul Newman, Burt Lancaster, Sophie Loren, Jimmy Stewart Henry Fonda and many others.

[@madahad9]

Discovering British comedy was something of a revelation. Growing up in the 70's it was a wasteland of sitcoms and variety shows. When the PBS station out of New York started airing Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Butterflies, and other shows they were vastly better than what was available in America. It was dry, witty, silly, but also very smart. I remember seeing the British version of Three's Company called Man About the House and enjoying it much better. Pete and Dudley are hysterical. I believe that I first saw their version of Hounds of the Baskerville, but it was when I got to see Bedazzled that I became a fan.

[@Jamie-js3qw]

to be fair The Office by the Brits is way different, and....I like it

[@PartTimeSarah2]

Peter and Dudley genuinely seem to delight in each other's humor here and it fills me with awe and wonder and joy and all the good feelings. Shame the title of the video is about Zsa Zsa and not that amazing bit of comic genius

[@user-bf5ik2sq5e]

I've always loved these gentlemen....happy I found this

[@margiehandler3427]

So glad to hear Peter Cook's ZsaZsa story....I worked for her shortly and she was a horror

[@sgu02nsc66]

Good on him for the honesty. A rare commodity in fame world

[@carlodave9]

ZsaZsa was a precursor to "reality" stardom: a one-note character famous for being famous. I find Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian insufferable in the same way. It has nothing to do with who they really are, just the air of hyper-privileged superficiality they present to the public.

[@MartintheTinman]

Good people don't lie to put others down, so I believe you not Kirk

[@gaysy1st]

Absolutely 👍

[@AntonGully]

But if only you'd gotten to know her, you'd realise what a wonderful person she was. Apparently.

[@vordman]

She went off in a chauffeur-driven huff. Haha. I don't think Pete even realised what a great line that was!

[@gmf121266]

Wonderful motor, the 12 cylinder huff. Lovely lines and such a smooth ride.

[@martinplatt5928]

Absolutely brilliant. How lovely to see Kirk appreciating their wonderful humour.

[@scotnick59]

Eva wrote a book early in her career (ORCHIDS and SALAMI) did stage work, had a TV show before G.A. and was the first Gabor to be in films in 1941. She was the prettiest and nicest of the sisters in my opinion.

[@kramsrednuas]

nice to see Peter standing up to animal abuse

[@carolkotcheck6065]

Watch Bedazzled, if you’re new to these two!

[@xemnas9098]

And disregard the 2000 version, starring Elizabeth Hurley

[@terr777]

@@xemnas9098 absolutely!

[@daniramc]

JULIE ANDREWS!!!

[@juanmonge8]

What everyone forgets now, is that The Gabor sisters were trained as high class courtesans - by their Mother. That is what they were originally famous for.

[@mirror1675]

There is nothing "high class" about "courtesans".

[@roccotirotta2737]

They sound like the original kardashians.

[@shelbynamels973]

Their mother was a piece of work, and the daughters were her fines achievement.

[@anonUK]

@@mirror1675 There's less risk the "high class courtesans" will give you VD.

[@gcmc2gcmc279]

And Eva was lovely, but Zsa Zsa was arrogance personified. Remember when a cop tried to book her in LA ? She was driving an unregistered Rolls Royce without a valid driver's license and with an open container of alcohol. She said she was in a hurry and drove off. He chased and caught her and she slapped him when he tried to get her out of the car. She ended up on her ass on the sidewalk in cuffs. The courtroom was a circus too - can't remember the details, but she remained defiant and aloof. I think she was eventually threatened with jail or a contempt charge or something ?

[@Kevin-zz9nc]

Clive interviewed her on his show and got her to describe her daily beauty regimen....massage body scrub bath in milk etc. He let her go on and on and asked her "How did you do all that in prison???" Legend!!

[@patmcbride9853]

The Gabor sisters were the prototypes for the Kardashians.

[@c.d.macaulay66]

Pat McBride: Brilliant observation! Beautiful the Gabor sisters were. As are the Kardashians. Unfortunately, they’re not too much in the way of cerebral excitement. NABS! Not a brain surgeon!

[@AZOffRoadster]

Or Paris Hilton. Famous for being famous. 'Leaked' sex vids.

[@knowmusicman157]

@@AZOffRoadster Paris Hilton's great grandpa Conrad was married to Zsa Zsa.

[@lorraineforte9175]

Eva Gabor did Green Acres so she actually worked,and had a company , wigs I believe,but her sister famous for being famous and lots of husbands

[@knowmusicman157]

@@lorraineforte9175 Conrad Hilton for one founder of the Hilton hotels it was short-lived she ran through quite a bit of his money. And he didn’t like that of course. I’m related to the Hiltons sorry to say Paris too

[@picklesthewise]

Aw, Peter was concerned for the dog more than its owner, that's very sweet. "Biggest non-event of the 20th century" is an amazing way to describe a talentless celebrity. She made it worse by not laughing it off and acting offended.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

Stupid. She is a very talented actress and performer, which he would have known if he'd seen her work. And so is her sister Eva, who is perhaps the better actress of the two. He displayed sheer ignorance and intolerance.

[@picklesthewise]

@@nonenoneonenonenone Interesting how you chose to reply to my comment, i.e to me, rather than making your own separately for this video. Is there some deeper meaning to that, or was this simply the first comment you saw that you didn't agree with?

[@EmilyHartley25989]

@none Nonsense. Zsa Zsa’s acting performances (movie wise, at least) did not showcase talent. She was famous for being famous. I don’t say that as an insult, she was clearly very intelligent and knew how to use illusion and media better than anyone. That was her talent though and she clearly knew that too. To pretend otherwise is stupid.

[@dosmundos3830]

Eva was the talented and nice one, we all loved her in Green Acres. Zsa Zsa was more like a Kardashian, all fluff.

[@alexflowers97]

@@dosmundos3830her name was Zsa Zsa for Pete’s sake lol

[@1gaia]

Peter and Dudley were such class. I love them both, madly.

[@Joshualbm]

I have no idea what the Gabors actually accomplished in or contributed to show business beyond embodying parasitical narcissism.

[@AZOffRoadster]

Eva in Green Acres is all I can remember. The family is a punchline.

[@johnsanders6695]

🤪just like kardashians

[@BackSeatHump]

Oh well, haven't you heard? Their greatest achievement was affecting Kirk Douglas' admiration and "off-stage" defence.

[@terrythekittieful]

Eva in 'Green Acres' was actually pretty good.

[@duncanmckeown1292]

Pete and Dud at their finest in impro! I really miss the Cavett show...used to watch it religiously when in my 20s...There is nothing like it in quality these days!

[@bigtwit799]

they did impro and they could also make it up on the spot

[@morganfisherart]

Cavett makes the gaffe of saying Dud'n'Pete, which Peter pointedly corrects to Pete'n'Dud (as all Brits always call them) in the first few seconds of this show - then he continues to say Dud'n'Pete several times thereafter. Kudos to Peter for biting his lip and not correcting him again and again - which he deserved. Or shall we say Hardy & Laurel from now on if we like...? PS: Pete'n'Dud's ad libbed sketch after that is nothing short of genius!!!

[@bcrater6400]

My best friend from years ago was the manager of El Morocco in NY and he said the woman who came there with the most class was Grace Kelly, and the woman with the least....you guessed it Zsa Zsa. He used a very demeaning word for Zsa Zsa/

[@pedenmk]

I loved watching the DI K CAVETT SHOW. THOSE TWO ENGLISH BLOKES WERE REALLY FUNNY...... It was a shame the world lost DUDLEY MOORE at such a young age. R.I.P MR Moore

[@CommishsPlace]

Absolutely brilliant!

[@some_phantom2599]

Thank you to Paul for sharing this 👍

[@tonybmusic1166]

One time Zsa Zsa was on the tonight show. She came out right after Professor Irwin Cory appeared and was quasi-bragging about her jewelry. Irwin Cory pipes in: “she got them on the layaway method.” They immediately cut for a break and when they returned Cory was sitting at the very end of the dais.

[@yabbadabbadoo8225]

1:46 Have you had a dream recently? The full Color HD version would be scrubbed lol

[@MassiveChetBakerFan]

Dudley Moore reminds me here of Christopher Guest in Spinal Tap.

[@sibengerard1856]

Peter was a genius...

[@alfching2499]

I agreed with you Peter,she wasn’t all that pleasant and was annoyingly over exposed on the 60s and 70s chat shows.

[@maxulapretto6715]

Kirk Douglas was such a gentleman in this show.

[@praisejoy3]

Yes, that generation has a lot more control over their mouths-more proper and kind.

[@PS987654321PS]

He was a slime.

[@jadezee6316]

yea..the fact that he cheated on his wife every chance he got..has nothing to do with his being a gentleman

[@jadezee6316]

@@praisejoy3 to bad he had no control over sleeping with women that were not his wife

[@liamreidy1175]

What.... No mention of the comedy genius of Pete and Dud....

[@AdamDylanFoley]

This was Tremendeous!

[@lenovovo]

This is good

[@fishhookism]

Eva Gabor was great on Green Acres.

[@Isleofskye]

It was one of those programmes that you watched to "Make The World Go Away"...

[@MC_AU]

It suited her Kardashian personality. Eddie Albert carried most of the show.

[@PMS1950]

She used her complete repertoire of acting skills in every episode, which considering she only had one (remembering her line) ) must have been a real challenge!

[@pleiadian13]

Love this so much. ❤️❤️❤️

[@jaygreen6287]

Brilliant

[@briand9815]

We've also forgotten to include Mama Gabor, Jolie. She was reportedly the "Toast of Palm Springs." LOL

[@davidcawrowl3865]

lol@ "Well, we have a surprise for you Peter." Brought the house down!

[@jimisi7424]

This is comedy gold!

[@dsantamaria713]

Loved these two .

[@scottrooney8954]

Really awesome from Pete and Dud

[@rhythman69uk]

Although this looks like it is utterly ad libbed, and to an extent, some of it is, it is actually a sketch they both did many years before as I have it on cassette, called, 'Dud Dreams' and is pretty much the same thing. But its a rare and obscure sketch, so its nice to hear it again here.

[@pressureworks]

They are nearly doing their Derek & Clive routine.

[@MillwallOlly]

The Dick Cavett show really gives me the horn.

[@pressureworks]

@@MillwallOlly Zsa Zsa used to give me the Horn.

[@Justanoldrunner]

“In Hungary, Zsa means Sirhan” Dennis Miller

[@hensonlaura]

That's very funny!

[@CrueLoaf]

Genius! Give them an idea and off they run!

[@eshaibraheem4218]

Wonderful.

[@TerrorballNoise]

Dudley Moore was the best 007

[@Tanis-H-Elf]

Pete did an appearance late in his career on a chat show with Clive Anderson, worth watching if you can…I remember him saying he had been in the Henry Ford clinic, a very tough regime, you have to build a car before you are let out…..

[@eddiealexander5276]

In the days where chat shows were chat shows and focused on the guests and not self aggrandisement like Graham Norton

[@wymple09]

Dudley's Arthur was one of the finest movies ever made.

[@tolkienfan1972]

I enjoy the entire adlib rather more than the little part about Zsa Zsa. Fantastic stuff. The title got the click tho :-)

[@thrunsguinneabottle3066]

I know what it is to be rude unintentionally. When I worked for Monsanto in Brussels, I had a telephone call all the way from the USA, where the HQ was located. I made some flippant opening remark, which my interlocutor took to be an insult. It wasn't. But I couldn't think how to correct the situation without making myself sound like an imbecile. So I toughed it out. I never got another telephone call from him.

[@stevenmorley1639]

Peter rocking Double Denim, cool . Seriously folks a great Comedy Duo and deserve Classic status 😊

[@martshankleman]

Love Pete and Dud, but it’s bit of a cheek to claim the womb sketch was made up on the spot. I remember vividly it from their 60’s BBC show ‘Not Only But Also’. In original version Dud climbed into the wardrobe and refused to get out saying ‘I love it in here’ . They changed one reference though for American audience, the joke about the Mets. In the original version Dud’s dad comes home drunk because Fulham, a London soccer team, had won the cup. But it’s marvellous to the two enjoying each other’s company. Offstage Dud was getting fed up with Pete’s rampant drinking.

[@jonhelmer8591]

Too funny!

[@exqsit]

They were BRILLIANT...

[@Twirlyhead]

_Chauffeur driven huff._ LOL.

[@rsteph6010]

I remember watching this when it first aired. I knew it when Moore made the remark about reading Freud in a precis verion on a matchbook cover. Also Douglas defending the Gabors.

[@npriorejr]

"Commited suicide..for personal reasons" very funny.

[@BabyFaceBren]

Damn! He keeps saying “Dud and Pete” after Pete corrected him the first time (Pete and Dud)

[@Jamie-js3qw]

"Two knobs and brown creaky drawers" (drawers means underpants in uk English) that was clever!

[@davis7099]

the talent these performers could turn on, improvising on cue, to a request by Cavett. Noir actress Veronica Lake died a few weeks before this show was broadcast and was supposed to have been a guest. Forward to today, I cant watch Graham Norton , the camp Cavett of our age, because todays actors are so vacuous and empty headed. Does anyone else agree?

[@benbunyip]

Maybe they’ve lost touch and they are all risk adverse now. And who can blame them.

[@388Caroline]

I agree. The world is a bore now🙄

[@sunrajah]

would it be too much to ask what the date of this show was, as opposed to when it was posted?

[@MobinKiadeh]

4th October 1973, it's in the description.

[@damamae950]

Dudley Moore was one of the cutest men of the Seventies

[@dianal.clausen8118]

I think he was "forever" cute 💖

[@pizzaDhut]

"I think two people will fill the Plymouth".

[@carmelaalbanese124]

"The funniest man who ever drew breath"

[@spinynormanbest6410]

Was Spike Milligan

[@ritchski1]

Old Kirk was reaching there a bit.

[@bakedbean37]

Dirk carrying some water there.

[@bob6432]

Douglas didn't like her getting critized but (he's probably going to her party so he can't afford to laugh) ....you hear it on the Oscar Night every year. "And this years prize goes to Sandra Bullock in------"...and the nominated Meryl Streep applauds, smiles as if to say "you deserved it" whilst at the same time she's fuming inside and thinking "you bitch". Hollywood, a bunch of hypocrites who all pretend to love each other. Peter was the only one who had enough guts to say what he thought about her. I could only imagine Ricky Gervais "I don't care" saying this, so he'd probably have had the same comment from Douglas.

[@EmilyHartley25989]

@Derek & Clive I think it may be possible Kirk defended Zsa Zsa because she was in a position to protect or defend him in some way.

[@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry]

@@EmilyHartley25989 I agree. Mutual cover-our-bums society. It's also possible he was more than "just good friends" with one or more of the Gabors.

[@RonJohn63]

"Reirthing" was a psychological fad in the 1970s.

[@hippojuice23]

Dudley as Ozzie! 😆

[@Lisa1111]

Right on Kirk for having your friend's backs. Justified or not 😉

[@Monkofmagnesia]

7:45, Cavett tried to get them to do Pet abd Dud again but they refused. Good for them! They were no ones performing dogs!

[@infonut]

WOW! Makes me wonder what Zsa Zsa ever had on Kirk.

[@EmilyHartley25989]

I thought the same.

[@jefferystevenson3820]

Natalie Wood

[@dericdomino]

you want to mess with a chick thats not afraid to smack a cop?

[@paulthomas1480]

George Sanders didn't think much of the Gabors and he was married to one of them (Zsa Zsa, I believe)!

[@roadsidediner-video2792]

Yes, he married two of them. He (George Sanders) was a wife beater. He was even proud of it. He had a phrase that he liked to use, "Wives are like dogs, the beater you beat them the better they be"

[@candicechristian7344]

Zsa Zsa and Magda

[@be8nice]

@@candicechristian7344 Zsa Zsa said, "I really loved George. The problem was, so did George."

[@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry]

Well then, I guess he had at least two "personal reasons" for committing suicide!

[@barryroach1980]

Why can't Dick remember its Pete and Dud not Dud and Pete, he was corrected by Pete but ignored it. Pete may have been middle class and had so much talent but he never made it like Dud did in life , and I think it was his nemesis that this could have happened.

[@scottcurrie]

I must have missed the bit about Zsa Zsa...

[@MsGrinny]

They don't make 'em like that anymore! Shame!

[@savage_skirt5386]

whoops.... funny story ruined by Kirk Douglas.

[@Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry]

Kirk was just protecting his supply. Probably more than "just good friends" with the Gabor sisters.

[@sgu02nsc66]

And yet Peter replied honestly and eloquently.

[@cedrikmichelofficiel]

😂😂

[@RTSOB1]

Peter was quite close to the truth. The Gabors were the Kardashians of their day, famous for being famous.

[@gavinreid8937]

You forget watching it on YT, Pete couldnt look at CDs , DVDs or netflix early 70s , so if it wasnt written down or rehearsed, he,d forget it.,,.

[@QuinnHamelin]

Well i think he was being rude on purpose because she was hogging all the tv time when in fact she had been on plenty of shows at the time as he said. I've seen other guest get mad at her for the same reason she'd come on and talk the whole time while the other guest keeps trying to jump in, this was well known for her if you watch some of her other interviews, it is acutally rude of her to do that but there's a limited time so you gotta promote for yourself and make that money if the other person is too shy to jump in or take over then the host should make sure the guests gets equal time to promote their projects or whatever. He may be justified but he was definitely rude on purpose.

[@glennmartin6492]

The Gabors were the Kardashians of their time.

[@gaysy1st]

The more I see of Dud, the more he reminds me of Delboy.

[@Lytton333]

The skit was (if you'll pardon the pun) obviously conceived before hand.

[@cratecruncher6687]

Wasn't Zsa Zsa arrested years later for assaulting a traffic cop? She warned him not to write that ticket.

[@stephenreeds3672]

He was spot on. Why was Gabor famous?

[@Shazbut0191]

Kirk was a class act

[@jmp01a24]

His son looks like his dad did.

[@LeathanL]

Am I crazy, or were celebrities much more intelligent and articulate 50 years ago?

[@PaulMcCaffreyfmac]

Cavett really can't get it into his head that it's Pete and Dud

[@Mc007Queen]

😂 why is Dudley Moore talking with a heavy accent LOL . Looks and talks like he's drunk

[@tooyoungtobeold8756]

Cavett keeps calling the me Dud and Pete, but its the other way round.

[@philipusher4282]

At 4:50, is this the first ever your momma joke on TV?

[@patrickhicks9880]

the gabors were the kardashians of the olden days whenever this was from

[@hughtierneytierney3585]

Up Joan Crawford!