Actor, Comedian. Born in Torquay, Devonshire, the son of Alec Cook, a diplomat, and his wife Margaret (nee Mayo), he was educated at Radley and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He intended to follow his father into the diplomatic corps but, while still attending the University, began writing sketches which were performed in the West End. After he graduated, he wrote and performed in "Beyond the Fringe" with Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore. This ran for several years in both London and Broadway. At this time, he became both the proprietor of the short-lived nightclub "The Establishment" and the major shareholder in "Private Eye magazine." In 1965, he re-united with Dudley Moore for three series of "Not Only ... But Also" on B.B.C television (most of these recordings are now lost). With Moore, he made five feature films (the most acclaimed of which is "Bedazzled"), as well as several gramophone records, both as Pete and Dud, and Derek and Clive. The pair then toured as "Behind the Fridge" in Australia, New Zealand, London and North America (where the show was retitled "Good Evening"). After this, however, Moore refused to work with him again, on the grounds that the latter's alcoholism had made him impossible. Over the next twenty years, Peter Cook continued to make frequent cameo appearances on film and television, until his death at the Royal Free Hospital. He was cremated at Golders Green, and his ashes are buried in an unmarked plot behind St. John's Church in Hampstead, not far from his house in Perrins Walk.
Actor, Comedian. Born in Torquay, Devonshire, the son of Alec Cook, a diplomat, and his wife Margaret (nee Mayo), he was educated at Radley and Pembroke College, Cambridge. He intended to follow his father into the diplomatic corps but, while still attending the University, began writing sketches which were performed in the West End. After he graduated, he wrote and performed in "Beyond the Fringe" with Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, and Dudley Moore. This ran for several years in both London and Broadway. At this time, he became both the proprietor of the short-lived nightclub "The Establishment" and the major shareholder in "Private Eye magazine." In 1965, he re-united with Dudley Moore for three series of "Not Only ... But Also" on B.B.C television (most of these recordings are now lost). With Moore, he made five feature films (the most acclaimed of which is "Bedazzled"), as well as several gramophone records, both as Pete and Dud, and Derek and Clive. The pair then toured as "Behind the Fridge" in Australia, New Zealand, London and North America (where the show was retitled "Good Evening"). After this, however, Moore refused to work with him again, on the grounds that the latter's alcoholism had made him impossible. Over the next twenty years, Peter Cook continued to make frequent cameo appearances on film and television, until his death at the Royal Free Hospital. He was cremated at Golders Green, and his ashes are buried in an unmarked plot behind St. John's Church in Hampstead, not far from his house in Perrins Walk.
Bio by: Iain MacFarlaine
Inscription
Peter Edward Cook. Dearly Loved. Writer Performer. Satirist. Husband. Father. Brother. 1937 - 1995
Family Members
Advertisement
