Peter Cook

Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishment comedic movement that emerged in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s. Born in Torquay, he was educated at the University of Cambridge. There he became involved with the Footlights Club, of which he later became president. After graduating, 1960 saw him create the comedy stage revue Beyond the Fringe, alongside Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore. In 1961, Cook opened the comedy club The Establishment in Soho. After leaving Beyond the Fringe, Cook and Moore began a television career with the sketch comedy show Not Only... But Also in 1965. Cook's deadpan monologues contrasted with Moore's buffoonery. They received the 1966 British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance. Following the success of the show, the duo appeared together in the films The Wrong Box (1966) and Bedazzled (1967). The 1970s saw Cook and Moore work on a final series of Not Only... But Also, several stand-up tours, and the Derek and Clive series of comedy albums. After 1978, Cook no longer collaborated with Moore, apart from a few cameo appearances, but continued to be a regular performer in British television and film. Referred to as "the father of modern satire" by The Guardian in 2005, Cook was ranked number one in the Comedians' Comedian, a poll of more than 300 comics, comedy writers, producers and directors in the English-speaking world.