A tremendous biography that really captures the humour of its much loved subject – some parts are laugh-aloud gems … and then comes the sadness – the slow decline. It is a sympathetic portrait with little criticism and lots of love. A great read.
'There are those who say – and Peter Cook himself was among them – that most of his humour was autobiographical. Others – and Peter Cook himself was among them -contend that this simply isn`t the case. The truth, of course, lies somewhere in the middle.'
Peter Cook made President Kennedy wait in line to see him and visited Elizabeth Taylor in her dressing room. He befriended tramps and fundraised for CND. He was capable of extraordinary kindnesses and occasional cruelties. He helped define comedy and satire for a generation, but ended his life a recluse. Harry Thompson has produced the first ever comprehensive biography of this influential and fascinating subject who came up with some of the funniest sketches and greatest jokes of all time.
'The portrait that emerges of Peter Cook himself is totally beguiling...This book is more than a biography, it is a great work of social history' - Spectator
'[A] definitive biography...as heartbreaking as it is entertaining' Times Literary Supplement
Author
About Harry Thompson
Harry Thompson was the inventor and editor of many TV comedy series including Have I Got News For You and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He was the author of acclaimed bestsellers, including Peter Cook: A Biography. His most recent book was a historical novel, This Thing of Darkness. He worked as a producer at Talkback TV and in his spare time ran an infamous cricket team, the Captain Scott XI. He died in November 2005.
