Well then. I’ve been reading a lot and this makes me feel like writing. The most recent book I read was Harry Thompson’s biography on Peter Cook, which I finished in the span of a week long dull but relaxing vacation. Even though I just sort of got interested in Peter Cook (& Dudley Moore) I can’t remember what exactly it was that sparked it. I think it was this particular sketch from their show Not Only… But Also that featured Peter Sellers as the boxer-cum-painter character. I watched it because of Sellers of course but I couldn’t help but become a little charmed and curious about Peter and Dudley. I posted the video of the sketch on my Tumblr talking about how I wish Peter Sellers did more sketch comedy, and an account dedicated to Peter Cook reblogged it, which I suppose sparked a little more interest. In my explorations of British comedy of course I had heard the name Peter Cook and of course I had seen the movie Arthur (1981) but I knew nothing that interesting or intimate about these two guys. I was growing bored and curious so I did a minor bit of research and then watched Beyond the Fringe, which I think is now due for a rewatch so I can enjoy it more. I liked Beyond the Fringe because it’s the sort of British comedy that I like and it reminded me of Monty Python. I think in a way it serves as the sort of bridge between The Goon Show and Monty Python, chronologically but also stylistically. Although the three of them are very similar in style I think and have much of the same attributes. But also in the sense that Monty Python feels like if The Goon Show and Beyond the Fringe had a baby. I don’t think I’m smart enough to fully analyze the different styles of comedy and their histories and things like that, but I will say I think The Goon Show is very satirical in its own way. I think Beyond the Fringe sort of builds on the ideas of The Goon Show but brings them down to Earth, which allows for the satire to sort of stand on its own instead of becoming slightly muddled in absurdity and surrealism. Certainly some of the characters in the Goon Show could be said to be satirized versions of real people and the institutions they represent, I’m thinking of Bloodnok specifically, who is a pathetic, sweaty and greedy military man and essentially all the failures of the British military and British imperialism personified. There’s a spark of satire there I think in all the humor surrounding Bloodnok. However, the Goon Show is very much rooted in absurdism, and a part of the trend of the artistic post-war disillusionment and surrealism. The constant barrage of explosive sound effects and surrealistic destruction and death is certainly an expression of Spike Milligan’s horrific wartime experiences. These darker themes are shrouded in the humor that comes from absurdity of course. But I think it all leads into the more obvious forms of satire presented in Beyond the Fringe and Monty Python. Monty Python I think takes the satirical edge of Beyond the Fringe and injects the absurdism and surrealism back into it. But their sketches tend to lean more to one side or the other and are never really a perfect blend of the two that I can think of. Some sketches are more absurd and some are more satirical.
Anyways I wanted to talk about Peter Cook, who I firmly believe was bisexual. I have little evidence for this, but I believe it to be true. I think he was dependent on the affection of others and didn’t care who it was coming from; he just needed it desperately. He seemed to love with his entire being and had a hard time letting go of people he knew he depended on. Judy (his 2nd wife) and Dudley (his work wife) are the main examples here. I think it's interesting how badly his and Dudley’s falling out affected him. It really tore him apart and everything sort of collapsed in his life after it. This was because he was highly dependent on Dudley and loved him more than anything but Dudley didn’t really love him back in the same way I don’t think. Dudley didn’t really need Peter the way Peter needed him I think…………….. I think about ‘Derek & Clive Get the Horn’ a LOT. I rewatched some of it today. It seems to me to be Peter's last and desperate attempt to get Dudley to not divorce him. And it certainly has the vibe of a bitter married couple who can’t live with each other anymore, and Peter’s pathetic attempts at seducing Dudley back into making sketches with him. Quite literally. I know Peter was drunk throughout the filming, it’s quite obvious I think, but he seemed to have homosexuality on his mind during the recording in a way that feels sort of genuine… And interesting to me that his first thought to end an ongoing sketch was to threaten Dudley with a kiss, something which he leans over to do multiple times throughout the recording. I feel that if Dudley hadn’t protected himself Peter would’ve carried through. He is dedicated to the bit, one cannot deny that. He then accuses Dudley of being afraid of the truth about his “raving homosexuality” and keeps prodding him about not being able to “take a kiss in public”.... “Not even a grecian kiss? After all these years of slaving together…” It seems to reflect ever so slightly perhaps Peter’s genuine feelings about their relationship I think……..Although it can also be argued that Peter gets a sort of enjoyment out of seeing Dudley squirm, but Alex Games (author of the book Pete & Dud: an Illustrated Biography) argues that that too is almost sexual in nature. It should also be noted that every discussion about things that give Clive (Peter) “the horn” are about men. I know this is part of the joke but it is interesting to me when you compare it to the Pete & Dud conversations which are famously largely focused on various actresses and their “busty substances” and women’s undergarments and things of that nature. Derek & Clive are extremely misogynistic in nature but also subsequently very homosexual in comparison. Listen to any Derek and Clive album and this will make itself apparent quite quickly I think… violence towards women and frequent references to gay sex. Clive says the Pope’s corpse gives him the horn, as well as an oak door and Lord Longford. There is also of course the sketch titled ‘Sir’ featured in this recording which is basically Peter’s little rant in this schoolboy character talking about being sodomized by his schoolmaster as punishment for watching another boy masturbating in the bushes. Peter’s own public school upbringing at Radley and previous statements about possible homosexual experiences there lead one to wonder… (as a side note it's interesting to me that Peter never really outright rejects the homosexuality that likely went on at Radley. In his Parkinson interview after talking about a prefect who made advances on him by petting his back he goes on to say that he didn’t actually mind the petting because it was a pleasurable feeling… even the way he doesn’t name the fella and calls him a “dirty sod” in the most affectionate tone of voice makes one's mind wonder a bit…..there’s also the Playboy interview quote of him being asked how he lost his virginity at school and him jokingly (?) retorting “at which end?”). Peter continues to try and kiss Dudley and gets seemingly genuinely offended/hurt when Dudley continuously rejects him. Dudley calls him “a bit of a poofter” and when they’re jokingly play fighting later in the recording, Dudley grabs Peter from behind, wrapping his arms around Peter’s waist, to which Peter says “Ah at last! Now we see… homosexual, as I said…”. Towards the end of the recording Peter sort of exhaustedly tells Dudley that he wanted to marry him, sounding sort of defeated when Dudley rejects him once again:
Peter: “I want to marry you”
Dudley: “No..”
Peter: “Why not? You said you’d marry me..”
Dudley: “No I didn’t… I said I’d marry her [the blow up doll]”
Peter: “Oh… sorry. My mistake…”
Knowing the state of their relationships and personal lives during the time of recording I think this once again sort of reflects an aspect of their relationship with each other even if it is a joking little conversation. The rest of the recording descends into a lot of violence towards the blow up doll, jokingly or not its rather ghastly and misogynistic. I would like to note that at this point the blow up doll’s vaginal cavity has inverted to resemble a penis, which continually pops out even after they try to shove it back in. I think this sort of wraps up all the themes of this awful movie. The final scene has the two of them standing in front of a chalk board. Peter says: “My personal thanks go to Dudley Moore, who is behind this screen…and unbeknownst to you I am feelin’ up his asshole like this you see… no one will ever know.” So you know.There’s also some stuff before where Dudley points out the cameraman’s above average cock which Peter takes some interest in. Later in the recording Peter reaches over and gropes said cameraman’s cock and balls. SO . you know.
Beyond Derek & Clive, and even beyond Dudley Moore there was this random quote from Harry Thompson’s biography that never gets elaborated on where one of Peter’s friends, Willie Donaldson, says that all they talked about was “drugs and pornographic videos. He’d tell me about gay sex and scoring cocaine in New York at four in the morning.” Well obviously its the gay sex part that interests me the most and one can make the educated guess from previous paragraphs that talk about Peter’s proclivity for porn tapes that his consumption of them would possibly include gay pornography. Why was he talking about gay sex? What did he have to say about it? Is he speaking from experience? These are the questions on this blog writer's mind…… Ever since the 1970’s it seems Peter grew a little more open about queerness in his comedy and it was honestly frequently a part of it during and after the 70s. Although this also fits with my theory that every man gets gayer as they age and it peaks at age 40. There’s a sketch he wrote for Peter Cook & Co. that I’m thinking of that involves Rowan Atkinson repeatedly questioning Terry Jones on the train if he’s gay or not. Another more obvious and tongue-in-cheek quote from the Harry Thompson biography book is Peter writing “I am gay and have not always been faithful to Dudley” in a column for the Daily Mail I believe. I have no clue what the context is beyond that and I honestly can’t find any evidence of this quote at all aside from the book. Anyways. I’m growing quite sleepy. It’s not very late as I’m writing this but I get tired easily. I think Peter Cook was queer. I believe this in my heart of hearts to be true. He was very pretty and men were attracted to him sometimes and I don’t think he minded. He also is quite feminine in nature, which is something he admits himself. And also he’s extremely EXTREMELY limp wristed. And often campy. I think he was queer. Likely bisexual. Who knows.
If you also think Peter Cook was queer leave a comment down below. If you don't I don't want to hear from you. Thank you for reading. I love you.
- Germ