Catfish is shit. Peter Cook is a cult hero.

I watched Catfish yesterday.  It was tremendous.  I have never thought something could be THAT good at being SO shit.  I concede to More4 (TV channel) had me gripped.  It was advertised really very well.  It was made to look far more sinister than it actually was but, it was just an intense let down. 

It began with some douche who is a photographer who found an 8 year old girl on facebook.  She was an artist.  She was something of a prodigy.  He began to send her photographs so that she could paint them, which she did, exceptionally well, it must be said.  It was almost too good for just an 8 year old but, I suppose that’s what a prodigy is.  So, as the documentary dragged on, it expressed his getting to know the little girl and her family.  The more he got to know them he developed deeper relationship with the mother of the family.  He got to know the little girl’s half sister and he began talking to her more and more and he started to – from what I can see – fall for her.  Naturally he wanted to travel across the states to go and visit ‘his love’ (gay) and meet the rest of her family.  I say naturally because, as aforementioned, the dude was a stupid cunting douchebag.  Is that not just weird as fuck?! 

“Hey, I got to know you on Facebook so I’ll travel 500 miles to come meet you because thats normal!”

Things began to sour for him as he realised certain things did not add up.  Upon showing up unannounced at the mother’s house, as she was the only one he had spoken to for more than 20 seconds, he realised that it was all a total fabrication.  The mother had created 15 Facebook accounts and she was a compulsive liar.  It was not her 8 year old daughter who was the painter, it was her.  She was the artist. 

Now, when this happens, any normal, self-respecting human being with any semblance of sensibility would just up and leave.  I, personally, would be like

“Bitch, you lie! You lie!! Send me your paintings from hell!” 

I would berate her some more and then leave, never to see or speak to her ever again. 

No, this powerfully emotional penis has kept in touch with her – even on Facebook along with another 731 friends (another painfully annoying cunt with more friends on his Facebook page than there are days in the year).  What a cunting dickcheese!

It was a shit documentary and if you want to waste 2 hours of your life then watch it.  It was in no way moving.  It was creepy, weird and very, very shit.  It reaffirms my stand against Facebook.  FUCK FACEBOOK!  You meet lying dickheads who seek needless attention from other souless, lifeless wankers.

I was on the tube reading ‘Tragically I was an Only Twin’, a book detailing Peter Cook’s rise to comedy heroism and his career thereof.  I was approached by a gentleman in his mid to late 60s.  He said –

“Excuse me; do you know who Peter Cook is?”

I thought at first, what a hysterically pompous prick!  Not only did he interrupt me from reading a book that I need to force myself to put down but it also seemed to be really rather condescending.  But then I realised, and it hurts me sincerely, that I did not live in the generation where the world saw Peter Cook become a cult legend of comedy. 

I looked up and said

“I found Derek and Clive when I was about 13 or 14 and my life changed forever.  I have never looked back.”

He laughed.  We further discussed how genius Peter Cook is.  Truly a pioneer.  I said to him, I love that he is so very cult.  He seemed to disagree with me at first.  I mentioned to him that not many people know about him the same way people knew about comedians like Tommy Cooper or the two Ronnies or Monty Python or Richard Pryor or comedians who are now considered legendary who are still performing today like; Eddie Izzard, Ricky Gervais etc.  Though, when you look at those who do know and love him – John Cleese, Michael Palin, Steven Fry, they all really love him and think he is the greatest.  He agreed.  We both agreed that he has undeniably changed the face of comedy forever.  He left.  I carried on reading.

I really cherished meeting another person who thought Peter Cook was just pure concentrated brilliance.  These moments are few and far between.  As I was reading I realised that he was so far ahead of his time. 

Much love,

Jackson L.

I'VE LOST MY COMEDY!!!!

I will never know what it will be like to live in the times of true comedic genius.  Apart from Eddie Izzard, I have found it really hard to find someone almost as close to be being comparable to Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.  

Peter Cook was born in January 1937 and lived a very fruitful life.  He is considered to be the most influential man in British comedy and described by Stephen Fry as “the funniest man who ever drew breath.”  Having formed a comic partnership with Dudley Moore, in the early 60s the BBC commissioned their television show ‘Not only…But also.’  This was intended for Moore’s music but he had invited Cook to write sketches and appear with him on the show which lasted for three seasons.  In the late 60s they then starred in a few films together; The Wrong Box (1966) and Bedazzled (1967).  By the 70s their success in comedy had propelled them to form podcasts doing sketches.  They adopted the stage names Derek and Clive and it was their risqué humour that gave them more fame.  It became very popular as bootleg copies circulated in London and this gave them the impetus to create two more albums (Derek and Clive: Live, Derek and Clive: Come again and Derek and Clive: Ad Nauseam). 

Peter Cook released his autobiography entitled ‘Tragically I Was An Only Twin’.  This was released by William Cook (no relation apparently) but, sadly Peter Cook had died on January 7th 1995.

One of the best eulogies of anybody ever was given about him by Stephen Fry.  He took comedy shook it up, soaked it and then left it out to dry….and it was all funny!

Dudley Moore was born in April 1935 and also enjoyed a successful life as a comedian, actor and musician!  A very talented man fluently played the piano, very sharp with line liners and a genius in his own right.  From a troubled childhood, his parents would not show him open displays of affection and having been born with clubbed feet, he was bullied from a very young age as only his right foot responded to corrective treatment whereas his left leg – below the knee – was described as ‘withered’.  Having acquired talent on the piano he was given a scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford to study music and composition.  It was during his time there he met Peter Cook. 

His vocation saw him become very successful in Hollywood during the late 70s where he starred alongside Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase in Foul Play and the following year he landed a lead in the hit movie 10, starring Julie Andrews and Bo Derek directed by Blake Edward. 

Dudley Moore unfortunately suffered from a terminal degenerative brain disorder, known as progressive supranuclear palsy.  He died on 27^th March 2002.  His last words were “I can hear the music all around me.”  There is not much one can say about that except – what a beautiful thing to hear before you depart. 

Many iconic comedians have voiced their influences and many prominent ones have mentioned Peter Cook and Dudley Moore such as; John Cleese, Stephen Fry and Michael Palin and many more. 

Although they are no longer providing the world with the greatest humour, their comedy lives on as timeless cult classics that requires and acquired taste.  It is almost like unconditional respect that those who listen to and enjoy Derek and Clive have between each other. 

Here is a favourite sketch by Derek and Clive.  I do hope you enjoy. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTifRi3qDkU 

Lucky old angels, lucky old heaven indeed.  You have inherited comedy legends.

Much love,

Jackson L.