Philosophy
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere,
This week we celebrate the feast of Saint Dudley. Unfortunately, in America we tend to think of Dudley Moore in terms of the silly films Arthur and 10, but he in fact was quite the comedian in England for decades before.
Always short -- reaching only 5'2" in adulthood -- and having been born with a club foot, he was picked on mercilessly as a child. This led to his quick wit as a defense and, as a result of his inability to run and play like the other kids, taking up music seriously. He was a gifted pianist, something often featured in his later comedy.
His comedy career started with the British satire troupe Beyond the Fringe where he met Peter Cook. Later Moore had a BBC series called "Not Only...But Also" on which he had Cook as a guest. The two recognized the chemistry and saw each other as great talents and formed a comedy team that would last decades.
At first, they called themselves "Pete and Dud" and did some classic straight ahead sketch comedy. Moore from a working class background and Cook from a bourgeois setting found that they could play off of their differences in ways that were both funny and socially relevant. Their most well known bit was "One Leg Too Few"
In the 1970s, they transformed the act into Derek and Clive, a British shock comedy act well known for its use of foul language and incredibly funny and inane conversations on all sorts of topics that would inevitably turn sexual or scatological. It was often improvised and one could see them vying for the opportunity to crack each other up. It was like watching a competition between them. Moore and Cook were the British equivalents of Carlin and Pryor, pushing the boundaries, testing the limits of expression in a way that threw light on the politics of times.
The act became strained and the competition turned nasty. Cook had acquired a drinking problem and resentments between began to come out in the bits which had taken on a much nastier tone. Ultimately, it led to a complete falling out between them. The two would come back together in the late 80s occasionally, but they were never to pick up with any new material.
When Cook died in 1995, it hit Moore hard, and he himself became sick with terrible degenerative disease that claimed him in 2002 on the same day as Milton Berle.
Thank you Saint Dudley for all the laughs.
Live, love, and laugh,
Irreverend Steve
- The Feast Of Saint Martin
My Fellow Comedists, This weekend, we celebrate the feast of Saint Martin. Martin Lawrence turns 45 today. There is a long tradition of African-American stand-up comics who were major players in every generation, from Moms Mabley to Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory...
- The Feast Of Saint Miltie
My Fellow Comedists, This week we celebrate the feast of Saint Miltie on what would have been Milton Berle's 101st birthday. He had one of the longest and most influential careers in 20th century comedy. Beginning as a child actor in silent films,...
- Rip Ed Mcmahan
My Fellow Comedists, This week we mourn the passing of Ed McMahan whose number finally came up in the great Publishers' Clearinghouse Sweepstakes in the sky. For the viewing, he has been hermetically sealed in a mayonaisse jar on Funk and Wagnall's...
- Feast Of Saint Tommy
My Fellow Comedists, This week saw the feast day of Saint Tommy. Tommy Chong turned 71. Actually, I'm not sure if it was a feast day or if I just really has serious munchies, man. Born to a Chinese father and a Scotch-Irish mother in Canada, he received...
- Feast Of Saint Peter
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This week we celebrate the feast of Saint Peter. Peter Sellers would be 83 this year. A master of sketch comedy if there ever was one, Peter Sellers was born the son of an extremely overprotective...
Philosophy
Feast of Saint Dudley
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere,
This week we celebrate the feast of Saint Dudley. Unfortunately, in America we tend to think of Dudley Moore in terms of the silly films Arthur and 10, but he in fact was quite the comedian in England for decades before.
Always short -- reaching only 5'2" in adulthood -- and having been born with a club foot, he was picked on mercilessly as a child. This led to his quick wit as a defense and, as a result of his inability to run and play like the other kids, taking up music seriously. He was a gifted pianist, something often featured in his later comedy.
His comedy career started with the British satire troupe Beyond the Fringe where he met Peter Cook. Later Moore had a BBC series called "Not Only...But Also" on which he had Cook as a guest. The two recognized the chemistry and saw each other as great talents and formed a comedy team that would last decades.
At first, they called themselves "Pete and Dud" and did some classic straight ahead sketch comedy. Moore from a working class background and Cook from a bourgeois setting found that they could play off of their differences in ways that were both funny and socially relevant. Their most well known bit was "One Leg Too Few"
In the 1970s, they transformed the act into Derek and Clive, a British shock comedy act well known for its use of foul language and incredibly funny and inane conversations on all sorts of topics that would inevitably turn sexual or scatological. It was often improvised and one could see them vying for the opportunity to crack each other up. It was like watching a competition between them. Moore and Cook were the British equivalents of Carlin and Pryor, pushing the boundaries, testing the limits of expression in a way that threw light on the politics of times.
The act became strained and the competition turned nasty. Cook had acquired a drinking problem and resentments between began to come out in the bits which had taken on a much nastier tone. Ultimately, it led to a complete falling out between them. The two would come back together in the late 80s occasionally, but they were never to pick up with any new material.
When Cook died in 1995, it hit Moore hard, and he himself became sick with terrible degenerative disease that claimed him in 2002 on the same day as Milton Berle.
Thank you Saint Dudley for all the laughs.
Live, love, and laugh,
Irreverend Steve
- The Feast Of Saint Martin
My Fellow Comedists, This weekend, we celebrate the feast of Saint Martin. Martin Lawrence turns 45 today. There is a long tradition of African-American stand-up comics who were major players in every generation, from Moms Mabley to Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory...
- The Feast Of Saint Miltie
My Fellow Comedists, This week we celebrate the feast of Saint Miltie on what would have been Milton Berle's 101st birthday. He had one of the longest and most influential careers in 20th century comedy. Beginning as a child actor in silent films,...
- Rip Ed Mcmahan
My Fellow Comedists, This week we mourn the passing of Ed McMahan whose number finally came up in the great Publishers' Clearinghouse Sweepstakes in the sky. For the viewing, he has been hermetically sealed in a mayonaisse jar on Funk and Wagnall's...
- Feast Of Saint Tommy
My Fellow Comedists, This week saw the feast day of Saint Tommy. Tommy Chong turned 71. Actually, I'm not sure if it was a feast day or if I just really has serious munchies, man. Born to a Chinese father and a Scotch-Irish mother in Canada, he received...
- Feast Of Saint Peter
Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This week we celebrate the feast of Saint Peter. Peter Sellers would be 83 this year. A master of sketch comedy if there ever was one, Peter Sellers was born the son of an extremely overprotective...