Peter Cook Tribute

Cook's significance to modern British comedy is regarded as immense: he is acknowledged as the main influence on a long stream of comedians who have followed him from the amateur dramatic clubs of British universities to the Edinburgh festival, and thence to the radio and television studios of the BBC. Notable fans include all the members of Monty Python's Flying Circus, and, more recently, the aforementioned Chris Morris.
Many people feel that, like Spike Milligan, Cook broke so much new ground during the 1960 to 1965 period that later comics had relatively little left to break themselves. Some have seen Cook's life as tragic, in so far as the brilliance he exhibited in his youth did not fully lead to the recognition many thought he deserved. In his lifetime, Cook himself was constantly aware that some thought that he had not achieved or continued his early potential. He was disdainful of this view, and had no particular desire to achieve sustained career success as traditionally measured. Instead, Cook assessed his own happiness by the quality of his personal friendships and his overall enjoyment of life.
Ten years after his death, in January 2005, Peter Cook was ranked number one in a list entitled The Comedian's Comedian, a poll of more than 300 comics, comedy writers, producers, and directors throughout the Anglosphere and shown on Channel 4 in the UK. He finished ahead of other important, legendary comics such Groucho Marx, John Cleese, Eric Morecambe, Laurel and Hardy, Bill Hicks and Woody Allen. Coincidentally, the same week that programme was shown, Channel 4 broadcast Not Only But Always, a well-received television movie dramatising the relationship between Cook and Moore, with Welsh actor Rhys Ifans portraying Cook. In August 2005 a stage play, written by Chris Bartlett and Nick Awde and examining the relationship from Moore's point of view, Pete and Dud: Come Again, was a sellout hit at the Assembly Rooms as part of the Edinburgh Fringe, before transferring to The Venue in London's West End in March 2006. English actor Tom Goodman-Hill played Cook.
A bar at the Melbourne Town Hall, frequently visited by comedians and fans during the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, is named the Peter Cook Bar.
Craig Ferguson was mentored early in his career by Cook.