Editing Peter Cook (section)

===1970s===
[[File:Good Evening Dudley Moore Peter Cook 1975.JPG|thumb|Cook (right) and Moore performing in the revue ''Good Evening'' on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]]]
In 1970, Cook took over a project initiated by David Frost for a satirical film about an opinion pollster who rises to become Prime Minister of Great Britain. Under Cook's guidance, the character became modelled on Frost. The film, ''[[The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer]]'', was not a success, although the cast contained notable names (including Cleese and [[Graham Chapman]], who were co-writers).

Cook became a favourite of the [[talk show|chat show]] circuit but his effort at hosting such a show for the BBC in 1971, ''[[Where Do I Sit?]]'', was said by the critics to have been a disappointment. It was axed after only three episodes and was replaced by [[Michael Parkinson]], the start of Parkinson's career as a chat show host. Parkinson later asked Cook what his ambitions were, Cook replied jocularly "[...] in fact, my ambition is to shut you up altogether you see!"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0_xbprZFD0 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/_0_xbprZFD0| archive-date=2021-11-07 | url-status=live|title=Peter Cook on "Parkinson" – Part 2 | date=16 September 2006|publisher=YouTube |access-date=16 September 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Cook and Moore fashioned sketches from ''Not Only....But Also'' and ''Goodbye Again'' with new material into the stage revue called ''Behind the Fridge''. This show toured Australia in 1972, where a TV special was made of it by [[GTV (Australian TV station)|GTV-9]], before transferring to New York City in 1973, retitled as ''Good Evening''. Cook frequently appeared on and off stage the worse for drink. Nonetheless, the show proved very popular and it won [[Tony Award|Tony]] and [[Grammy Award]]s. When it finished, Moore stayed in the United States to pursue his film acting ambitions in Hollywood. Cook returned to Britain and in 1973, married the actress and model [[Judy Huxtable]].{{clarify|reason=Didn't Cook marry Huxtable in New York?|date=October 2021}}

[[File:Peter Cook 1974 (cropped).JPG|thumb|left|175px|Cook in 1974]]
Later, the more risqué humour of Pete and Dud went further on such LPs as "[[Derek and Clive]]". The first recording was initiated by Cook to alleviate boredom during the Broadway run of ''Good Evening'' and used material conceived years before for the two characters but considered too outrageous. One of these audio recordings was also filmed and therein tensions between the duo are seen to rise. [[Chris Blackwell]] circulated [[Bootleg recording|bootleg]] copies to friends in the music business. The popularity of the recording convinced Cook to release it commercially, although Moore was initially reluctant, fearing that his rising fame as a [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] star would be undermined. Two further ''Derek and Clive'' albums were released, the last accompanied by a film.

Cook and Moore hosted ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' on 24 January 1976 during the show's [[Saturday Night Live (season 1)|first season]]. They did a number of their classic stage routines, including "[[One Leg Too Few]]" and "Frog and Peach" among others, in addition to participating in some skits with the show's [[ensemble cast]]. In 1978, Cook appeared on the British music series ''[[Revolver (TV series)|Revolver]]'' as the manager of a ballroom where emerging [[punk rock|punk]] and [[new wave music|new wave]] acts played. For some groups, these were their first appearances on television. Cook's [[caustic humour|acerbic]] commentary was a distinctive aspect of the programme. In 1979, Cook recorded comedy-segments as [[A-side and B-side|B-sides]] to the [[Sparks (band)|Sparks]] 12-inch singles "Number One Song in Heaven" and "Tryouts for the Human Race". The main songwriter [[Ron Mael]] often began with a banal situation in his lyrics and then went at surreal tangents in the style of Cook and [[S. J. Perelman]].