Trivia

Former comedy partner Dudley Moore was said to have based his title performance in Arthur (1981) partly on Cook, whose excessive drinking had soured his and Moore's comedic partnership in the 1970s.

He occasionally called in to Clive Bull's night-time phone-in radio show on LBC in London. Using the name "Sven from Swiss Cottage," he mused on love, loneliness, and herrings in a mock Norwegian accent. Jokes included Sven's attempts to find his estranged wife, in which he often claimed to be telephoning the show from all over the world, and his hatred of the Norwegian obsession with fish. While Bull was clearly aware that Sven was fictional, he only later learned of his real identity.

He complained that David Frost's success was based on copying Cook's own stage persona and Cook dubbed him "the bubonic plagiarist", and said that his only regret in life, according to Alan Bennett, had been saving Frost from drowning. This incident occurred in the summer of 1963, when the rivalry between the two men was at its height. Cook had realised that Frost's potential drowning would have looked deliberate if he had not been rescued.

He and his third wife Lin lived in separate houses 100 yards apart in Hampstead.

Voted greatest comedian of all time in a poll of comedians. 2005.

Founder and proprietor (under pseudonym Lord Gnome) of British satirical magazine 'Private Eye'

He was considered for Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971).

Had two daughters with his first wife, Wendy Snowden: Lucy in 1964 and Daisy, who is now an artist, in 1965.

Had a degree in Modern Languages from Pembroke College, Cambridge.

In 1999 the minor planet 20468 Petercook, in the main asteroid belt, was named after him.

His father was a diplomat.

Has won two Special Tony Awards: in 1963, along with his "Beyond the Fringe" co-stars Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore, "for their brilliance which has shattered all the old concepts of comedy," in a show that was recreated in a television version of the same title, Beyond the Fringe (1964); and in 1974, shared with co-author and co-star Dudley Moore for their show "Good Evening."

He was one of five comedians pictured on a set of UK postage stamps issued 23 April 1998. His caricatured likeness was on the 63p stamp. The other comedians honored were Tommy Cooper (20p), Eric Morecambe (26p), Joyce Grenfell (37p), and Les Dawson (43p).

He had his daughter Lucy appear in a sketch for "Not Only, But Also" during the third episode of the series; she was an infant at the time. The segment was "Incidents in the Life of my Uncle Arly" (an Edward Lear poem).

Was a member of the prestigious Cambridge University Footlights Club and, later, became President of the Footlights Club.

Ran the "The Establishment Club" in Greek Street, Soho, London from October 1961 - September 1962. The cradle of the 1960s satire boom.

He was considered to voice Zazu in The Lion King (1994).

John Lennon once told Peter and Wendy, his wife at the time, that the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was written for their older daughter Lucy, although it has been stated that the song was inspired by a picture that John Lennon's son Julian Lennon had drawn of his childhood friend Lucy.

Comic creations include E.L. Wisty and Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling.

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 117-118. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

He was considered to voice Basil in The Great Mouse Detective (1986).

He was in the running to play Noël Coward in Star! (1968).

Peter was educated at Radley College Cambridge, where he became involved in university theatricals and began to write revue material that got him into West End Revues.

Hs father was a colonial office official in Nigeria.

Educated at Radley College, Cambridge, he became involved in university theatricals and began to write revue material which got into West End revues.

His daughters with Wendy Snowden were Lucy, born on May 5, 1964, and Daisy, born on September 10, 1965.

As of 1985, was the majority shareholder in the Private Eye magazine.