Peter Cook and Dudley Moore on English and American Accents | The Dick Cavett Show
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Date aired - 10/4/1973 - Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Kirk Douglas
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Dick Cavett has been nominated for eleven Emmy awards (the most recent in 2012 for the HBO special, Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again), and won three. Spanning five decades, Dick Cavett’s television career has defined excellence in the interview format. He started at ABC in 1968, and also enjoyed success on PBS, USA, and CNBC.
His most recent television successes were the September 2014 PBS special, Dick Cavett’s Watergate, followed April 2015 by Dick Cavett’s Vietnam. He has appeared in movies, tv specials, tv commercials, and several Broadway plays. He starred in an off-Broadway production ofHellman v. McCarthy in 2014 and reprised the role at Theatre 40 in LA February 2015.
Cavett has published four books beginning with Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), co-authored with Christopher Porterfield. His two recent books -- Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets (2010) and Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic moments, and Assorted Hijinks(October 2014) are both collections of his online opinion column, written for The New York Times since 2007. Additionally, he has written for The New Yorker, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere.
#thedickcavettshow
As a 42 year old Texan, who had no business watching Dudley Moore’s “Arthur” as a child, I admit that he is the reason why I have never had any difficulty understanding real English accents. Thanks for all the laughs Dudley. It was nice meeting you at Santa Monica Beach in 1986. I was only 4 1/2 years old. Rest peacefully!
Just shows how much tv plays apart. The only reason we understand the American accent so clearly is because of the films we grew up listening to.
Love the casual, relaxed conversation style of this show.
drugs do that...
Dick Cav was THE man at that. And a decent human being.
@@jjseandxcefree they’re not on drugs here.
And guests lighting up cigs, it’s another world, so much better imo
Miss these fellows! Witty, creative and charming, their humor was sublime.
1/27/2025. @jamesdrynan, "sublime" Me I want a "sublemon". But how can I find to buy a "sublemon"!
We Aussie love Pete and Dud. I still have VCRs of their greatest show after 30 years.
September 2024 & Dick Cavett is the last one standing. Dirk had an amazing 103 years on this planet. RIP to KD, DM, & PC.
Not sure why this has appeared in my recommended. But I’m glad it did. The 70 s were a great time
Near the end, Peter nearly had Kirk Douglas in tears.
I love Kirk Douglas's amusement at Peter Cook's argument at 8:22. I've just finished his autobio (The Ragman's Son)...currently reading One Leg Too Few about Pete and Dud...and Kirk was every bit as eager to accompany ladies to the bedroom as Dudley was. Quite unashamedly so, according to his book!!
"...I don't know if Secretariat talks different from other horses,,," A brilliant throw away.
Somewhere in an alternate reality, a young BoJack was admiring his hero…
Having grown up watching both British and American TV and movies I have never had a problem understanding either of their accents.
Err... Who said anything to the contrary? Certainly. Not me.
Do buzz off old chap......Got an afternoon to enjoy.
@@patagualianmostly7437 Woh the blaady 'ell are you on abahhht mate? LOL
I was just shy of my 12th birthday when this aired. Even at that young age I loved Dick Cavett. Guests were allowed to talk and weren't interrupted by the host. I don't want to bang on the talk shows of today but it's all about promoting something, like a movie, a few quick jokes, all in about 5 minutes. It's a fast-food world these days where most people couldn't sit and watch this much dialogue.
So true! I loved his style of interview. Ask a probing or leading question...and then let the person answer - however long they wanted to take on the answer, or what tangent they went to. Also loved the HUGE variety of people he'd have booked for any show. Once he had a CHOPIN competition winning concert pianist booked on the same show as Anissa Jones (Buffy) from Family Affair, at age 11!
Well said Steve;
The problem today is the Fast-Food... Fast-fix ...gotta get my nails done... Have I done a Selfie in the last 2 hours? Gotta check my phone... OMG!
Sheer crap and nonsense. The Chinese must be laughing their bits off.
The best laugh is that the USA funded all the Chinese manufacturers!...putting hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work.
(amazing when you consider the Joe McCarthy years.)
But then, the USA has history: They rebuilt Germany and Japan after WW2 whilst ensuring British industry crumbled..... They had no desire that Britain could progress..... rebuild its cities.... make any kind of investment..... Britain paid. And, as a result lost it's industries....its investment in science.
Britain stood alone for two years....1939/41..... And even after WW2...had rationing until 1953......
Whilst Germany & Japan got rebuilt. Invested in.
All with $$$$$$$$$ That Britain provided in repayments..... For 50+ years.....
I know exactly who did that. And they will never be forgiven in my eyes. Ever.
Lousy dirty treacherous SOB's..... Karma has arrived on your shores..... your obessions will be your downfall. I'll be laughing all the way!
Here in Australia, my family and so many others absolutely loved watching Pete and Dud. As they said, it wasn’t complaints from the public. Happy memories watching old Pete and Dud clips on TH-cam.
TWo of the very best. Relaxed, funny with no snobbishness whatso ever. Brilliant pair. And I really loved Dudley's jazz trio who I saw many years ago in Adeladie, south Australia.
Dudley was an excellent musician. A very talented piano player
My uncle (a cellist) studied music at Oxford where he often played with Dud (they were the same age). By all accounts he was truly gifted and could easily have pursued a career as a concert pianist
@@emdiar6588 Thanks for the info
Organ scholar, I believe…
@@ilikezappa Yes, he enjoyed his organ. The pair of them - a twofer one as it were - had many talents.
Dud should have performed 'The Horn' on this show.
Sometimes I love Cavett's interviews and other times it's like ... "Ugh. That's what you ask him?"
Most times ‘love’, occasionally ‘Urgh’ for me.. but I guess we’re all products of our time.
Ha! I feel the same everytime I watch him. I watch him for the guests ramblings, not his sometimes inane questions.
I feel the same way. Dick has his ups and downs.
What sort of questions are you referring to ? I do think Dick Cavett is one of the great talk show hosts, but admittedly he can put his foot in his mouth, can be quite awkward.. but there’s usually real intelligence and class behind it I feel
This is a cracking interview, the random combination of P'n'D AND Kirk Douglas makes it
Yeah...they really bounced along off of each other.... that is class... that is talent.... that is ENTERTAINING! That is why I am here!
Cavett's interview style is like Graham Norton today. Book interesting people and let them chat. Thankfully, Cavett's guests were a who's who of show and political biz of the time. His interviews of Burton, Hepburn, Marx, Brando, Gielgud, Harrison and others are time capsules.
You assessment of Graham Norton's style of interview is absolutely plausible because Cavett's influence can be seen all over the show. Kirk Douglas looking young and vigorous is a treat to his fans.
Loved this show. Dick always gave actors and musicians a place to play live & have good conversations.
Born in the early '50s, I recall how American drama, comedy and (pre-British Invasion) popular music was everywhere in UK cinema and TV-so we Brits were always immersed in US accents, idioms and vocabulary. Conversely, most Americans have always watched very little foreign media, the USA being vast and pretty self-contained. That lifelong exposure to Hollywood, and the fact we Brits watch the politics of the super-powers pretty closely, means we're rather more into American culture than _vice versa._
It's interesting that you mention music because perhaps the greatest influence or invasion as its been called is from British rock but I guess you don't really need to understand the lyrics to appreciate the music do you and most people rarely do. In fact no one really understand Bob Dylan here and he is American.
The problem with that argument is most American accents on tv was had a British inflection from the onset of movies to the 50s, then it changed slightly. If you want to heavy British Americanise accent hear Orson wells.
@@Mulberry2000 True, I mean you still had your James Cagney and Humphry Bogart but yes the mid-atlantic accent was in heavy use. Cary Grant is another example. His accent was probably mid-atlantic, of course being British it made a lot more sense.
@@rockmyballsplease They were taught with a British slant, that is why Hepburn spoke in a clipped manner. She was also very upper class. Which helped a lot. Yes the US has a class system.
@@Mulberry2000 Hepburns another great example.
Yesss more Peter and Dudley!
As a Brit, may I say how much I admire the talent of Kirk Douglas!
Stop creeping.
As an American, I admire Pete & Dud ! (& ignore the OTHER comment...I can't imagine WHY they'd say that!🤔)
Past tense would be more appropriate
@@howardchambers9679 Why "past tense"?...if we are in the present, admiring an entertainer's work, which still exists? Even if the entertainer is no longer here in the flesh, their WORK lives on.
@@bonniesilva5162 no need to shout. "admired" doesn't mean you no longer admire their WORK.
I still remember watching this when I was a kid. I was able to see "Good Evening" a few months later.
I am American, and I Love The varieties of British accents! Adore them! Also, there are a multitude of American accents that I love. Sadly, with the advent of radio and screen play, many are lost. I Love to hear anyone talk. It is super fun to hear everyone’s speech - everyone’s If you don’t have a natural ear for it, or haven’t studied music, take ear training. That will help any profession, even including linguists, translators - even scientists, to learn, differentiate, and appreciate sounds and accents. Even musicians profit by ear training.
They're English accents but they have regional dialects....a British accent is as meaningless as saying everyone from Argentina to Canada has an American accent.
I worked at a large convention hotel near Disneyland for years and one of things I miss the most are all the different accents that would come through there. Truly fascinating how they develop.
Watching this in June 2024. Standards for the press reporting on the peccadillos of politicians and royals certainly changed over my lifetime!
RIP Kirk! +103 years old... amazing man...
I've never had a problem understanding the myriad English accents. I attribute this to my parents, who often took me see British movies at a very young age at a repertory cinema theater, featuring such classics as Great Expectations, the Ealing studio films, and Peter Sellers' early films.
You had a fantastic education.
You’re lucky you didn’t watch Norman Wisdom!
Yeah I think it has mostly to do with exposure. In Britain people watch American films/TV, so they're used to hearing the accent.
Watched Tom Jones as a kid, monty python, blackadder, and of course alec guiness in star wars so that helped. But mostly I enjoy British comedy and drama nowadays especially Graham Norton so I find it easy to follow as well.
It's weird that Dick can't really roll with their humour whereas Kirk absolutely loves it!
He can't roll with the humour because they aren't funny.
They were funny to me.
@@shamteal8614 Well everybody is different. If we all had the same sense of humour the world would be a boring place.
@@lennywebb6740 Did I say any different, I just said they were funny to me but then to be as successful as they were I can't have been alone.
Mat Coburn I met Kirk at an Airport with my Grandparents he was so friendly and kind , and I have a matching chin dimple
I liked seeing Pete light up.
I always admired Dick's style. One of the best interviews I've seen with Peter; he was happy to talk seriously on a subject.
Extraordinary, listening intently to what is said, and then not necessarily replying.
What a Gentleman Kirk Douglas was.
wow how things have changed and yet stayed the same. amazing historical document.
How far our Televisual culture has fallen!...and I was born 13 years after this aired!
Yes. It's terrifying and sad.
I was born 12 years after you! and I like to believe that eventually culture will be elevated back to a high point, it seems to go in cycles. There also seems to be multiple wave shapes of those cycles: small short ones that are reactionary like trends, and long term ones that are a part of (and now controlled by) technology’s progression and the enslavement of the common man by elite economic forces. That enslavement, or rather the environment that it promotes, like a reality cage, locked into notions that aren’t your own looks like what we see today. Most call it corporate media. They manufacture a reality in which their product is important and all faculties of awareness are shut off, and subvert us into accepting it.
Fallen? Years after this came the wave of TV masterpieces such as Twin Peaks, The Sopranos and Mad Men. Television is so much better than it's ever been, particularly agent it comes to fiction. And you can still get plenty of comedy-oriented talk shows if you look for them. Nothing has fallen, there's literally no reason to be nostalgic about any aspect of the good old days.
So grown up. This conversation could not possibly take place today.
Thanks and God bless you Dud.
Oh these two!! Just genius!! Nothing these days comes even close.
1:24 *Both Sadly Missed - when Humour was Fun and not necessarily Politically Correct. RIP Dud & Pete, you were both Great and miss you badly in these troubled times (Coronavirus) 2020*
Great comment.
Love Pete & Dud but disagree with those that think political correctness is a bad thing. The intention is behind it is a good thing.
Totally true.
Classical humanistic values are often nowadays dismissed as political correctness.
Sad!
47 years later, it's the same Queen.
...same ongoing London sex scandal 5:53 too.... Funny that....
Yes! She’s been queen since the ‘50s when Dudley Moore, who’s been dead for a while now, was still a teen.
And we get an extra day off next year for 70 years on the throne!
Elton John
@@hotpotat0es the queen of pop is still standing after all this time.
Pete n Dud we miss you. So funny to see how they could be so in control of an interview. They stayed so on point yet amusing but not ott. Consummate professionals
Spot on. I miss them both..... Way...way ahead of the game back then.... All that followed are mere pilgrims.
do you mean on point as in cooking or on point as in dancing - it's not "to the point" - it's a completely different meaning and is now a cancer in the language.
Dick Cavett was the best ever talk show host.
th-cam.com/video/F73OEFYwluw/w-d-xo.html
I’ve been watching a lot of Mr Cavetts interviews...Joplin, Hendrix, Burton, etc. The man produced brilliant interviews. He is very similar to a brilliant interviewer in Britain called Michael Parkinson. Both have added to both cultures.
Michael parkinson worked on his show. He is on the Joe frazier gym video in this channel.
Same! And he lets his people talk, instead of breaking in every two seconds.
Any Americans reading this should check out Parkinson's Ali interviews. Ali's daughters said in his old age he would spend his time watching them back!
@@peggydeffley2194Exactly. A rare talent nowadays: letting someone express an opinion with out interrupting.
@@ghostofguy Thanks for that. I have now watched that. Joe is one of my all time heroes. An amazing and gentle human being....and terrifying at the same time. I have seen( I am not sure if it is on TH-cam) Michael Parkinson talking about this when he got in the ring, and he said he had the idiocy to give Joe a tap in his face....and Joe, being a boxer, gave him a little tap( and it would have been a tiny ‘tap) in his face...and Parkinson said it felt like being hit by a sledgehammer.😂. Imagine being hit by a very aggressive Joe.😬
Love this channel!
Dick Cavett. One of the greats. Lively yet relaxed. Good style
British humor is the best.
My heroes from way back.
4:07 funny how they never picked up on the sarcasm “propah like” 😂
Fascinating conversation.
Both British guest are great comedians. As well Kurt was a top actor. all could be very funny in an on the spot topical way.
I loved Dudley Moore. He's so cute
Two great and funny men. RIP.
Derrick and Clive just Dying to come out all the time really miss them
You know it's an old clip when the name drops include Spiro Agnew and John Profumo
You know it’s an old clip when it says 1973 in the description.
Peter was not only a comedy genius but an intellectual
Back when talk shows had time to talk.
The key I think...is the host having the intelligence to listen. It's not rocket science...yet few Hosts manage to realise this basic fact.
When talk shows were worth your time.
Cheers
Peter Cooke was the priest who (almost) married Prince Humperdinck and Princess Buttercup in the movie, The Princess Bride.
Anna Z mawwage!
kuruman1 Mawwage is what bwings us togeva ... today ...
Peter is hammered here
Dudley preempts Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel at around 4:10
thank you
Amazing that this is from 73 and Dudley looks pretty much the same ten years later in his peak years
Pete and Dud were geniuses, today’s comedians should take notes from them
1:20. A taste of Derek and Clive yet to come👍
Legends! 2020 during Coronavirus lockdown
this is incredible
"Well he decorated her" almost 1000% sure that's what was going through Cooks mind.
These guys were hugely popular in Australia
Absolutely. Loved watching Pete and Dud here in Australia growing up. My brother would have tears rolling down his cheeks with laughter 😂
@@bernadettelanders7306
Haha... my brother and I were the same. Times certainly have changed...
"Secretariat speaks differently than the other horses" 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂. Very cute reference. 💕
I was embarrassed for us (Americans) that so many jokes passed straight over our heads.
God, I miss life as it was back then.
I think you just miss a time where the "man" didn't generally have his boot on the next guys neck.
Legends all.
There are too many comedy legends to list from the UK but these two are on the list
I wonder where Dick Cavett received his accent. I've lived in Nebraska for over 30 years and have yet to hear it.
Wow, this interview couldn't be a better indicator of the ocean that divides the UK and the US. UK humour is all based on the implied and unsaid because of the sniping between the different classes. When we speak with Americans we think they'll pick up on it because we speak the same language but instead it's like talking to a wall. An Englishman can only make jokes with another Englishman.
Norbert The Nark I never said dignified. But I’d say python is subtle in its own way. But everyone in the uk is thoroughly ashamed of benny hill, it’s only in the states he’s popular.
@@zootsoot2006 Benny Hill was and to some extent still is very popular throughout Europe. Much more than Monty Python, you needed a brain to understand Python, Benny Hill was first degree, boobs and arses.
If that’s true, how can I, as an American, appreciate British comedy? Am I missing all the nuances?
@@ilwayeebstay1080 It's like a British person watching American comedy like Seinfeld or Larry David. You won't get all the cultural references but it's still funny, but not as funny as it is to an American. What British comedy do you like? I like Victoria Wood, Chris Morris & Alan Partridge amongst others, but they're based on very British type of characters, so they don't travel so well.
I'm amazed Ricky Gervais is popular in America, we didn't think that sort of misanthropic sarcasm would work so well with earnest, optimistic Americans. David Letterman, Lily Tomlin & Sarah Silverman don't work so well here, they're quite culturally specific. Whereas Bill Hicks was more popular in Britain than he was in the US for some reason.
@@ilwayeebstay1080 Yes
Wow, Cavett is great. Talking about real things, who would have thought! The opposite of today where Fallon’s tongue is up the guests’ assholes immediately, and all he does is say how much he loves them, and plays stupid games, and any conversation is just a vehicle for whatever they’re promoting.
2 real cool dudes !
Interesting what Kirk said about the clairvoyant predicting a scandal in Britain, soon after this it was Jeremy Thorpe!!😮
I wish Americans these days were more like Kirk Douglas
What? Dead?
@@philipusher4282 Not many comments on TH-cam make me laugh these days but that did!
@Truth God It appears that I know a lot more about him than you. Kirk Douglas IS his real name, he legally changed it.
@Truth God You take your vile anti-semitism elsewhere, that makes no difference to me.
Percy Phelps well said
I'm the only one in my family born in the US. I have little issues with European accents. My dad was Romanian and sounded like Bela Lugosi.
Gia đình vợ Thầy Lộc nhìn mọi người xum họp ấm cúng quá chúc vợ chồng thầy Lộc có nhiều sức khoẻ
Legends
Dudley was a cutie!
Dick Cavett was the Michael Parkinson of American television. Which is high praise.
Back in the early seventies they
did a live hookup between the two shows Dick Cavett in the US and Michael Parkinson in the UK, I can't remember the guest's on both shows though.
@@90125ism thanks, that's interesting.
@@90125ism Amazed it's not on youtube, everything else is.
Parkinson not fit to lace his boots
The press in the US has certainly changed a lot since this was originally aired!
They should’ve broken out the Derek & Clive classic “My old man’s a dust man.”
Kirk, Peter and Dudley.
I came of age while watching Masterpiece Theatre and Monty Python's Flying Circus. So, no problem with the accents at all.
Swiss Germans and majority Europeans find pie-throwing et al as HUGELY hilarious... British humour is wittily brief, ironic, subtle and mostly sardonically a scream..
I am reading a Monica Dickens compilation of stories based on her working youth years...
It's a hoot (she's a distant relative of Charles Dickens) inherited talented for sure...
@GearóidODU - Neither Swiss or Germans are known for their humour, at least by the Brits.
@@citizen1163 You have seen them in lederhosen?
Monica Dickens? Never heard of her.
Thanks!
The Lord Lambton story is brilliant
Anyone who thinks all Americans sound alike ought to get themselves a nice cajun friend.
Toilets in Japan TOUCHÉ
Agreed: I was in Louisiana once. An older chap was talking to me , the words were English but said in such a way I couldn't understand a bloody thing. Then again , it was a nice , short, convivial monologue, although I did occasionally mutter a 'mmm'.
It may have been a clearer chat in French but that could've lead to drawn swords at dawn over a disagreement.
6:40 funny he mentions only Agnew. This was the time when the Watergate scandal was really uñfolding..or unraveling I should say 🤔 c
When mocking the Queen's accent, their sarcasm was completely missed by Dick.
Ya think??
americans are only now getting sarcasm
Peter and Dudley, Dudley and Peter...
Dudley, ever so confident and sexually avaricious, Peter, lofty and aloof, with Alan sitting in a corner nursing a bourbon cream... ... ... 😂
Don Kiddick exactly! 😂
Fans of BoJack Horseman might get the shock I did when Peter Cook mentions Secretariat. (In the show, Secretariat himself appears as a guest on Dick Cavett... in 1973!)
Somewhere in an alternate reality, a young BoJack was admiring his hero…
Brilliant. Today a sense of humour is Verboten
They had a point. How is it Brits can understand American accents, yet Americans can't understand the variety of ours.
Americans don't have to deal with many different accents daily, so we're just not as flexible. Some parts of London have a different accent on every block, innit?
It's not so much accents, but the speed that a person speaks and the different choice of words. We get a lot of English television here and it's very understandable.
Tim Buktu oh good
Must brush up on my Derek and Clive.
Cook and Moore were absolute comic geniuses. They spoke very well indeed. How anyone, 'Americans'. don't understand them is beyond me.
The music at the end of this is like the menu of a dvd extras disc. Am I wrong?
A lot of the sarcasm and irony seems to be lost on the Americans. They're comics, they're not being serious!
Steve Martin, from "Roxanne":
"Oh, irony; no, we don't get that here. The last person who practiced irony was me back in 1983, and I had to stop because of all the strange looks I was getting".
October 4th 1973.
Yeah..gold ..