Palin on Sellers

Or, more accurately, on a recent biography of Peter Sellers. Fascinating, troubled man--who I'm glad I won't have the chance to meet, stammer out a compliment to, then be abused by! Palin's right of course that Sellers, Spike Milligan and the other Goons were the progenitors of modern British comedy (along with Peter Cook), and anybody who hasn't listened to The Goon Show or watched "The Ladykillers"--not to mention "Dr. Strangelove" or "The Party"--is in for a treat. Here's a link to the bio's page on Amazon.



One quibble, though--Palin writes, "...nothing in the book fully explains the flip side of Sellers's genius -- the violence and abuse directed toward his four wives and three children, the tantrums, the lashing out at good friends, the manipulative deviousness, the unreliability and the sublime selfishness that grew with his wealth and recognition." Sounds like some sort of addiction problem to me. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...



Speaking of Peter Cook--and when am I not, ask my wife--a new collection of his best material has just been released in Britain. It's called "Tragically I Was an Only Twin." I haven't gotten it, yet, but when I do, I'll let you know what I thought.