One Leg Too Few
Encyclopedia
One Leg Too Few is a comedy sketch written by Peter Cook
and most famously performed by Cook and Dudley Moore
. It is a classic example of comedy arising from an absurd situation which the participants take entirely seriously, and a demonstration of the construction of a sketch in order to draw a laugh from the audience with almost every line. Peter Cook said that this was one of the most perfect sketches he had acted in, and that it amazed him, later in his career, that he could have created it so young.
It first appeared in a Pembroke College
revue, Something Borrowed, in 1960 (where it was titled Leg Too Few as the show had an alphabetical theme and the sketch appeared under the letter "L") and later the same year in the Footlights
revue, Pop Goes Mrs Jessop. It appeared on the West End
stage for the first time in 1961 as part of One Over the Eight, a revue starring Kenneth Williams
. Its first public performance with Dudley Moore in the role of Spiggot was as part of Beyond the Fringe
at the Cambridge Arts Theatre on April 21, 1961. Although it was initially omitted from the London production of Beyond the Fringe (due to One Over The Eight running concurrently at a nearby theatre), it was reinstated for the show's transfer to Broadway
. Cook and Moore also performed the sketch in their 1973 stage show Behind the Fridge (retitled Good Evening! in the USA), and also gave standalone performances on various occasions, including the 1965 Royal Variety Performance
, a 1976 episode of Saturday Night Live
, and the 1989 charity show The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball. A version of the sketch, in which Spiggot is applying for a job as a runner, appeared in Cook and Moore's 1978 film The Hound of the Baskervilles
.
The agent goes on to point out that Tarzan is "a role which traditionally involves the use of a two-legged actor" and that it would be unusual for the part to be taken by a "unidexter", but Spiggott's enthusiasm is undimmed. Cook keeps a straight face as he explains exactly why Spiggott is unsuitable for the role.
Cook would often add the line 'you fall down on your left' in other versions of the sketch.
The sketch continues in a similar vein with the agent observing that at least Spiggott scores over a man with no legs at all (in the later versions, Spiggot enthusiastically agrees that he has "twice as many" as a man with none) and that there is always a chance that no two-legged actor will apply for the role, in which case Spiggott, as a "unidexter", is "just the sort of person we shall be attempting to contact telephonically". Spiggott, clearly an eternal optimist, leaves the office happy with these reassurances.
In some early versions of the sketch (including the one recorded by Kenneth Williams), a further punchline follows after Moore has left. A two-legged actor walks in normally.
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
and most famously performed by Cook and Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
. It is a classic example of comedy arising from an absurd situation which the participants take entirely seriously, and a demonstration of the construction of a sketch in order to draw a laugh from the audience with almost every line. Peter Cook said that this was one of the most perfect sketches he had acted in, and that it amazed him, later in his career, that he could have created it so young.
It first appeared in a Pembroke College
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
revue, Something Borrowed, in 1960 (where it was titled Leg Too Few as the show had an alphabetical theme and the sketch appeared under the letter "L") and later the same year in the Footlights
Footlights
Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University....
revue, Pop Goes Mrs Jessop. It appeared on the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
stage for the first time in 1961 as part of One Over the Eight, a revue starring Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
. Its first public performance with Dudley Moore in the role of Spiggot was as part of Beyond the Fringe
Beyond the Fringe
Beyond the Fringe was a British comedy stage revue written and performed by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathan Miller. It played in London's West End and then on New York's Broadway in the early 1960s, and is widely regarded as seminal to the rise of satire in 1960s Britain.-The...
at the Cambridge Arts Theatre on April 21, 1961. Although it was initially omitted from the London production of Beyond the Fringe (due to One Over The Eight running concurrently at a nearby theatre), it was reinstated for the show's transfer to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. Cook and Moore also performed the sketch in their 1973 stage show Behind the Fridge (retitled Good Evening! in the USA), and also gave standalone performances on various occasions, including the 1965 Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
, a 1976 episode of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, and the 1989 charity show The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball. A version of the sketch, in which Spiggot is applying for a job as a runner, appeared in Cook and Moore's 1978 film The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1978 film)
The Hound of the Baskervilles is a 1978 British comedy film spoofing The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It starred Peter Cook as Sherlock Holmes and Dudley Moore as Dr. Watson...
.
Sketch
The sketch takes place in a casting office. Cook plays the casting agent and Moore the prospective actor, a Mr Spiggott (this name was a favourite of Cook's, and was re-used as the earthly identity of the Devil in Bedazzled). Cook begins the sketch by calling for his secretary to show the next auditioner into the office. Moore enters, hopping. His left leg is tied up behind him. Eventually, Moore comes to a stop, balanced on one leg. He is required to hold this position for most of the sketch, his difficulty in doing so occasioning much amusement from the audience (though in most performances, he has a chair to hold on to for balance). The premise of the sketch is then laid out thus:- Cook: Mr Spiggott - you are, I believe, auditioning for the part of TarzanTarzanTarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
. - Moore: Right.
- Cook: Now Mr Spiggott, I couldn't help noticing - almost at once - that you are a one-legged person.
- Moore: You noticed that?
- Cook: I noticed that, Mr Spiggott. When you have been in the business as long as I have, you come to notice these little things almost instinctively.
The agent goes on to point out that Tarzan is "a role which traditionally involves the use of a two-legged actor" and that it would be unusual for the part to be taken by a "unidexter", but Spiggott's enthusiasm is undimmed. Cook keeps a straight face as he explains exactly why Spiggott is unsuitable for the role.
- Cook: Need I say with over much emphasis that it is in the leg division that you are deficient.
- Moore: The leg division?
- Cook: Yes, the leg division, Mr Spiggott. You are deficient in it to the tune of one. Your right leg, I like. I like your right leg. A lovely leg for the role. That's what I said when I saw you come in. I said, "A lovely leg for the role". I've got nothing against your right leg. The trouble is - neither have you.
Cook would often add the line 'you fall down on your left' in other versions of the sketch.
The sketch continues in a similar vein with the agent observing that at least Spiggott scores over a man with no legs at all (in the later versions, Spiggot enthusiastically agrees that he has "twice as many" as a man with none) and that there is always a chance that no two-legged actor will apply for the role, in which case Spiggott, as a "unidexter", is "just the sort of person we shall be attempting to contact telephonically". Spiggott, clearly an eternal optimist, leaves the office happy with these reassurances.
In some early versions of the sketch (including the one recorded by Kenneth Williams), a further punchline follows after Moore has left. A two-legged actor walks in normally.
- Cook: Ah, good morning Mr Stanger. Now I believe you are applying for the role of Long John SilverLong John SilverLong John Silver is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. Silver is also known by the nicknames "Barbecue" and the "Sea-Cook".- Profile :...
.