Comedy star Cook 'had affair with Jackie Kennedy'
Comedy legend Peter Cook had an affair with Jackie Kennedy, according to Alan Bennett. Photos: Getty Images
Wednesday December 09 2009
THEY say opposites attract but even Cupid would have refused to take a bet on the odds of the uber-glamorous Jackie Kennedy and zany comedy legend Peter Cook being lovers.
One of Cook's closest friends, Alan Bennett, claims the couple may have had an affair.
While a friendship between the two had long been known, it is thought to be the first time a member of Cook's circle has gone on record to suggest there was anything further.
Cook, who died in 1995, struck up a rapport with Kennedy when he visited New York in the early 1960s with his Beyond The Fringe revue, which also featured Bennett.
The acclaimed comedy group -- which also included Dudley Moore and Jonathan Miller -- was introduced to Mrs Kennedy and her husband, the US President John F Kennedy, during their stint in the city.
Recalling the period, Bennett said: "I may be libelling her, but I think Peter had an affair with Jackie Kennedy."
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He continued: "I have an image of her standing next to Peter stroking his arm in the dressing room and he certainly went to parties with her."
However, Bennett said he had not questioned his friend about any affair.
Cook went on to even greater renown following his Beyond The Fringe days with TV shows such as 'Not Only ... But Also' and the Hollywood film 'Bedazzled'.
His first wife Wendy Cook has spoken of the friendship between her ex-husband and Jackie Kennedy, although she has in the past said she doubted there was an affair. "I don't think so. Flirtations were sometimes all you needed," she has said.Kennedy -- who later married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis -- died in 1994.
- Dean Gray
Irish Independent
