USTINOV AD LIB (1966) – This comedy special was first aired by BBC1’s anthology series Sunday Night at 8:10PM on April 10th, 1966. In addition to the venerable Peter Ustinov himself the special featured Dudley Moore and Antony Hopkins (NOT Anthony Hopkins).
Ustinov displayed his distinctive ad-libbing talents alongside Moore and Hopkins in this one-hour stage production. Like Victor Borge, Peter Ustinov often went in for dry, obscure humor – in this case regarding opera and classical music.
Opening improv bits saw Peter and Dudley parodying Menotti, Debussy, Mussorgsky, Bach and Schubert.
From there, Bernard Keeffe played straight man as a figure interviewing Ustinov’s fictional “Eminent Composer” characters – Dr. Strumpfhausen, N.P. Krupchenka and Ransom Butterfield. The humor with the interviews stemmed from ethnic and stylistic jokes about the trio of German, Russian and British caricatures.
For the grand finale, Ustinov and Moore put together Madame Chatterley, a mock opera version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. 60 minutes. A few samples of critical acclaim –
“Wittily exact and hilarious parody.” (The Times)
“A delicious musical spoof.” (Evening News)
“I don’t even like opera, but I was hooting away like a fog-bound tug.” (The Sun)
“I think it will become a TV classic.” (Evening Standard)
FOR MORE FORGOTTEN TELEVISION CLICK HERE.
Balladeer's Blog 
Ustinov was one among many. I’d forgotten about him.
I’m happy to have reminded you about him!
I have not seen any of them but from your blog i felt they were very interesting
Thank you very much! That is nice of you!
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😀
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Ha! (By the way I have started writing my review.)
Thank you 🌹🌹
Glad to do it!
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You’re very welcome!
For me, Peter Ustinov is not only an excellent actor but also a great and brilliant human. I didn’t know about this TV series; I know him from his Discovery series in the early seventies. He was and is an idol for me. Thank you, my friend.🤙
Glad to do it! Thank YOU!
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Thank you!
Thinking man’s comedy. High culture, actually. Alas, today we see little of that calibre because Hollywood’d rather cater to the likes of snot-nosed lemmings looking for cookie-cutter pre-fabricated social “insight.” Barbie. The prostitution rests.
On its back, I’m assuming. And yes, Ustinov, Borge, the Reduced Shakespeare Company, they’d have a hard time finding a following today.
And to think, Ustinov owed his life to Lauren Christy …
I was walking barefoot on St. Paul’s bridge
When I saw a man talking to God
He was round and handsome
Anachronistically
A little odd
I overheard his conversation
He said, “I can’t live in a world devoid of love.”
And the voice, the voice was so familiar
It was the voice of Peter Ustinov
“Peter,” I whispered from the shadows
“We’ve all been damaged by the 20th century
A man like you can talk to God
But can you spare a word for me?
For I have loved you since the time
I saw you in ‘The Mouse that Roared’.”
“That was Peter Sellers, my dear.
Go away,” he implored.
Hilarious! I like that!
Interesting reviews as always. I have never been a huge fan of Ustinov, but do recognize him from “Death on the Nile”. I’m not sure whether I will watch this comedy standup special. That being said, standup comedians are people whose lives have always fascinated me. They make people laugh but behind the scenes suffer from severe mental health issues. For instance, Bo Burnham is one of those comedians. Back in 2021, he made the unforgettable special called “Inside”. It depicted his struggles with mental health in a standup special. Here is why it’s worth watching:
Thank you, he was very eccentric.