Peter Coke reads his last
Sep. 11th, 2008 08:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sawylI was saddened to learn of the death of the venerable Peter Coke who remains to me the definitive Paul Temple, pace Crawford Logan, whom I also like very much.
What I particularly like about Coke's performances is the way he brings out Temple's essential prickliness as a character. On the one hand, Paul is extremely generous and frequent jumps in with offers to help people, but on the other he can be irritable and difficult, petulant even, and Coke manages to put it all across with nothing more than a few strategically placed pauses. The way he answers the phone — a slight hesitation, an abrupt and standoffish hello, followed by either enthusiasm or coldness — is a perpetual delight. What I wouldn't give to be able to answer the phone like that!
What I particularly like about Coke's performances is the way he brings out Temple's essential prickliness as a character. On the one hand, Paul is extremely generous and frequent jumps in with offers to help people, but on the other he can be irritable and difficult, petulant even, and Coke manages to put it all across with nothing more than a few strategically placed pauses. The way he answers the phone — a slight hesitation, an abrupt and standoffish hello, followed by either enthusiasm or coldness — is a perpetual delight. What I wouldn't give to be able to answer the phone like that!
