Johnny Bassett

John Bassett (born 1934) is the person credited with putting together the talent for the Edinburgh International Festival revue, Beyond the Fringe, in 1960. Bassett's had three initial choices for the revue. The writer/performer was none other than the about-to-become legendary Peter Cook. The first meeting of the major talent selected for Ponsonby's challenge to The Fringe was tense, with each participant not wanting to break the ice with a joke, in case the others didn't find it funny. The ice was finally broken when Moore did an imitation of Groucho Marx in the restaurant where they met. It is possible that the Festival's finances rather than the talent of the four, were the driving force behind the formation of the revues. The revue opened in London, then went on to Broadway in the U.S. and then on to New York. It was only envisaged to run a week at the Festival, as a way to make a bit of extra money, and escape the strains of medical work. It has been described as 'one of the most successful revues in the history of British comedy'