Tommy Cooper
Birth : 1921-03-19, Caerphilly, South Wales
Death : 1984-04-15
History
Born in Caerphilly, South Wales, at 19 Llwyn Onn Street, Trecenydd, Cooper was delivered by the woman who owned the house in which the family was lodging. His parents were Welsh-born army recruiting sergeant father Thomas H. (Tom) Cooper, and his English-born wife Gertrude (née Gertrude C. Wright) from Crediton, Devon. In light of the heavily polluted air and the offer of a job for his father, the family moved to Exeter, Devon, when Cooper was three and gained the West Country accent that was part of his act. The family lived in the back of Haven Banks, where Cooper attended Mount Radford School for Boys, and helped his parents run their ice cream van, which attended fairs on the weekend. At the age of eight an aunt bought Cooper a magic set and he spent hours perfecting the tricks. Magic ran in his family—his brother David (born 1930) opened a magic shop in the 1960s in Slough High Street (then Buckinghamshire now Berkshire) called D. & Z. Cooper's Magic Shop. On 15 April 1984, Cooper collapsed and soon after died from a heart attack in front of millions of television viewers, midway through his act on the London Weekend Television variety show Live From Her Majesty's, transmitted live from Her Majesty's Theatre. His stage persona required that his act intentionally went wrong for comic purposes, leading to some initial uncertainty about whether this collapse was real.
An affectionate look back at Tommy Cooper's life and career. Sir Michael Parkinson, Jimmy Tarbuck and Chris Tarrant and others reflect on what made Tommy Cooper one of the greatest ever comedians. Colleagues talk about working with him, and his daughter Vicky reveals her feelings about her father.
himself
Tommy Cooper's comedy was timeless, a true original who was everyone's favourite clown. Wearing his trademark Fez, he delighted millions with bungled magic tricks and hilarious sketches. These specially compiled episodes of clips selected from the Thames Television archives star the funny-man at his best, featuring all of his classic routines.
himself
Tommy Cooper's comedy was timeless, a true original who was everyone's favourite clown. Wearing his trademark Fez, he delighted millions with bungled magic tricks and hilarious sketches. These specially compiled episodes of clips selected from the Thames Television archives star the funny-man at his best, featuring all of his classic routines.
In his trademark fez, look of heroic confusion and perfect sense of comic timing, Tommy Cooper could have an audience in his pocket before he even said a word. Then the jokes would flow, the tricks fall flat and an open-mouthed Cooper would reduce them once more to helplessness. And so, for 30 years, this burly, gangly, seemingly incompetent magician dominated light entertainment television. This compilation features Tommy Cooper at his best: from his early TV show It's Magic to his Variety Show turns, and from his famous chat show appearances to his performances on his own TV shows in the 1970s.
Himself
Join in this feztival of fun which contains the best loved sketches and classic routines from one of Britain's Favourite clowns who returns for yet more side-spitting sketches. Watch as all his conjuring tricks misfire and let his maniacal laugh take over you in his unique and inimitable style. A true comic genius with unmistakable fez, he will make you laugh out loud... just like that!
Tommy Cooper, one of Britain's most loved magicians, features in some of the best sketches from his rich and varied career. Also includes tributes from Benny Hill, Jim Davidson, Ronnie Barker, Mike Yarwood and Eric Sykes.
Tommy Cooper, the hapless magician who was in a league of his own, is joined here by a star-studded selection of guests in previously unseen extracts from his classic TV series. The guests include Penny Meredith, Eric Sykes, Henry Cooper and Norman Rossington.
A Fez-tival of Fun! Join the feztival of fun which contains the best loved sketches and side-splitting routines from on of Britain's favourite clowns. Watch as Tommy's conjuring tricks misfire and let his maniacal laugh take over you in his unique and endearing style. A true comic genius with his unmistakable fez, Tommy Cooper will make you laugh out loud... just like that!
The shockingly controversial, outrageous, and wickedly funny comedienne performing live in front of a celebrity audience.
Big Removal Man
A silent slapstick comedy depicting the travails of young couple moving into a new home, who hire an accident-prone firm of house removers, headed by Sykes. It features an all-star cast including Tommy Cooper, Bernard Cribbins, Jimmy Edwards, Irene Handl, Bob Todd and Andrew Sachs.
Larger Workman
A slapstick comedy about two workmen delivering planks to a building site. This is done with music and a sort of "wordless dialogue" which consists of a few mumbled sounds to convey the appropriate emotion.
Pooh-Bah, Private Detective
In this musical, the Gilbert and Sullivan classic is updated and set in post-war Japan. This time, the trouble begins when a soldier, the son of a Yankee judge, falls in love with a Japanese girl. This enrages her Yakuza fiancé who kidnaps him.
Horace Hawkins
Dickie Dreadnought is the boxing-mad nephew of pious clergyman Reverend Sydney Mullet. To mollify his disapproving uncle, Dickie embarks on an elaborate plan to keep his budding boxing career a secret, with he and his tough-talking promoter Wally Burton both pretending to be devout 'men of the cloth'.
Who could ever forget the great Tommy Cooper? A legend in his own lifetime and now sadly missed by all his fans. Here you'll find two programmes shown on UK TV containing some of his most hilarious sketches to enjoy again and again.
Self (archive footage)
To mark 100 years since the birth of comedy legend Tommy Cooper, Sir Lenny Henry - one of Tommy’s biggest fans - takes a look back through the BBC’s archives and shares some of the great man’s finest and funniest moments. This collection features some of Cooper’s most famous routines, and shows that his reputation for terrible tricks that inevitably went wrong was all based on an act.He was actually a master magician, perfectly suited to television’s golden age.
