One of my favourite comedians was the late, great, Tommy Cooper. Unfortunately I never had the privilege of seeing him in a live show, but I do have several DVD's that I never tire of watching. This article is about a giant of a man who became a comedy giant. Tommy Cooper was one of Britain's best loved funny men. The secret of his success was not the material itself but the way he delivered it. He possessed a childlike innocence and charm that immediately warmed audiences to him. Tommy was an accomplished magician, but realised early on in his career that by getting his tricks wrong he could make the audience roar with laughter and this gave him a unique act, impossible for anyone to copy.Tommy Cooper was born on 19 March 1921, in Caerphilly, Wales. His father, Tom, was Welsh, an army recruitment Sargeant, whilst his mother, Gertrude, came from Devon. When Cooper was aged three the family moved to Exeter, and his west country accent became part of his act. At the age of eight Cooper was given his first magic set by an aunt. Magic ran in the family - his twin brother owned a magic shop in Slough called 'Coopers Magic Shop'. Cooper's first job was as a shipwright, but in 1940 he was called up as a trooper in the Royal Horse Guards regiment of the British Army, serving initially in Montgomery's Desert Rats in Egypt. There he joined the NAAFI entertainment party where he honed his magic comedy act. One evening whilst doing a sketch in Cairo he forgot a pith helmet he was supposed to wear. He reached out and borrowed the fez from a passing waiter. From that moment the fez became the trademark for his act.
After the war Cooper took up show business, on Christmas Eve 1947. He worked variety theatres around the country and also worked at the 'Windmill' theatre in London. But it was television that catapulted him to recognition. Despite his size, he was six feet four inches tall, and weighed fifteen stone, Cooper was a nervous man by nature. Initially he drank to allay the anxiety of going on stage, but later developed a serious drink problem, by the mid-seventies his drinking was affecting his performances. Neither was he a fit individual, he suffered chronic indigestion, lumbago and sciatica, heavy smoking led to bronchitis and poor circulation in his legs. In 1977 Cooper suffered a heart attack whilst in Rome. His drinking also affected his marriage and he became physically abusive to his wife Gwen. Relations were further strained by Cooper having an affair whilst touring.
A further serious health scare occurred as Cooper was about to perform for executives of IBM in Italy. After collapsing Cooper's life was saved when a doctor gave him a cardiac injection. On 15 April 1984, Cooper was midway through his act on the live London Weekend Television variety show 'Live From Her Majesty's', when once again he collapsed from a heart attack. As the audience continued to laugh, thinking it was part of the act, efforts were being made backstage to revive him. He was eventually moved to Westminster Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
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Tommy Cooper One-Liners
I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day, but I couldn't find any.
I bought some HP sauce the other day. It's costing me 6p a month for the next two years.
Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, the other was eating fireworks. They charged one and let the other one off.
I'm on a whiskey diet. I've lost three days already.
You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today. They left a little note on the windscreen, it said "Parking Fine", so that was nice.
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