Tommy Cooper
Encyclopedia
Thomas Frederick "Tommy" Cooper (19 March 1921 - 15 April 1984) was a very popular British prop comedian and magician
from Caerphilly, Wales.
Cooper was a member of The Magic Circle
, and respected by traditional magicians. Famed for his red fez, his appearance was large and lumbering at 6 in 4 in (1.93 m) and more than 15 st (210 lb; 95.3 kg) in weight.
While his stage persona required that his act intentionally went wrong for comic purposes, on 15 April 1984, Cooper famously 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
.
, Wales
, at 19 Llwyn On 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 8 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.
, and in 1940 was called up as a trooper
in the Royal Horse Guards
regiment of the British Army
in World War II
. He served initially in Montgomery's
Desert Rats in Egypt
. Cooper became part of the NAAFI entertainment party and developed an act around his magic tricks
interspersed with comedy. One evening in Cairo
, during a sketch in which he was supposed to be in a costume which required a pith helmet
, having forgotten the prop, Cooper reached out and borrowed the fez from a passing waiter which got huge laughs. It was from this incident that stemmed two of the attributes that were a hallmark of his later act: the ever-present Fez hat and his aptitude for slapstick comedy.
after seven years of military service, Cooper took up show business on Christmas Eve
, 1947 — he would later add a popular monologue
about his military experience as "Cooper the Trooper". Cooper worked variety theatres around the country and at London
's Windmill Theatre
, where he performed 52 shows per week.
Cooper had developed his conjuring skills and was a member of The Magic Circle
, but there are various versions as to where he developed his act delivery of "failed" magic tricks:
To keep the audience on their toes, Cooper threw in the occasional trick that worked when it was least expected.
work which raised him to national prominence. After his debut on the BBC
talent show New to You in March 1948, he soon started starring in his own shows, and was popular with audiences for four decades, most notably through his work with London Weekend Television
from 1968 to 1972 and with Thames Television
from 1973 to 1980. Thanks to his many Television shows during the mid 70s he was one of the biggest and most recognizable comedians in the world.
Cooper was a heavy drinker
and smoker
, and experienced a decline in health during the late 1970s, suffering a heart attack
in 1977 while in Rome
, where he was performing a show. Three months later he was back on television in Night Out at the London Casino. By 1980, though, his drinking meant that Thames Television would not give him another starring series, and Cooper's Half Hour was his last. He did continue to guest on other television shows, however, and worked with Eric Sykes
on two Thames productions in 1982:
, with a pathological dread of reaching into his pocket."
Friends remember he would persuade strangers to buy him a drink using magician's cunning. He would stand at a bar and, when he made eye-contact with a stranger, say 'Yes?' to which the stranger would reply, "Can I get you a drink?" Cooper would reply 'What are you drinking?' to which the stranger would think he was being offered a drink, state his preference and hear Cooper rejoin, "I'll have one as well." Another stunt was to leave a taxi, slipping something into the taxi driver's pocket saying, "Have a drink on me." That something turned out to be a tea bag.
He was also known for meanness of nature. In 1964 he was opening act at the Royal Variety Performance
but short of material. He asked Billy Mayo, a retired variety pro who had seen better days, for help. Mayo went off to a hardware store and bought a paraffin heater, which he presented to Cooper telling him to walk on at the beginning, put it down in front of the audience and say, "They told me to go out there and warm them up." Cooper did, and the gag received an uproarious reception. A few days later he met Mayo along with fellow performers in Soho where he received much praise for his performance but offered not a word of thanks to Mayo. At leaving time Mayo asked a favour of Cooper, "My legs are not so good at the moment. Would it be possible for your driver to drop me off at my flat?" Cooper replied by saying, "I'm not a fucking taxi service."
However, Fisher reports that despite other such tales, Cooper's strengths outweighed his faults.
, "People say I've only got to walk out on stage and they laugh. If only they knew what it takes to walk out on stage in the first place. One of these days I'll just walk out and do nothing. Then they'll know the difference." Cooper also related during a TV interview that he would walk on stage behind the curtain and give it a shake. If the audience didn't laugh, he would shake the curtain even more violently. If the audience laughed, he would burst through the curtain and start his show. If they still didn't laugh, he would rush back to the changing room, grab his bag and leave the theatre.
What began as liquid courage became a psychological crutch. Michael Parkinson
recalls working with Cooper on a dry ship: there was much agitation when Cooper requested brandy
. Parkinson explained, "You give him the bottle or he doesn't go on. It's as simple as that. That's how he works." There was an incident in a hotel where he asked for a large gin
and tonic at breakfast then poured it over his cornflakes, explaining it was good for him as 'milk is full of cholesterol
'.
By the mid-1970s, alcohol had started to erode Cooper's professionalism and club owners complained that he turned up late or rushed through his show in five minutes. His popularity generally carried him through but sometimes he was slow-handclapped onto the stage, audiences shouting 'Why are we waiting?' In clubs and on television, his timing began to desert him, he looked sad and was sluggish, eyes glazed, energy lowered. His slight incoherence had been part of his act but now words were being left out to embarrassing effect. Despite production crews pouring coffee down his throat, classic gags were omitted and other lines repeated for no reason. His health suffered and, fixated about his increasing weight, he started buying under-the-counter slimming pills which he mixed with insomnia tablets to form a potent cocktail.
In addition, he suffered chronic indigestion, lumbago, sciatica
, bronchitis
and severe circulation problems in his legs. When Cooper realised the extent of his injuries he cut down on his drinking and the energy and sparkle returned to his act and some of his later television performances were a revelation. However, he never stopped drinking and could be fallible: on an otherwise triumphant appearance with Parkinson he forgot to set the safety catch on the guillotine illusion into which he had cajoled Parkinson. Only a last-minute intervention by the floor manager
saved Parkinson from serious injury or worse.
in Italy
he collapsed, had convulsions and began bleeding from the mouth. A doctor saved his life with a cardiac injection and Gwen flew to his side in an IBM plane.
Their marriage was volatile. Gwen told the press, "We fight. I throw things and he throws things back. But we often end up laughing." Their son said, "She was more than a match for him. They had some colossal fights and Dad would spend all his time ducking." However it was also a very loving union: she also said, "He was the nicest, kindest — and most awkward — man in the world."
In 1967 Cooper began an affair with Mary Fieldhouse (née Kay), a stage manager whom he met in a church hall used for rehearsals. At this time he was traveling the country constantly by himself, Gwen having decided to put her two teenage children first. Kay recognized Cooper needed order in his life and made herself the person to bring it, at least when on tour as his wardrobe manager — their relationship developed and they fell in love. It was because of her that Cooper increased his touring, relishing the chance to spend time with her. She did not rescue him from self-destructive drinking and on occasion fell victim to his rages: there is a story of his ripping the seam of an expensive dress he had bought her and throwing her to the floor in a restaurant. Fieldhouse died on 11 December 2010, aged 84.
Gwen supposedly found out about the affair after Cooper's death and remarked that it was a mere slip, a one-night stand
. There had however been tabloid speculation while the affair was going on and a friend recalls Gwen coming into the bedroom brandishing a hotel invoice to Mr and Mrs Cooper. Cooper insisted he was on his own. His wife left the room slamming the door and calling him a bastard. He pulled his clothes over his pyjamas and dashed to the nearest phone box where he called the manager and asked him to phone his home in half an hour and apologize for the mistake. Half an hour later there was a phone call to the house and Gwen came upstairs all smiles, explaining there had been a Mr and Mrs Cooper in the hotel at the same time and their bill had been sent by mistake.
Cooper never considered leaving his wife, and friends attest to his deep love of Gwen, saying he needed her. And despite her suffering at the hands of a man whom Bob Monkhouse
described as "a child with an infant's rage but fundamentally a lovely man", she loved him and was devastated by his death, having sent him off with a flask of coffee and a packet of sandwiches that morning and watching what turned out to be his final performance.
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
— not, as is often reported, the London Palladium
.
An assistant had helped him put on a cloak for his sketch, while Jimmy Tarbuck
, the host, was hiding behind the curtain waiting to pass him different props which he would then appear to pull from inside his gown. The assistant smiled at him as he collapsed, believing that it was a joke. Likewise, the audience laughed as he fell, until it became apparent he was seriously ill. At this point the show's director, Alasdair MacMillan, cued the orchestra to play music for an unscripted commercial break (noticeable by several seconds of blank screen whilst LWT's master control
contacted regional stations to start transmitting advertisements) and Jimmy Tarbuck
's manager tried to pull Cooper back through the curtains. It was decided to continue with the show. Dustin Gee
and Les Dennis
were the act that had to follow Tommy Cooper, and other stars proceeded to present their acts in the limited space in front of the stage. For a long time, a rumour circulated that the size 13 feet from his 6' 4" frame protruded underneath the curtains. While the show continued, efforts were being made backstage to revive Cooper, not made easier by the darkness. It was not until a second commercial break that ambulancemen were able to move his body to Westminster Hospital
, where he was pronounced dead on arrival
. His death wasn't officially reported until the next morning, although the incident was the lead item on the news programme that followed the show.
The video of Tommy Cooper suffering a heart attack on stage has been uploaded to numerous video sharing
websites. YouTube
has been heavily criticised by the press when footage of the incident was posted on their website from May 2009.
Cooper was cremated at Mortlake Crematorium
in London. Cooper was survived by his wife, Gwen (whom he called 'Dove'), and two children, Thomas
and Vicky, and a two year old grandchild, Tam. Cooper's son Thomas, who was an actor in his own right, changed his name for stage to Thomas Henty (his mother's maiden name). Henty said in interviews that, though he loved his dad, he needed his own identity to make a career on stage, and told very few who his famed father was, to further his dramatic acting career. Eventually son Tom traveled on the road as manager to his father. He also acted as occasional stage manager to his father, and was backstage with his father on the night he died. But like his father, son Thomas was a heavy drinker, and he died in August 1988 at Charing Cross Hospital
in Fulham
, London, age 32. He died of haematemesis, following complications caused by liver failure
. Doctors had attempted to pump seventy pints of new blood into his body, but the blood failed to clot, and after three days his mother took the decision to have his life support machine switched off. Thomas Henty left a son, Tam Henty.
, Wales in 2008 by fellow entertainer Sir Anthony Hopkins
, who is patron of The Tommy Cooper Society. The statue was sculpted by James Done.
In 2009 for Red Nose Day, a charity Red Nose was put on the statue, but the nose was stolen.
In a 2005 poll The Comedians' Comedian, Cooper was voted the sixth greatest comedy act ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. He is commonly cited as one of the best comedians of all time, with several polls placing him at number one.
Jerome Flynn
has toured with his own tribute show to Cooper called Just Like That. In February 2007, The Independent
reported that Andy Harries
, a producer of The Queen
, was working on a dramatization about the last week of Tommy Cooper's life. Harries described Cooper's death as "extraordinary" in that the whole thing was broadcast live on national television.
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
from Caerphilly, Wales.
Cooper was a member of The Magic Circle
The Magic Circle
The Magic Circle is a British organisation, founded in London in 1905, dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic.- History :The Magic Circle was founded in 1905 after a meeting of 23 amateur and professional magicians at London's Pinoli's Restaurant...
, and respected by traditional magicians. Famed for his red fez, his appearance was large and lumbering at 6 in 4 in (1.93 m) and more than 15 st (210 lb; 95.3 kg) in weight.
While his stage persona required that his act intentionally went wrong for comic purposes, on 15 April 1984, Cooper famously collapsed and soon after died from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in front of millions of television viewers, midway through his act on the London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
variety show Live From Her Majesty's
Live From Her Majesty's
Live From Her Majesty's was a Sunday night live variety show which was produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network and ran from 1982 to 1988...
, transmitted live from Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
.
Biography
Born in CaerphillyCaerphilly
Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport, which are located some 7.5 miles and 12 miles away, respectively...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, at 19 Llwyn On Street, Trecenydd, Cooper was delivered by the woman who owned the house in which the family was lodging. His parents were Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
-born army recruiting sergeant father Thomas H. (Tom) Cooper, and his English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born wife Gertrude (née Gertrude C. Wright) from Crediton
Crediton
Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter. It has a population of 6,837...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. In light of the heavily polluted air and the offer of a job for his father, the family moved to Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, when Cooper was three and gained the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
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
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
van, which attended fairs on the weekend. At the age of 8 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
Slough
Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
High Street (then Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
now Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
) called D. & Z. Cooper's Magic Shop.
World War II
After school, Cooper became a shipwright in Hythe, HampshireHythe, Hampshire
Hythe is a village near Southampton, Hampshire, England. It is located by the shore of Southampton Water, and has a ferry service connecting it to Southampton...
, and in 1940 was called up as a trooper
Trooper (rank)
Trooper from the French "troupier" is the equivalent rank to private in a regiment with a cavalry tradition in the British Army and many other Commonwealth armies, including those of Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. Today, most cavalry units operate in the armoured role, equipped...
in the Royal Horse Guards
Royal Horse Guards
The Royal Horse Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry.Founded August 1650 in Newcastle Upon Tyne by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell as the Regiment of Cuirassiers, the regiment became the Earl of Oxford's Regiment during the reign of...
regiment of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He served initially in Montgomery's
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC , nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from...
Desert Rats in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Cooper became part of the NAAFI entertainment party and developed an act around his magic tricks
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
interspersed with comedy. One evening in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, during a sketch in which he was supposed to be in a costume which required a pith helmet
Pith helmet
The pith helmet is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of cork or pith...
, having forgotten the prop, Cooper reached out and borrowed the fez from a passing waiter which got huge laughs. It was from this incident that stemmed two of the attributes that were a hallmark of his later act: the ever-present Fez hat and his aptitude for slapstick comedy.
Act development
When he was demobbedDemobilization
Demobilization is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and military force will not be necessary...
after seven years of military service, Cooper took up show business on Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
, 1947 — he would later add a popular monologue
Monologue
In theatre, a monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Monologues are common across the range of dramatic media...
about his military experience as "Cooper the Trooper". Cooper worked variety theatres around the country and at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Windmill Theatre
Windmill Theatre
The Windmill Theatre, later The Windmill International, was a variety and revue theatre in Great Windmill Street, London. The theatre was famous for its nude tableaux vivants...
, where he performed 52 shows per week.
Cooper had developed his conjuring skills and was a member of The Magic Circle
The Magic Circle
The Magic Circle is a British organisation, founded in London in 1905, dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic.- History :The Magic Circle was founded in 1905 after a meeting of 23 amateur and professional magicians at London's Pinoli's Restaurant...
, but there are various versions as to where he developed his act delivery of "failed" magic tricks:
- Performing to his shipbuilding colleagues when everything went wrong. Devastated, Cooper still noted that the failed tricks got laughs.
- During his British Army career.
- At a post-war audition, at which his tricks went wrong, but which the panel thoroughly enjoyed.
To keep the audience on their toes, Cooper threw in the occasional trick that worked when it was least expected.
Career
Cooper rapidly became a top-liner in variety with his turn as the conjurer whose tricks never succeeded, but it was his televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
work which raised him to national prominence. After his debut on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
talent show New to You in March 1948, he soon started starring in his own shows, and was popular with audiences for four decades, most notably through his work with London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
from 1968 to 1972 and with Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
from 1973 to 1980. Thanks to his many Television shows during the mid 70s he was one of the biggest and most recognizable comedians in the world.
Cooper was a heavy drinker
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
and smoker
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
, and experienced a decline in health during the late 1970s, suffering a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in 1977 while in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where he was performing a show. Three months later he was back on television in Night Out at the London Casino. By 1980, though, his drinking meant that Thames Television would not give him another starring series, and Cooper's Half Hour was his last. He did continue to guest on other television shows, however, and worked with Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter...
on two Thames productions in 1982:
Legendary meanness
John Fisher writes in Cooper's biography, "Everyone agrees that he was mean. Quite simply he was acknowledged as the tightest man in show businessShow business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
, with a pathological dread of reaching into his pocket."
Friends remember he would persuade strangers to buy him a drink using magician's cunning. He would stand at a bar and, when he made eye-contact with a stranger, say 'Yes?' to which the stranger would reply, "Can I get you a drink?" Cooper would reply 'What are you drinking?' to which the stranger would think he was being offered a drink, state his preference and hear Cooper rejoin, "I'll have one as well." Another stunt was to leave a taxi, slipping something into the taxi driver's pocket saying, "Have a drink on me." That something turned out to be a tea bag.
He was also known for meanness of nature. In 1964 he was opening act at the Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
but short of material. He asked Billy Mayo, a retired variety pro who had seen better days, for help. Mayo went off to a hardware store and bought a paraffin heater, which he presented to Cooper telling him to walk on at the beginning, put it down in front of the audience and say, "They told me to go out there and warm them up." Cooper did, and the gag received an uproarious reception. A few days later he met Mayo along with fellow performers in Soho where he received much praise for his performance but offered not a word of thanks to Mayo. At leaving time Mayo asked a favour of Cooper, "My legs are not so good at the moment. Would it be possible for your driver to drop me off at my flat?" Cooper replied by saying, "I'm not a fucking taxi service."
However, Fisher reports that despite other such tales, Cooper's strengths outweighed his faults.
Drinking
Cooper's drinking increased and had a devastating effect on his family and nearly ruined his career. Initially he drank to allay the anxiety of going onstage. He told his friend Eric SykesEric Sykes
Eric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter...
, "People say I've only got to walk out on stage and they laugh. If only they knew what it takes to walk out on stage in the first place. One of these days I'll just walk out and do nothing. Then they'll know the difference." Cooper also related during a TV interview that he would walk on stage behind the curtain and give it a shake. If the audience didn't laugh, he would shake the curtain even more violently. If the audience laughed, he would burst through the curtain and start his show. If they still didn't laugh, he would rush back to the changing room, grab his bag and leave the theatre.
What began as liquid courage became a psychological crutch. Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
recalls working with Cooper on a dry ship: there was much agitation when Cooper requested brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
. Parkinson explained, "You give him the bottle or he doesn't go on. It's as simple as that. That's how he works." There was an incident in a hotel where he asked for a large gin
Gin
Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
and tonic at breakfast then poured it over his cornflakes, explaining it was good for him as 'milk is full of cholesterol
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a complex isoprenoid. Specifically, it is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes...
'.
By the mid-1970s, alcohol had started to erode Cooper's professionalism and club owners complained that he turned up late or rushed through his show in five minutes. His popularity generally carried him through but sometimes he was slow-handclapped onto the stage, audiences shouting 'Why are we waiting?' In clubs and on television, his timing began to desert him, he looked sad and was sluggish, eyes glazed, energy lowered. His slight incoherence had been part of his act but now words were being left out to embarrassing effect. Despite production crews pouring coffee down his throat, classic gags were omitted and other lines repeated for no reason. His health suffered and, fixated about his increasing weight, he started buying under-the-counter slimming pills which he mixed with insomnia tablets to form a potent cocktail.
In addition, he suffered chronic indigestion, lumbago, sciatica
Sciatica
Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression or irritation of one of five spinal nerve roots that give rise to each sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the left or right or both sciatic nerves. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, or...
, bronchitis
Bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...
and severe circulation problems in his legs. When Cooper realised the extent of his injuries he cut down on his drinking and the energy and sparkle returned to his act and some of his later television performances were a revelation. However, he never stopped drinking and could be fallible: on an otherwise triumphant appearance with Parkinson he forgot to set the safety catch on the guillotine illusion into which he had cajoled Parkinson. Only a last-minute intervention by the floor manager
Floor manager
The Floor Manager is the Director's representative on the studio floor, and is responsible for giving instruction and direction to crew, cast and guests. It is closest to the role of an Assistant Director, as the job frequently entails barking orders to keep a production moving to schedule. The...
saved Parkinson from serious injury or worse.
Marriage and infidelity
Cooper's drinking led to wife-beating. Several times Gwen called Miff Ferrie, Cooper's agent and manager, to say she was leaving him after he had struck her in front of the children. She reported that he sat at the dressing room table drinking whiskey all night then he went to bed at 5am before waking up, going down to the kitchen and re-commencing drinking. However, the domestic violence stopped after Cooper's most serious health-scare. About to perform for executives of IBMIBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
he collapsed, had convulsions and began bleeding from the mouth. A doctor saved his life with a cardiac injection and Gwen flew to his side in an IBM plane.
Their marriage was volatile. Gwen told the press, "We fight. I throw things and he throws things back. But we often end up laughing." Their son said, "She was more than a match for him. They had some colossal fights and Dad would spend all his time ducking." However it was also a very loving union: she also said, "He was the nicest, kindest — and most awkward — man in the world."
In 1967 Cooper began an affair with Mary Fieldhouse (née Kay), a stage manager whom he met in a church hall used for rehearsals. At this time he was traveling the country constantly by himself, Gwen having decided to put her two teenage children first. Kay recognized Cooper needed order in his life and made herself the person to bring it, at least when on tour as his wardrobe manager — their relationship developed and they fell in love. It was because of her that Cooper increased his touring, relishing the chance to spend time with her. She did not rescue him from self-destructive drinking and on occasion fell victim to his rages: there is a story of his ripping the seam of an expensive dress he had bought her and throwing her to the floor in a restaurant. Fieldhouse died on 11 December 2010, aged 84.
Gwen supposedly found out about the affair after Cooper's death and remarked that it was a mere slip, a one-night stand
One-night stand
Originally, a one-night stand was a single theatre performance, usually by a guest performer on tour, as opposed to an ongoing engagement. Today, however, the term is more commonly defined as a single sexual encounter, in which neither participant has any intention or expectation of a relationship...
. There had however been tabloid speculation while the affair was going on and a friend recalls Gwen coming into the bedroom brandishing a hotel invoice to Mr and Mrs Cooper. Cooper insisted he was on his own. His wife left the room slamming the door and calling him a bastard. He pulled his clothes over his pyjamas and dashed to the nearest phone box where he called the manager and asked him to phone his home in half an hour and apologize for the mistake. Half an hour later there was a phone call to the house and Gwen came upstairs all smiles, explaining there had been a Mr and Mrs Cooper in the hotel at the same time and their bill had been sent by mistake.
Cooper never considered leaving his wife, and friends attest to his deep love of Gwen, saying he needed her. And despite her suffering at the hands of a man whom Bob Monkhouse
Bob Monkhouse
Robert Alan "Bob" Monkhouse, OBE was an English entertainer. He was a successful comedy writer, comedian and actor and was also well known on British television as a presenter and game show host...
described as "a child with an infant's rage but fundamentally a lovely man", she loved him and was devastated by his death, having sent him off with a flask of coffee and a packet of sandwiches that morning and watching what turned out to be his final performance.
Death on a live television show
On 15 April 1984, Cooper collapsed from a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in front of millions of television viewers, midway through his act on the London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
variety show Live From Her Majesty's
Live From Her Majesty's
Live From Her Majesty's was a Sunday night live variety show which was produced by London Weekend Television for the ITV network and ran from 1982 to 1988...
, transmitted live from Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
— not, as is often reported, the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
.
An assistant had helped him put on a cloak for his sketch, while Jimmy Tarbuck
Jimmy Tarbuck
Jimmy Tarbuck OBE or Tarby is an English comedian. Growing up he was a schoolmate of John Lennon.His first television show was It's Tarbuck 65! on ITV in 1964. He has also hosted numerous quiz shows, including Winner Takes All, Full Swing, and Tarby's Frame Game...
, the host, was hiding behind the curtain waiting to pass him different props which he would then appear to pull from inside his gown. The assistant smiled at him as he collapsed, believing that it was a joke. Likewise, the audience laughed as he fell, until it became apparent he was seriously ill. At this point the show's director, Alasdair MacMillan, cued the orchestra to play music for an unscripted commercial break (noticeable by several seconds of blank screen whilst LWT's master control
Master control
Master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations and television networks. It is distinct from a production control room in television studios where the activities such as switching from camera to camera are coordinated...
contacted regional stations to start transmitting advertisements) and Jimmy Tarbuck
Jimmy Tarbuck
Jimmy Tarbuck OBE or Tarby is an English comedian. Growing up he was a schoolmate of John Lennon.His first television show was It's Tarbuck 65! on ITV in 1964. He has also hosted numerous quiz shows, including Winner Takes All, Full Swing, and Tarby's Frame Game...
's manager tried to pull Cooper back through the curtains. It was decided to continue with the show. Dustin Gee
Dustin Gee
Dustin Gee was an English impressionist and comedian most famous for his double act with fellow comic, Les Dennis....
and Les Dennis
Les Dennis
Les Dennis is an English comedian, television presenter and actor best known as the host of Family Fortunes for 15 years.-Early life:...
were the act that had to follow Tommy Cooper, and other stars proceeded to present their acts in the limited space in front of the stage. For a long time, a rumour circulated that the size 13 feet from his 6' 4" frame protruded underneath the curtains. While the show continued, efforts were being made backstage to revive Cooper, not made easier by the darkness. It was not until a second commercial break that ambulancemen were able to move his body to Westminster Hospital
Westminster Hospital
Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded....
, where he was pronounced dead on arrival
Dead on arrival
Dead on arrival or D.O.A. is a term used to indicate that a patient was found to be already clinically dead upon the arrival of professional medical assistance, often in the form of first responders such as emergency medical technicians, paramedics, or police...
. His death wasn't officially reported until the next morning, although the incident was the lead item on the news programme that followed the show.
The video of Tommy Cooper suffering a heart attack on stage has been uploaded to numerous video sharing
Video hosting service
A video hosting service allows individuals to upload video clips to an Internet website. The video host will then store the video on its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view this video...
websites. YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
has been heavily criticised by the press when footage of the incident was posted on their website from May 2009.
Cooper was cremated at Mortlake Crematorium
Mortlake Crematorium
Mortlake Crematorium is a crematorium in Mortlake, a district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, United Kingdom. It is situated on the banks of the River Thames by Chiswick Bridge and serves the west and south-west of London, that is the Boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham,...
in London. Cooper was survived by his wife, Gwen (whom he called 'Dove'), and two children, Thomas
Thomas Henty
Thomas Henty was an English actor and was the son of the British magician and prop comedian Tommy Cooper. He went on to appear alongside his famous father in a 1979 episode of the Thames Television variety series London Night Out, as well as four episodes of the 1980 series Cooper's Half Hour,...
and Vicky, and a two year old grandchild, Tam. Cooper's son Thomas, who was an actor in his own right, changed his name for stage to Thomas Henty (his mother's maiden name). Henty said in interviews that, though he loved his dad, he needed his own identity to make a career on stage, and told very few who his famed father was, to further his dramatic acting career. Eventually son Tom traveled on the road as manager to his father. He also acted as occasional stage manager to his father, and was backstage with his father on the night he died. But like his father, son Thomas was a heavy drinker, and he died in August 1988 at Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital
Charing Cross Hospital is a general, acute hospital located in London, United Kingdom and established in 1818. It is located several miles to the west of the city centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham....
in Fulham
Fulham
Fulham is an area of southwest London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, SW6 located south west of Charing Cross. It lies on the left bank of the Thames, between Putney and Chelsea. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
, London, age 32. He died of haematemesis, following complications caused by liver failure
Liver failure
Acute liver failure is the appearance of severe complications rapidly after the first signs of liver disease , and indicates that the liver has sustained severe damage . The complications are hepatic encephalopathy and impaired protein synthesis...
. Doctors had attempted to pump seventy pints of new blood into his body, but the blood failed to clot, and after three days his mother took the decision to have his life support machine switched off. Thomas Henty left a son, Tam Henty.
Legacy
A statue of Cooper was unveiled in his hometown of CaerphillyCaerphilly
Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport, which are located some 7.5 miles and 12 miles away, respectively...
, Wales in 2008 by fellow entertainer Sir Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
, who is patron of The Tommy Cooper Society. The statue was sculpted by James Done.
In 2009 for Red Nose Day, a charity Red Nose was put on the statue, but the nose was stolen.
In a 2005 poll The Comedians' Comedian, Cooper was voted the sixth greatest comedy act ever by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. He is commonly cited as one of the best comedians of all time, with several polls placing him at number one.
Jerome Flynn
Jerome Flynn
Jerome Flynn is an English actor best known for his role as Corporal Paddy Garvey of the King's Fusiliers in the ITV series Soldier Soldier....
has toured with his own tribute show to Cooper called Just Like That. In February 2007, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
reported that Andy Harries
Andy Harries
Andrew D. M. Harries is a British television and film producer. After graduating from Hull University in the 1970s, Harries began his television career on the Granada Television current affairs series World in Action, before moving on to freelance work...
, a producer of The Queen
The Queen (film)
The Queen is a 2006 British drama film directed by Stephen Frears, written by Peter Morgan, and starring Helen Mirren as the title role, HM Queen Elizabeth II...
, was working on a dramatization about the last week of Tommy Cooper's life. Harries described Cooper's death as "extraordinary" in that the whole thing was broadcast live on national television.