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{{Short description|British comedian and magician (1921–1984)}}
{{Other people|Thomas Cooper}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tommy Cooper
| image = Tommycooper.jpg
| caption = Cooper, {{circa|1982}}
| birthname = Thomas Frederick Cooper
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1921|03|19}}
| birth_place = [[Caerphilly]], [[Glamorgan]], Wales
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1984|04|15|1921|03|19}}
| death_cause = [[Heart attack]]
| death_place = [[Her Majesty's Theatre]], [[City of Westminster|Westminster]], [[London]], England
| occupation = Prop comedian, magician
| years_active = 1947–1984
| spouse = {{marriage|Gwen Henty|1947}}
| children = 2, including [[Thomas Henty|Thomas]]
}}

'''Thomas Frederick Cooper''' (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a [[Welsh people|Welsh]]-born<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-09-22|title=Tommy Cooper, a great Welsh comedian|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/73df52ee-8e65-3188-9eea-64e2e315fbf4|access-date=2022-02-22|website=BBC|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Citation|title=Fez-tival: Tommy Cooper interview|url=https://www.facebook.com/bbcradiowales/videos/262522925357468/|language=en|access-date=2022-02-22}}</ref> [[prop comedian]] and [[Magic (illusion)|magician]] of Anglo-Welsh parentage. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at {{convert|6|ft|3|in|m}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/drama/3592301/Just-like-Tommy.html|title=Just like Tommy|first=Dominic|last=Cavendish|date=4 April 2003|access-date=12 January 2019|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> and he habitually wore a red [[Fez (hat)|fez]] when performing. He initially served in the [[British Army]] for seven years, before eventually developing his conjuring skills and becoming a member of [[The Magic Circle (organisation)|The Magic Circle]]. Although he spent time on tour performing his magical act, which specialised on magic tricks that appeared to "fail", he rose to international prominence when his career moved into television, with programmes for [[London Weekend Television]] and [[Thames Television]].

By the end of the 1970s, Cooper was smoking and drinking heavily, which affected his career and his health, effectively ending offers to front new programmes and relegating him to performing as a guest star on other entertainment shows. On 15 April 1984, Cooper died at the age of 63 after suffering a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] live on television.<ref>{{cite news| newspaper=[[The Times]] | title=Obituary: Tommy Cooper | date=17 April 1984 }}</ref>

==Early life==
Thomas Frederick Cooper was born on 19 March 1921 at 19 Llwyn-On Street in [[Caerphilly]], [[Glamorgan]].<ref name="exmem">{{citation |title=Tommy Cooper |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112114320/http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_people/cooper.php |url=http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_people/cooper.php |archive-date=2012-01-12 |work=exetermemories.co.uk}}</ref> He was delivered by the woman who owned the house in which the family were lodging. His parents were Thomas H. Cooper, a [[Welsh people|Welsh]] recruiting sergeant in the [[British Army]] and later coal miner, and Catherine Gertrude (''née'' Wright), Thomas's [[English people|English]] wife from [[Crediton]], [[Devon]].<ref name="exmem" /><ref>GRO Register of Marriages: Dec 1919 11a 1538 Pontypridd – Thomas H. Cooper = Gertrude C. Wright.</ref>

To change from his mining role, that could have had implications for his health in Caerphilly, his father accepted the offer of a new job and the family moved to [[Exeter]], [[Devon]], when Cooper was three. It was in Exeter that he acquired the [[West Country English|West Country accent]] that became part of his act.<ref name="BBC1">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_3625000/3625301.stm |title=Home |work=BBC News |access-date=2015-02-18 |archive-date=23 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823082404/http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolpda/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_3625000/3625301.stm |url-status=dead }}</ref> As an adult and on a visit to Wales to visit the house where he was born, Cooper was asked if he considered himself to be a Welshman, to which he answered, "Well yes, my father's Welsh... and my mother's from Devon. Actually I was in Caerphilly and left here when I was about a year old, I was getting very serious with a girl", much to the amusement of the BBC interviewer and himself.<ref name=":0" />

When he was eight years old an aunt bought him a [[magic set]] and he spent hours perfecting the tricks.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tommy Cooper – Biography|url=http://www.biographyonline.net/comics/tommy-cooper.html|access-date=20 November 2011|publisher=Biographyonline.net}}</ref> In the 1960s his brother David (born 1930)<ref>GRO Register of Births: Se 1930 5b 60 St Thomas – David J. Cooper, mmn – Wright</ref> opened D. & Z. Cooper's Magic Shop at 249 High Street in [[Slough]], [[Buckinghamshire]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sopse.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=gateway&f=generic_objectrecord_postsearch.htm&_IXFIRST_=3652&_IXMAXHITS_=1&m=quick_sform&tc1=i&tc2=e&s=6_1o_IDUuQi|title=Shops along High Street, Slough, 1979|first=Reg|last=Harrison|website=www.sopse.org.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3625301.stm|title = Anniversary of Tommy Cooper's death|date = 16 April 2004}}</ref> The shop later moved to [[Eastbourne]], [[East Sussex]] and was run by David's daughter Sabrina.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eastbourneherald.co.uk/news/end-era-eastbourne-magic-shop-disappear-forever-1128918|title=End of an era as Eastbourne magic shop to disappear forever|website=www.eastbourneherald.co.uk}}</ref> After school Cooper became a [[shipwright]] in [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]]. In 1940 he was called up as a [[Trooper (rank)|trooper]] in the [[Royal Horse Guards]], serving for seven years. He joined [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Montgomery]]'s [[7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|Desert Rats]] in Egypt. Cooper became a member of a [[Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes]] (NAAFI) entertainment party, and developed an act around his [[Magic (illusion)|magic tricks]] interspersed with comedy. One evening in [[Cairo]], during a sketch in which he was supposed to be in a costume that required a [[pith helmet]], having forgotten the prop Cooper reached out and borrowed a [[Fez (hat)|fez]] from a passing waiter, which got huge laughs.<ref name="BBC2">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2116496#footnote1 |title=h2g2 - Tommy Cooper - Just Like That - Edited Entry |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |access-date=2015-02-18}}</ref> He wore a fez when performing after that, the prop later being described as "an icon of 20th-century comedy".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/shortcuts/2016/dec/05/tommy-cooper-fez-much-more-than-prop|title=Just like hat! Why Tommy Cooper's fez was much more than a prop|first=Brian|last=Logan|date=5 December 2016|website=The Guardian|access-date=27 January 2018}}</ref>

==Development of the act==
Cooper was [[demobilization|demobilized]] after seven years of military service and took up show business on Christmas Eve 1947. He later developed a popular [[monologue]] about his military experience as "Cooper the Trooper". He worked in variety theatres around the country and at many night spots in London, performing as many as 52 shows in one week.<ref name="Roy Busby">{{cite book|author=Roy Busby|title=British Music Hall: An Illustrated Who's Who from 1850 to the Present Day|year=1976|url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/British_Music_Hall/hHKfAAAAMAAJ|isbn=023640053-3}}</ref>

Cooper developed his conjuring skills and became a member of [[The Magic Circle (organisation)|The Magic Circle]], but there are various stories about how and when he developed his delivery of "failed" magic tricks:<ref name="BBC2"/>

*He was performing to his shipbuilding colleagues when everything went wrong, but he noticed that the failed tricks got laughs.
*He started making "mistakes" on purpose when he was in the Army.
*His tricks went wrong at a post-war audition, but the panel thoroughly enjoyed them anyway.

To keep the audience on their toes Cooper threw in an occasional trick that worked when it was least expected.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}

==Career==
Cooper was influenced by [[Laurel and Hardy]],<ref name="Fish">John Fisher, ''Tommy Cooper: Always Leave Them Laughing'', Harper Collins, 2006, p. 137</ref> [[Will Hay]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/05/25/feature_will_hay_british_comedy_legend/|title=Will Hay: Britain's bumbling star of the screen and skies|first=Phil|date=25 May 2015|last=Strongman|website=www.theregister.co.uk|access-date=27 December 2018}}</ref> [[Max Miller (comedian)|Max Miller]],<ref name="Fish"/> [[Bob Hope]],<ref name="Fish"/> and [[Robert Orben]].<ref>Fisher, ''Tommy Cooper'', pp. 157–158</ref>

In 1947 Cooper got his big break with Miff Ferrie, at that time trombonist in a band called The Jackdaws, who booked him to appear as the second-spot comedian in a show starring the [[Sanding (dance)|sand dance]] act Marqueeze and the Dance of the Seven Veils. Cooper then began two years of arduous performing, including a tour of Europe and a stint in [[pantomime]], playing one of [[Cinderella]]'s ugly sisters. The period culminated in a season-long booking at the [[Windmill Theatre]], where he doubled up doing cabaret. In one week he performed 52 shows. Ferrie remained Cooper's sole agent for 37 years, until Cooper's death in 1984. Cooper was supported by a variety of acts, including the vocal percussionist [[Frank Holder (musician)|Frank Holder]].

Cooper rapidly became a top-liner in variety with his turn as the conjurer whose tricks never succeeded, but it was his television work that raised him to national prominence. After his debut on the [[BBC]] talent show ''New to You'' in March 1948 he began starring in his own shows, and was popular with audiences for nearly 40 years, 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-1970s he was one of the most recognisable comedians in the world.

John Fisher writes in his biography of Cooper: "Everyone agrees that he was mean. Quite simply he was acknowledged as the [[Miser|tightest]] man in show business, with a pathological dread of reaching into his pocket." One of Cooper's stunts was to pay the exact taxi fare and when leaving the cab slip something into the taxi driver's pocket, saying, "Have a drink on me." That something would turn out to be a tea bag.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007hzl2 |title=BBC Two - The Art of Tommy Cooper |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2014-04-20 |access-date=2015-02-18}}</ref>

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. In addition he suffered from chronic [[indigestion]], [[lumbago]], [[sciatica]], [[bronchitis]] and severe circulation problems in his legs. When Cooper realised the extent of his maladies he cut down on his drinking, and the energy and confidence returned to his act. However, he never stopped drinking and could be fallible: on an otherwise triumphant appearance with [[Michael Parkinson]] he forgot to set the safety catch on the [[Guillotine (magic trick)#The traditional Guillotine illusion|guillotine illusion]] into which he had cajoled Parkinson, and only a last-minute intervention by the [[floor manager]] saved Parkinson from serious injury or worse.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/the-secret-life-of-tommy-cooper-417272.html |title=The secret life of Tommy Cooper |newspaper=The Independent |date=2006-09-24 |access-date=2015-02-18}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=January 2021}}

Cooper was a heavy cigar smoker (up to 40 a day) as well as an excessive drinker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/762/tommy-cooper-%E2%80%93-flawed-genius/page/0/2|title = Tags: 762}}</ref> He experienced a decline in health during the late 1970s, suffering a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in 1977 while performing a show in Rome. Three months later he was back on television in ''Night Out at the [[Prince Edward Theatre|London Casino]]''.

By 1980 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 appear as a guest on other television shows, however, and worked with [[Eric Sykes]] on two Thames productions in 1982.

== Death ==
On 15 April 1984, Cooper collapsed 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]] in [[City of Westminster|Westminster]], London.<ref name="wales"/> An assistant had helped him put on a cloak for his sketch, while [[Jimmy Tarbuck]], the host, was hiding behind the stage curtains waiting to pass him different props that he would then appear to pull from inside his gown.<ref name="wales">{{cite news |date=12 April 2009 |author=Nathan Bevan |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/04/12/tommy-cooper-s-last-act-fooled-us-all-says-jimmy-tarbuck-91466-23367910/ |title=Tommy Cooper's last act fooled us all, says Jimmy Tarbuck |work=Wales on Sunday}}</ref> The assistant smiled at him as he slumped down, believing that it was part of the act.<ref name="wales-youtube">{{cite news |title=Tommy Cooper death video posted on YouTube|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/05/10/tommy-cooper-death-video-posted-on-youtube-91466-23585341/ |date=10 May 2009 |author=Kelly Miles |work=Wales on Sunday}}</ref> Likewise, the audience laughed as he fell backwards.<ref name="wales"/> At this point, Alasdair MacMillan, the director of the television production, cued the orchestra to play music for an unscripted commercial break (noticeable because of several seconds of blank screen while LWT's [[master control]] contacted regional stations to start transmitting advertisements)<ref name="wales"/> and 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 Cooper, and other stars proceeded to present their acts in the limited space in front of the curtains. While the show continued, efforts were being made backstage to revive Cooper. It was not until a second commercial break that paramedics moved his body to [[Westminster Hospital]], where he was pronounced [[dead on arrival]]. His death was not officially reported until the next morning, although the incident was the leading item on the news programme that followed the show. Cooper was cremated at [[Mortlake Crematorium]] in London.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lodgebros.co.uk/news/mortlake-crematorium-celebrates-75-years/|title=Mortlake Crematorium Celebrates 75 Years |publisher=Lodge Brothers - Funeral Directors |access-date=22 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Amy |last=Dyduch |url=http://www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/news/11261771.Mortlake_Crematorium_marks_75_years/ |title=Mortlake Crematorium marks 75 years |newspaper=Richond and Twickenham Times |date=7 June 2014 }}</ref>

The video of Cooper's heart attack on stage has been uploaded to numerous [[Video hosting service|video-sharing]] websites. [[YouTube]] drew criticism from a number of sources when footage of the incident was posted on the website in May 2009. John Beyer of the pressure group [[Mediawatch-UK]] said: "This is very poor taste. That the broadcasters have not repeated the incident shows they have a respect for him and I think that ought to apply also on YouTube."<ref name="wales-youtube"/> On 28 December 2011 segments of the ''Live From Her Majesty's'' clip, including Cooper collapsing on stage, were included in the [[Channel 4]] programme ''The Untold Tommy Cooper''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.channel4.com/press/news/channel-4-reveals-untold-tommy-cooper|title = Channel 4 reveals the Untold Tommy Cooper | Channel 4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/dec/28/tv-review-the-untold-tommy-cooper-ben-hur|title = TV review: The Untold Tommy Cooper; Ben Hur|website = [[TheGuardian.com]]|date = 28 December 2011}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Cooper married Gwen Henty in [[Nicosia]], Cyprus, on 24 February 1947. She died in 2002.<ref>{{Cite book| url= http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/3096| author= Marc Brodie| title=''Cooper, Thomas Frederick [Tommy] (1921–1984)''| work = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography| publisher= [[Oxford University Press]]| access-date = 30 May 2013}}</ref> They had two children: Thomas, who was born in 1956, became an actor under the name [[Thomas Henty]] and died in 1988; and Victoria.

From 1967 until his death, Cooper also had a relationship with his personal assistant, Mary Fieldhouse, who wrote about it in her book, ''For the Love of Tommy'' (1986).<ref>{{Cite book | last= Fieldhouse| first= Mary| title= For the Love of Tommy| publisher = [[Anova Books|Robson Books Ltd]]| place= London| year= 1986| isbn= 978-0860513872}}</ref>

Cooper's will was proved via [[probate]] on 29 August 1984, at £327,272.<ref>Court of Great Lambeth Law England and Wales (CGPLA)</ref>

On Christmas Day 2018, the documentary ''Tommy Cooper: In His Own Words'' was broadcast on [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]]. The programme featured Cooper's daughter, Vicky, who gave her first television interview following years of abstaining "because of the grief".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1063324/Tommy-Cooper-death-daughter-His-Own-Words-jokes-latest-news-update|title=Tommy Cooper: Star's daughter breaks silence 34 YEARS after his death|date=24 December 2018|website=Express.co.uk|access-date=27 December 2018}}</ref>

==Legacy and honours==
[[File:Tommy Cooper by Aberdare Blog.jpg|thumb|upright|180px|Statue of Cooper near [[Caerphilly Castle]]]]

A statue of Cooper was unveiled in his birthplace, [[Caerphilly]], in 2008 by Sir [[Anthony Hopkins]], who is patron of the [[Tommy Cooper Society]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tommycooper.homesteadcloud.com/statue|title=Tommy Cooper - Almost a Magician - Statue|website=tommycooper.homesteadcloud.com|access-date=27 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227230552/https://tommycooper.homesteadcloud.com/statue|archive-date=27 December 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> The statue, which cost £45,000, was sculpted by James Done.<ref name=Stat>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7260219.stm |title=Tommy Cooper statue is unveiled |work=BBC News |date=23 February 2008 |access-date=20 November 2011}}</ref> In 2009, for [[Red Nose Day]], a charity Red Nose was put on the statue, but the nose was stolen.<ref name=Stat1>{{cite web|last=Rhys |first=Steffan |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/01/30/tommy-cooper-statue-s-red-nose-gone-just-like-that-91466-22814692 | title=Tommy Cooper statue's red nose gone just like that | work=Wales News |date=30 January 2009 | publisher=WalesOnline |access-date=20 November 2011}}</ref>

Cooper was a member of the [[Grand Order of Water Rats]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gowr.co.uk/roll-of-honour/|title=Roll of Honour|publisher=Grand Order of Water Rats |date=17 April 2017}}</ref>

In a 2005 poll, The Comedians' Comedian, comedians and comedy insiders voted Cooper the sixth greatest comedy act ever.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jan/02/arts.artsnews|title=Cook Tops Poll of Comedy Greats|access-date=10 April 2017|date=2 January 2005}}</ref> He has been cited as an influence by [[Jason Manford]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/television-in-wales/2011/07/11/i-thought-about-retraining-as-a-plasterer-says-ex-one-show-presenter-jason-manford-91466-29033283/ |title=I thought about retraining as a plasterer, says ex-One Show presenter Jason Manford |date=22 March 2013|work=Walesonline.co.uk |access-date=20 November 2011}}</ref> and [[John Lydon]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/story/0,,1240051,00.html |title=Metal box, P.I.L |work=Observer.guardian.co.uk |date=11 February 2011 |access-date=20 November 2011}}</ref> [[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 (2006 film)|The Queen]]'', was working on a dramatisation of the last week of Cooper's life.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/just-like-that-tommy-coopers-final-days-447928.html | work=The Independent | location=London | title=Just like that! Tommy Cooper's final days | first1=Arifa | last1=Akbar | first2=Jonathan | last2=Brown | date=8 May 2007 | access-date=25 May 2010 | archive-date=20 February 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220000859/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/just-like-that-tommy-coopers-final-days-447928.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> Harries described Cooper's death as "extraordinary" in that the whole thing was broadcast live on national television.<ref>{{cite video|people= Harries, Andy|title= Andy Harries, Coventry Conversations, 25 April|url= http://podcasting.services.coventry.ac.uk/podcasting/index.php?id=117|format= MP3|publisher= Coventry University Pod-casting Service|date= 27 April 2007|access-date= 2 March 2008|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120713040451/http://podcasting.services.coventry.ac.uk/podcasting/index.php?id=117|archive-date= 13 July 2012}}</ref> The film subsequently went into production over six years later as a television drama for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]. From a screenplay by [[Simon Nye]], ''[[Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This]]'' was directed by Benjamin Caron and the title role was played by [[David Threlfall]]. It was broadcast 21 April 2014.<ref>{{cite web|first=Mayer|last=Nissim|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a483937/shameless-david-threlfall-to-play-tommy-cooper-in-one-off-itv-drama.html|title='Shameless' David Threlfall to play Tommy Cooper in one-off ITV drama|website=Digital Spy|date=23 May 2013|access-date=23 May 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Clive Mantle as Tommy Cooper.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Clive Mantle]] as Tommy Cooper]]
In 2010 Cooper was portrayed by [[Clive Mantle]] in a stage show, ''[[Jus' Like That! A Night Out with Tommy Cooper]]'', at the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe|Edinburgh Festival.]] To train for the role Mantle mastered many of Cooper's magic tricks, studying under [[Geoffrey Durham]] for several months.<ref name="SWE0410">{{cite news|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-223745229|title=Jus' like that! Legendary Welsh-born comic Tommy Cooper is the subject of a new stage show starring actor Clive Mantle.|work=[[South Wales Echo]]|date=13 April 2010}}{{dead link|date=July 2021}}</ref>

In 2012 the [[British Heart Foundation]] ran a series of advertisements featuring Cooper to raise awareness of heart conditions. These included posters bearing his image together with radio commercials featuring classic Cooper jokes.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/bhf-uses-tommy-cooper-in-latest-ads/4002017.article|title= BHF uses Tommy Cooper in latest ads|publisher= Centaur Media Plc|work= Marketing Week|first= Russell|last= Parsons|date= 1 June 2012|access-date= 4 June 2012}}</ref>

''Being Tommy Cooper'', a new play written by Tom Green and starring Damian Williams, was produced by Franklin Productions and toured the UK in 2013.<ref>{{cite web | title=Being Tommy Cooper | url=http://www.beingtommycooper.co.uk/ | publisher=Franklin Productions Ltd | access-date=8 April 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409033025/http://www.beingtommycooper.co.uk/ | archive-date=9 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Tommy Cooper | publisher=[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] | work=TOMMY COOPER: NOT LIKE THAT, LIKE THIS | url=http://presscentre.itvstatic.com/presscentre/sites/presscentre/files/Tommy%20Cooper.pdf | location=UK | access-date=24 April 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904060704/http://presscentre.itvstatic.com/presscentre/sites/presscentre/files/Tommy%20Cooper.pdf | archive-date=4 September 2015 | url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2014, with the support of The Tommy Cooper Estate and Cooper's daughter Victoria, a new tribute show, ''Just Like That! The Tommy Cooper Show'', commemorating 30 years since the comedian's death was produced by Hambledon Productions. The production moved to the Museum of Comedy in Bloomsbury, London, from September 2014 and continues to tour extensively throughout the UK.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hambledonproductions.com/ |title=Lincolnshire-based professional theatre company. |publisher=Hambledon Productions |access-date=2015-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museumofcomedy.com/ |title=Home |publisher=Museum of Comedy |access-date=2015-02-18}}</ref>

In May 2016 a blue plaque in memory of Cooper was unveiled at his former home in Barrowgate Road, [[Chiswick]]. In August it was announced that the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]] had acquired 116 boxes of Cooper's papers and props, including his "gag file", in which the museum said he had used a system to store his jokes alphabetically "with the meticulousness of an archivist".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37193991|title=Tommy Cooper's 'gag file' to be preserved by Victoria & Albert museum|work=BBC News |date=26 August 2016 }}</ref>

On 5 March 2021 [[BBC One]] aired the 30-minute documentary ''Tommy Cooper at the BBC'', looking at his best performances, including his appearance on the ''[[Parkinson (TV series)|Parkinson]]'' show where he almost killed [[Michael Parkinson]] with a trick [[guillotine]]. The programme, which celebrated the centenary of his birth, was presented by Sir [[Lenny Henry]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000stwt|title=BBC One - Tommy Cooper at the BBC|website=BBC}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year!!Title<ref>{{cite web |title=Tommy Cooper |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/tommy_cooper/ |website=British Comedy Guide |access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tommy Cooper |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f8d6f86 |website=BFI |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref>!!TV company!!Episodes
|-
|1952||''It's Magic''||[[BBC Television|BBC]]||8
|-
|1953–1979||''[[The Royal Variety Performance]]''||BBC / [[Associated Television|ATV]]||7
|-
|1955||''[[Sunday Night at the London Palladium]]''||ATV||1
|-
|1957||''Cooper'' / ''Life With Tommy''||[[Associated-Rediffusion|A-RTV]]||12
|-
|1957||''The Tommy Cooper Hour''||ATV||1
|-
|1958||''The Stars Rise in the West''||[[Television Wales and the West|TWW]]||1
|-
|1958||''Cooper's Capers''||ATV||6
|-
|1960||''[[And the Same to You]]''||''Film''||1
|-
|1963||''[[The Cool Mikado]]''||''Film''||1
|-
|1966||''Cooperama''||[[ABC Weekend TV|ABC]]||7
|-
|1966–1969||''Life With Cooper''||ABC / [[Thames Television|Thames]]||19
|-
|1967||''[[The Plank (1967 film)|The Plank]]''||''Film''||1
|-
|1967||''Spotlight''||ATV||1
|-
|1968||''Cooper King-Size''||Thames||1
|-
|1968||''Cooper At Large''||Thames||1
|-
|1969–1971||''Tommy Cooper'' / ''It's Tommy Cooper''||[[London Weekend Television|LWT]]||13
|-
|1973–1975||''The Tommy Cooper Hour ''||Thames||9
|-
|1975||''Cooper''||Thames||6
|-
|1976||''Tommy Cooper's Guest Night''||Thames||1
|-
|1977||''The Silver Jubilee Royal Variety Gala''||ATV||1
|-
|1977||''30 Years ... Just Like That! ''||Thames||1
|-
|1978–1979||''London Night Out''||Thames||2
|-
|1978||''The Tommy Cooper Show''||Thames||1
|-
|1978||''Cooper – Just Like That''||Thames||6
|-
|1978||''Must Wear Tights''||Thames||1
|-
|1979||''[[Parkinson (TV series)|Parkinson at Christmas]]''||BBC||1
|-
|1980||''Cooper's Half Hour''||Thames||6
|-
|1982||''[[It's Your Move (1982 film)|It's Your Move]]''||Thames||1
|-
|1982||''The Eric Sykes 1990 Show''||Thames||1
|-
|1983||''This Is Your Lunch''||BBC||1
|-
|1983||''The Bob Monkhouse Show''||BBC||1
|-
|1984||''[[Live from Her Majesty's]]''||LWT||1
|}

==Recordings==
*"Don't Jump Off the Roof Dad" (1961), words and music by [[Cy Coben]], single, Palette Records PG 9019 (reached Number 40 in the [[UK Singles Chart]])<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
| first= David
| last= Roberts
| year= 2006
| title= [[British Hit Singles & Albums]]
| edition= 19th
| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited
| location= London
| isbn= 1-904994-10-5
| page= 120}}</ref>
*"Ginger" – 7" single
*"Happy Tommy" – 7" single
*"Just Like That" 7" single
*"Masters of Comedy" – CD
*"No Arms Will Ever Hold You" – 7" single
*"Sweet Words of Love" – 7" single
*"Tommy Cooper Very Best Of" – CD, DVD
*"Walkin' Home From School" – 7" single
*"We'll Meet Again" – 7" single

== UK VHS/DVD releases ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!VHS title
!Release date
|-
| ''A Tribute to Tommy Cooper'' (TV9936)
| style="text-align:center;"|3 November 1986
|-
|-
| ''The Magic of Tommy Cooper - Tribute to a Comedy Genius'' (TV8091)
| style="text-align:center;"|4 June 1990
|-
| ''The Best of Tommy Cooper'' (TV8141)
| style="text-align:center;"|19 August 1991
|-
|-
| ''Tommy Cooper - "Not Like That"'' (TV8160)
| style="text-align:center;"|1 June 1992
|-
| ''Tommy Cooper - Solid Gold'' (TV8169)
| style="text-align:center;"|5 October 1992
|-
|-
| ''The Magic of Tommy Cooper - Tribute to a Comedy Genius'' (LC0012)
| style="text-align:center;"|1 March 1993
|-
| ''The Magic Lives of Tommy Cooper'' (TV8182)
| style="text-align:center;"|11 October 1993
|-
|-
| ''Tommy Cooper - The Magic Touch'' (TV8184)
| style="text-align:center;"|7 March 1994
|-
| ''The Very Best of Tommy Cooper'' (TV8198)
| style="text-align:center;"|6 March 1995
|-
|-
| ''Tommy Cooper - The Missing Pieces'' (TV8211)
| style="text-align:center;"|2 October 1995
|-
| ''The Feztastic Tommy Cooper''
| style="text-align:center;"|6 May 1996
|-
| ''Tommy Cooper - The Golden Years'' (TV8261)
| style="text-align:center;"|3 November 1997
|-
| ''A Feztival of Fun With Tommy Cooper'' (B00005M1YE)
| style="text-align:center;"|16 September 2002
|}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Tommy |title=just like that! |date=1975 |publisher=Jupiter Books (London) LImited |isbn=0904041301}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book | first=Mary|last= Fieldhouse | title= For the Love of Tommy: a personal portrait of Tommy Cooper | date=1986 }}
* {{cite book | first=John | last=Fisher | title=Funny way to be a hero | date=1973 }}
* {{cite book | first=Tommy | last=Cooper | title=Just Like That | edition=3rd | date=1994 }}
* {{cite book | first= David | last=Nathan | title=The laughtermakers: a quest for comedy |date=1971}}
* {{cite book | first=Tise | last=Vahimagi | title=British Television, an illustrated guide | edition=2nd | date=1996 }}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180810193557/http://www.tommycooper.co.uk/ Tommy Cooper - Almost a Magician] - archived link
{{portal|Comedy}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Tommy}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1984 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century British male actors]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:British male television actors]]
[[Category:British male comedians]]
[[Category:British magicians]]
[[Category:People from Caerphilly]]
[[Category:People from Exeter]]
[[Category:People educated at Mount Radford School]]
[[Category:Royal Horse Guards soldiers]]
[[Category:Prop comics]]
[[Category:Music hall performers]]
[[Category:Filmed deaths of entertainers]]
[[Category:Deaths onstage]]
[[Category:20th-century British comedians]]
[[Category:British clowns]]

Tommy Cooper - Revision history

Kurt at 12:53, 11 September 2024

Kurt at 04:12, 18 January 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Dr Greg: /* Filmography */ +1

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:53, 11 September 2024
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	~~{{Short description\|British comedian and magician (1921–1984)}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\| name = Tommy Cooper		\| name = Tommy Cooper
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	*His tricks went wrong at a post-war audition, but the panel thoroughly enjoyed them anyway.		*His tricks went wrong at a post-war audition, but the panel thoroughly enjoyed them anyway.

	To keep the audience on their toes Cooper threw in an occasional trick that worked when it was least expected.~~{{Citation needed\|date=September 2019}}~~		To keep the audience on their toes Cooper threw in an occasional trick that worked when it was least expected.

	==Career==		==Career==

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:12, 17 January 2023
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	{{Short description\|British comedian and magician (1921–1984)}}		{{Short description\|British comedian and magician (1921–1984)}}
	~~{{Other people\|Thomas Cooper}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=August 2014}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2020}}~~
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\| name = Tommy Cooper		\| name = Tommy Cooper
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	==Bibliography==		==Bibliography==
	* {{cite book \|last1=Cooper \|first1=Tommy \|title=just like that! \|date=1975 \|publisher=Jupiter Books (London) ~~LImited~~ \|isbn=0904041301}}		* {{cite book \|last1=Cooper \|first1=Tommy \|title=just like that! \|date=1975 \|publisher=Jupiter Books (London) Limited \|isbn=0904041301}}

	==References==		==References==
Line 252:		Line 249:
	==External links==		==External links==
	* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180810193557/http://www.tommycooper.co.uk/ Tommy Cooper - Almost a Magician] - archived link		* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180810193557/http://www.tommycooper.co.uk/ Tommy Cooper - Almost a Magician] - archived link
	~~{{portal\|Comedy}}~~

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Tommy}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Tommy}}

← Older revision	Revision as of 10:43, 3 August 2022
(No difference)