Tommy Cooper

Tommy Cooper ( born March 19, 1921 in Caerphilly, † April 15, 1984 in London) was a British comedian and magician.

Tommy Cooper's trademark was a red fez and artfully failed magic tricks. Although he pretended to be amateurish magician on stage, he was in reality a very accomplished magician, who was a member of the magic circle.

After completing his military service in 1947, he began performing in vaudeville. But his breakthrough, he scored through his television appearances. In 1948 he made ​​his television debut in the talent show New to You. Soon after, he got his own TV shows. From 1968 to 1980 he worked with the British production company Thames.

Tommy Cooper was a heavy smoker with a fierce penchant for alcohol. In 1977, he suffered a heart attack in Rome. Thames decided in 1980 due to his alcohol addiction, do not continue cooperation. Then Cooper occurred only sporadically as a guest on television shows.

On April 15th 1984 Tommy Cooper suffered during the live broadcast " Live from Her Majesty's " re a heart attack and collapsed before the eyes of millions of audience. The audience at first thought that this was part of the show. Tommy Cooper died on the way to the hospital.

In the show " The Comedians ' Comedian " by British television station Channel 4 Tommy Cooper was elected in 2005 by colleagues at number six of the greatest comedians.