TOMMY COOPER

Tommy Cooper died on stage at Her Majesty's Theatre on the 15th of April 1984 of a massive heart attack. The showbiz world mourned a great comedian and a magician. His act was unique, combining a ham sort of comedy that relied on excellent timing to tell old jokes, and to muck up magic tricks with style. Tommy was an enormous chap towering above most, but still retained the gentle giant image, and an almost mischievous air about him.

He is always remembered, and easily imitated by the Fez he always wore on stage and the catchphrase, 'Just Like That'. There is very little in the way of information on him, apart from references to his good nature and stage persona (along with his liking of gin on his cornflakes!) in other comedians biographies, but his Autobiography of Sorts is entertaining reading and was reprinted by Virging 1994 (ISBN 0-86369-852-2, priced £4.99) and is worth looking for. There have also been various videos of his shows over the years, one being the 4-front video, Just Like That from 1993, and the latest from Granada Media called A Feztival of Fun. This is available now in the shops or direct from VCI, runs for a total of 69 minutes, has a catlogue number, GV0150, and is priced £10.99.

New in the shops besides the above video, are two volumes of the best bits, on audio. You can get both volumes on CD or on tape from most good outlets, but alas I haven't got the price details yet, though I think the CDs are around a tenner each.

Care has been taken in choosing the most suitable bits of Cooper's acts for these audios, and with it being very visual, I can only assume that is why they are very short in comparison to other audio releases. This is the only drawback though, as when the tapesa re playing you can imagine the huge frame of Tommy Cooper going through his act, bumbling away, and makign comic asides to the magic tricks.

Volume 1	Tape	1 86051 0744
	CD	1 86051 0752
Volume 2	Tape	1 86051 0809
	CD	1 86051 0817

I have been told that there are many more tapes planned for the coming year, so keep your eyes peeled around the shops as this does look to be a promising range of comedy tapes.

This page is only a start, and as I get more information I will update the page so please check back often.