Tommy Cooper

Thomas Frederick "Tommy" Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a British prop comedian and magician. Cooper was a member of the Magic Circle, and respected by traditional magicians. He was famed for his red tarboosh, and his appearance was large and lumbering, at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and more than 15 stone (210 lb; 95 kg) in weight. On 15 April 1984, Cooper collapsed with a heart attack on live national television, and died soon afterwards. 2Early life Tommy Cooper was born at 19 Llwyn-On Street in Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales. Cooper was delivered by the woman who owned the house in which the family were lodging. His parents were Thomas H. Cooper, a former recruiting sergeant in the British Army turned coal miner, and Catherine Gertrude (née Wright), his English wife from Crediton in Devon. To escape from the heavily polluted air of 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 accent that became part of his act. When he was eight an aunt bought him a magic set and he spent hours perfecting the trick