Product Description

Frank and revealing, this fully authorised biography by Tommy's friend and colleague, acclaimed TV producer, John Fisher, is the first ever intimate portrait of Britain's best-loved, but little known, entertainer. More than just a comedian, Tommy Cooper was a born entertainer. Working in a golden age of British comedy, Cooper stood - literally - head and shoulders above the crowd, and had a magical talent for humour that defied description. When Cooper enlisted in the army in 1939, and began to perfect his comic timing on his army colleagues in the Egyptian desert, the man with the fez was born. Cooper was at the heart of the thriving British variety scene, adored by his legions of fans and much revered by his fellow professionals. The gentle giant of entertainment accompanied his bewildered, botched magic act with a sublime sense of bravado and a face that was made for comedy. He was one of the first funny men to have the entire nation in stitches. But, there was a man behind the laughter that few people saw. John Fisher was Cooper's friend and colleague and witnessed first-hand the child that lingered within the adult and moments of self-doubt and inadequacy that contrasted with the genial exterior. Until his tragic death, which occurred in the middle of his act on live television in 1984, Tommy Cooper lived in constant fear of the day he would be found out by his audience. He could never believe the accolades that came so thick and fast from every direction, and died to the sounds of laughter that he never really believed. Supplementing his own intimate knowledge with material accessed for the first time from the archives of Tommy's agent and manager, Miff Ferrie, and with the full co-operation of the Cooper family, John Fisher brings alive the man behind the comedic mask in this definitive biography of a comedy legend.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57230 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
Praise for Tommy Cooper: 'Everyone wanted to imitate him didn't they. That was the true accolade I think. And he was funny as soon as he came on, he didn't have to say anything he was just ! FUNNY.' Ronnie Barker 'Tommy was amazing. He looked like Mount Rushmore on legs. He never said anything about real life so he never dates.' Barry Cryer 'Absolutely fantastic. No other comic would work with him, he was too good. He had this fantastic expression. A giant of comedy, a British WC Fields and he will be irreplaceable.' Eric Morecambe

From the Inside Flap
More than just a comedian, Tommy Cooper was a born entertainer.
Working in a golden age of British comedy, Cooper stood - literally - head
and shoulders above the crowd, and had a magical talent for humour that
defied description.

With a love of laughter stemming from a magic performance gone wrong when
he was in his teens, Cooper enlisted in the army in 1939 and began to
perfect his comic timing on his army colleagues in the Egyptian desert. The
man with the fez was born.

Cooper was at the heart of the thriving British variety scene, adored by
his legions of fans and much revered by his fellow professionals. But there
was a man behind the laughter that few people saw. John Fisher was Cooper's
friend and colleague and witnessed first-hand the moments of self-doubt and
inadequacy that contrasted with the genial exterior. Until his tragic
death, which occurred in the middle of his act on live television in 1984,
Tommy Cooper lived in constant fear of the day he would be `found out' by
his audience. He could never believe the accolades that came so thick and
fast from every direction, and died to the sounds of laughter that he never
really believed.

Supplementing his own intimate knowledge with material accessed for the
first time from the archives of Tommy's agent and manager, Miff Ferrie, and
with the full cooperation of the Cooper family, John Fisher's warm, honest
and insightful account brings alive the man behind the comedic mask in this
definitive biography of a comedy legend.

About the Author
John Fisher has a long and distinguished career as a TV producer working in light entertainment with such giants of comedy as Bob Monkhouse, Spike Milligan, Bruce Forsyth & Tommy Cooper. His most recent work includes Channel 4's critically acclaimed "Heroes of Comedy". An authority on popular entertainment, he has written many books on the subject. 'Jus' Like That!', his stage celebration of the life of Tommy Cooper, was a recent West End hit. He is also a member of the Inner Magic Circle.

Customer Reviews

I don't think Tommy would have liked this book
Tommy Cooper was one of the funniest men I have ever seen. He had the rare ability to be able to make you laugh just by looking at him; he, above anybody else I can think of, truly had 'funny bones'.
His humour wasn't complicated. He didn't rely on rambling jokes or bad language to get laughs, instead he was able to be funnier than 99.9% of all other performers by simple means - tricks going wrong, the odd bit of slapstick or just by changing the expression on his face.
It seems incongruous then, that Mr Fishers biography of Tommy Cooper is such a long, tedious affair.
No one could dispute that this is an extensive account of Tommy Coopers career, and that no stone has been left unturned in revealing Tommy Cooper the man, the husband, the performer, and also darker areas of his life - his affairs and his love of alcohol in later life.
The problem is that this information is imparted in a very dry fashion and as a result all the humour that we associate with Tommy Cooper is missing. Mr Grant attempts to inject humour by including the dialogue from some of his most famous sketches, but as Tommy Cooper was primarily a visual comic these fall a little flat.
I have a feeling that if Tommy Cooper were to have read this book he would, like me, have grown bored with it long before the end.

Reliving Cooper
If by 'definitive' Fisher and his publishers mean wordy, then it's certainly a fair description of this hefty tome.
Having said that, Cooper fans will enjoy this thoroughly researched and affectionate portrait of one of the greatest British entertainers of the last century. Some of the chapters on the ins and outs of Cooper's career, dealt with in extraordinary detail, might have benefited from some gentle editing. Equally, some may feel they would have liked more on Cooper the man. Fisher does eventually get round to delving into Cooper's personal life, his alcoholism, his other health problems and, of course, his infidelity, but only in any depth during the penultimate chapter.
It's an uneven book, but clearly a work of love by the author and he succeeds in reminding the reader what a great and fascinating man Cooper really was. Fisher retells countless jokes and routines to great effect, so much so that you can almost relive Cooper performing them. And that in itself makes this book a marvellously rewarding read. If Ken Dodd can still fill theatres up and down the land, imagine what Tommy Cooper could do if he were alive today. The mind boggles.

Hopes not met
I had high hopes of this book. I wanted to find out more about one of the great comedians of the 20th Century. The hopes were not met. The book drags terribly; it attempts to gain an understanding of Tommy by reflecting on other comedians and magicians who could have influenced him. As I do not know many of the acts mentioned, I found it a read that quickly became impenetrable.

I notice from other reviews that folk either seem to love or loathe this book. SO, at the end of the day, I guess it is for other folk to make their minds up about this tome.