Man who made us laugh just like that
ICAN recall countless TV appearances by Tommy Cooper from my youth. I still remember many of his most famous jokes and sketches. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t attempted an impersonation of him: hands outstretched and the immortal line “Just like that!” Still, I can’t claim to have been any more of a fan of his than the man in the street. Then, in 2010, as a writer and theatre producer, I witnessed one of my actors doing impressions of Tommy during rehearsals for another play. Wow! I thought. Imagine adding jokes, sketches, costume and a set to that. It could be amazing. So began a quest to bring The Tommy Cooper Show to the stage.
I mentioned to my wife my latest project. I read every available book and newspaper article and watched hours of videos on YouTube, selecting ones that I thought might be suitable for a play. History, chronology and humour would be the order of the day.
When I could see the piece taking shape, and could finally see that we had the makings of a show, I tried to make contact with those who might hold the rights to Tommy’s material. An online search brought up the Tommy Cooper Society. I sent them an email.
I continued to hone the material, finding more jokes and sketches to include. The play was being fleshed out but there was still no permission to do anything with it.
In 2013, society chairman Chris Blunt got in touch to say he was delighted to hear about the play. However, he explained, they were a fan club and did not hold performance rights. He did, though, know the man who did and he put me in touch with John Miles OBE, trustee of the Cooper estate.
There has been a lot of interest in Tommy in recent years. There have been several theatrical productions as well as a controversial television drama starring David Threlfall. Bizarrely, and – unfairly in my view – some of these have chosen to concentrate on Tommy’s private life rather than his career. It seems that some people wish to portray him as a modern-day Genghis Khan for his legendary meanness, his extra-marital affair and his excessive drinking, rather than remembering him for the consummate performer he was.
Naturally, the family and estate were quite wary when approached. I explained that I wished to put on a play that was celebratory in tone, to remind people of the things that they loved about Tommy – that ability to make people laugh even as they stood in the queue outside the theatre about to see him perform. Then, once you put words in his mouth and props in his (giant) hands, the feeling became infectious. He had naturally funny bones and the public adored him.
In 2013, The Tommy Cooper Show premiered in Liverpool and has since been performed at the Edinburgh Festival and in theatres from Scotland to the Isle of Wight, from Norfolk to Blackpool. The play is now produced by its star, Daniel Taylor, while I have continued with my own writing career.
In 2017, with two of my books riding high in the Amazon non-fiction charts, I approached several publishers to tell them of my success in the hope that I could secure professional support for my writing endeavours. Fonthill Media turned down two books but did, however, take note of the Tommy Cooper play that appeared on my literary CV. Would I be interested in writing a book about the comedy giant? Of course, I replied.
I decided that my book should be a fan’s eye view, a user-friendly, laugh-a-page chronicle containing as many jokes as possible. I hoped it would be a fitting tribute
Almost 100 years after Tommy Cooper’s birth and more than three decades since his death live on TV, the great comedian and magician continues to win accolades. IAN CARROLL, author of a new biography, reveals what it is that makes him such a fan