Tommy Cooper
1921-1984
You know how people sometimes die to early? People like John Lennon, Hunter Thompson and John Belushi? People who still had a lot to offer to the world, even thought they might not even have realised it themselves?
Tommy Cooper was one of them, although in a league all his own. He was one of the few comedians who knew how to deliver a bad joke and get a roaring laughter from the audience. With Cooper, you laughed because of the comedy the man had in him, not so much because of the joke itself. In fact, you already started smiling when you even saw him. That man was comedy incarnate.
Don't believe me? His jokes really weren't that good. In fact, some were downright bad and wouldn't be told by any other comedian. Here's a selection of what I remember:
A man comes to the dentist.
The dentist says "Say aaaaa."
The man asks 'Why?"
The dentist replies, "My dog just died."
--
I went to the doctor today. I had to. He's ill.
The doctor says, "lay down on the couch."
I ask "Why?"
The doctor says , "I want to sweep up."
--
I said to the doctor
"I broke my arm in several places!"
The doctor said, "Then don't go to those places!"
I have yet to see another comedian who can deliver such jokes and get away with it! Even now I mostly think they're funny because I think of Tommy Cooper, his maniacal laugh and that silly red fez he always wore.
He also one of the incredibly rare comedians who died on the stage. yeah, for those of you who didn't know Tommy Cooper before reading this. He died on the stage. While telling jokes. He got a heart attack and dropped dead. While the audience was laughing. Holy crap.
There's really nothing I can say that will add to Tommy Cooper's genius. He was a man who could get away with laughing as hard as he did at his own jokes. Nobody can do that. Nobody.
Youtube is truly a marvel of modern media. I found lots of clips of Cooper. Here's one where he does the spoon-jar-jar-spoon trick. Classic.....
Tommy Cooper rules!!
Back to the world of rules and sucks