'Tragic' moment comedian suffered heart attack on stage as audience thought it was part of the act
Dylan Murray
Featured Image Credit: ITV
In 1984, a beloved Welsh comedian took to the stage of Her Majesty's Theatre before dying on-stage in front of the audience.
Tommy Cooper was a comedian well-known for his prop comedy that would often go 'wrong' - although his failings were all choreographed thanks to his skill as a magician.
Standing at 6 feet 4 inches and wearing his distinctive red fez, Cooper was an icon of British comedy, rising to fame off the back of his show It's Magic in 1952.
Despite starring in many television programmes over the years, by the time he appeared on Her Majesty's Stage in London, his TV appearances were limited to a 'trickle of guest spots', according to the BFI.
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So, when Cooper began his usual routine, the audience members thought they'd had seen it all before.
According the show's compere, Jimmy Tarbeck, the 63-year-old was in the middle of his 'famous magic cloak skit'.
“Tommy was doing the famous magic cloak skit, and I was hiding behind the curtain passing him different props which he’d then appear to pull from inside his long flowing gown." he said.
“I’d hand him a paint pot, a plank of wood, gradually getting bigger and bigger until the final gag, which was me coming out carrying a step ladder and complaining I couldn’t fit it through his legs.
“But we never got to finish the routine because he suddenly dropped on to his haunches and was just sort of sitting there upright with his knees underneath him.”
Audience members initially thought it was part of the routine and began to laugh, however, after about a minute of Cooper lying on the floor, it became clear that something was wrong.
The show went to commerical break and the comedian was rushed to Westminster Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival at the facility - his cause of death was later given as a heart attack.
Beyond just the live audience witnessing the death of the beloved comedian, the show was also being televised - with 12 million viewers viewing the program at the time, The Mirror reports.
Tarbeck called it the 'saddest night of his entire career', and actor and comedian Les Dennis, who was tasked with performing alongside Dustin Gee, also spoke about Cooper’s death on the Where There's A Will, There's A Wake podcast with Katy Burke.
“He was a funny man. When he fell the audience laughed,” Dennis explained.
“It was Tommy's son who said, ‘No, my dad's got a bad back. He'd never be able to get up from that'."
Dennis said he'd thought 'they'd pull the plug on the show and put a repeat of The Professionals on or something', however, they 'had to go on after the commercial break and work around him because he [Cooper] was behind the big red curtains'.
The video of Cooper’s death has circulated online over the years - most recently on X, where people called his death 'tragic'.
One user said: “Tragic but we can’t blame the audience anyways."
While another commented: “In a twisted way, Tommy Cooper died doing what he loved best, making people laugh.”