Michael Parkinson: The Tommy Cooper Interview 1/2 

I'm American and Tommy Cooper is the funniest comedian I've ever seen. I'm sick of all these people on RU-vid finding it necessary to "explain" Tommy's comedy. If you get it, you get it. If you don't, there's no reason to explain it because you probably won't find it funny. Rest in peace, Tommy. We all miss you.

What made Tommy Cooper so brilliant and unique was that he wasn't a ordinary bloke telling funny jokes, he was a funny man telling ordinary jokes

An absolute genius that we will always treasure. Both Tommy and Michael RIP.

Tommy was just hilarious. One of THE most original talents ever.

Only Tommy could come to an interview, use it as another performance and the audience not mind a jot. My love of comedy started with you Mr Cooper and long may your legacy remain. RIP you genius

I can understand why he didn't do interviews, it's virtually impossible for a man like Tommy to be serious. He was a brilliant comedian and an accomplished magician. 👍♥️🇬🇧🤣😢

One of the very greatest......timing and ability to know how to play his audience and those who are with him so that the humour builds and builds.....and did the same with his props! You can watch this again and again and still learn something!

He was a comedy genius who literally died making people laugh.

My favorite Tommy Cooper he could make you feel happy just with his appearance he would walk onstage and smile and everything was alright

best funny person ever. Perfection, preparation, timing, it's just perfection, nothing less.

Even just saying NO and clearing his throat gets a belly laugh!

The man could just walk out on stage and get laughs, he is deeply missed!

Caught him walking down Oldham St in Manchester about 1972, I was looking down and saw the largest pair of feet coming towards me and looked up into the face of Tommy Cooper, wearing a white astrakhan coat and he just gave me an exaggerated wink and was gone. A sight hard to forget, and I never have!

Thanks for loading this up mate - good work

This is probably the only time you'll see the host become part of the audience!

ABSOLUTELY! I was just going to say that. When Parky is trying to ask him about the Fez and he is just lookng at him; he knows what he's doing. He knows his expressions and mannerisms are funny enough. Amazing.

Great comedian,a true gentleman,never used bad language,one of the greats. Dave the rave.

I pass his house several times a day and see the blue circular plaque above his doorway. RIP Legend comic.

Tommy cooper was a comedy genius he could literally stand on stage not say a word and people would be killing themselves laughing

This is the best Parkinson's interview ever with one of the greatest ever commics Tommy Cooper just like that

Tommy Cooper was hilarious. Him and Spike Milligan cracked me up like no other comedians. They were just naturally funny people and their humour was infectious. Id normally rarely laugh out loud at a comedian etc but those too would eventually and inevitable get me in uncontrollable laughter. Legends.

Oh gawd, Parky cracking up nearly killed me! :D Utter gold.

one of the great legends of comedy

a true genius of comedy timming miss u tommy

Omg this guy is sooo funny, can't get enough of him !!!

this christmas i got a dvd about tommy cooper and it was helliarous

One of the finest comedians ever. Tommy Cooper was a natural clown who had wonderful comic timing and a way of making people laugh with that permanently gormless expression. Sadly missed.

😅 so funny and brilliant

Made people laugh before even coming on or speaking, genius.

When the interviewer starts to realise this is going nowhere but pisses his pants haha! Cooper was sooo brilliant!

A Fez and 200 quid? Who else could put an audience into tears with that routine?

Some years ago I played a Tommy Cooper DVD to my Filipino wife who knew nothing about him. Within minutes she was laughing her head off. She said, "His face just makes you laugh". Tommy was one of the best.

the word that springs to mind for this amazing legend is genius tommy would have me crying as soon as he came on stage and doubled up in laughter such an amazing talent

Superlative. It would be so easy to see past the most astutely observed pauses, subtle gestures and capacity to say and do nothing and draw out the situation. Sublime artistry. Cooper was brilliant.

My left ear really enjoyed that

What a legend! He died on stage you know. R.I.P

he absolutely kills it! timeless! rip tommy!

My nan and my dad loved Tommy Cooper and I do also. Nice to see he can still fill all generations and make them laugh. shame he is gone, he still had so much more to give, he was very clever and witty and no comedian today seems to have that onstage pressence Cooper had At 27 with me saying that just seems weird but its true :)

I am a Tommy Cooper fan! Yes I am.

even parky, who is known to be hard to please, was in hysterics....hard to explain cooper``s appeal....most people don`t admit to finding him funny, yet, the audience always howl with laughter. just a naturally amusing guy...even he could`nt explain it. must have been a genius alright.

RIP sir Michael !!!

R.I.P. Tommy Cooper What A Legend!!!!!!!!!!!! He did look unwell in this video but still brill.

yes i agree with other comments that his personal life was some what not ideal. Yet what he did as a creative person was magical and lifted many peoples spirits aswell at the time. Thankyou Tommy be happy now and peaceful

On a bus from school, i saw him walk down a road. he was like 6ft tall.

parkie is litrally convulsing with laughter =)

"And if you enquire about these two comedy geniuses, you'll get a free Parker pen."

He was for me one of the greatest comics

His timing was amazing.

He was a genius that’s all.

If anybody else spoke the words that came out of Tommy Cooper's mouth during this clip it wouldn't be remotely funny. He could make people laugh simply by being there and that's what made him special.

Who was interviewing who.This is an absolute joy to watch.That night in1984 a bright star went out the like of which we'll never see again.Tommy has joined Eric Morecambe Les Dawson. Dave Allen and Benny Hill to name but a few.It was an honour to watch them and laugh with them.The finest legacy you can leave is the gift of laughter.💓💓💓😂😂😂

If you are listening through headphones, if you take the jack out a little bit you can get it in stereo. It's a bit awkward to do but works sometimes.

you know someone is a legend at comedy when they're not trying to be funny just saying normal things and the audience still laughs.

I can't watch to much Tommy Cooper because then I would probably die from laughter

I was watching the show on tv when he died. It was the night I brought my baby home from hospital 2 days old

best comedian ever,love this clip.RIP tommy JUST LIKE THAT

And you have just described a good number of famous people.

wonderful thankyou Tommy be as happy where you are

Like so many great comedians, Tommy Cooper was a tortured genius with demons that we mere mortals could never cope with.

Hilarious but would of loved to hear him being himself. But I guess that's the fun.

A comedy giant in more ways than one

Hahaha hahaha haha hahaha.. I needed that.. Thanks tommy

i had to stop it my sides hurt and could not get my breath a fan

How can you NOT laugh at this? Mike Ellery, NZ. 51 Years old. This was the funniest man ever. But i bet there was a sad side to Tommy. He did make me laugh though. Thank you Tommy. RIP

Absolutely.. and WHAT a face eh? Tragedy and hope intemingled, and that just hammered home the poignancy even more, thus enhancing the humour.

Tommy Cooper to sum up in one word "Legend"

one of the best guys ever

What a great comedian he was.

Mr. Cooper did have very serious health problems for years, and they got worse and worse... He could hardly walk for some time, was in great pain, but he continued... that was Mr. Cooper's life and death! He was one of the greatest "commedians" ever, much more than a magician, much more than a clown. He was Tommy Cooper, the one and only. He made me laugh, he made me smile... and after watching one of his tricks, listening to one of his stories... I felt better. He made my soul smile... that is how I see it.

parky spent the whole interview asking about the bloody fes

A true master at work. Michael Parkinson wasn't bad either. ;-)

Best of all time

Tommy would be 93 if he were alive today..

I agree he was amazingly hilarious.

No..... NOOOO.... **Cough* 😂😂😂😂😂

a great man, we miss his kind

Brilliant

What a shame this could not have been a serious interview, as he was such a huge comedy genius. It would have been nice to hear about his thoughts of his upbringing in Caerphilly, and how he started out in show business. As he never produced or wrote an autobiography, his memories as one of the finest entertainers in show businesses is lost. I regret not going to see him in the Corbetts club in Caerphilly, in the 1970s.

The funniest person who ever lived! Tommy's mind must have been streets ahead of whoever he was communicating with!

its been said many times that a joke is funny the first time, but if you hear it again its not but that doesn't apply to tommy cooper - ive listened to his jokes about 2 million times already and im still laughing now - even though I know what the punchlines gonna be

5 years. It took place at Christmas 1979.

the man was a master.

Just like that!! What a personality 😅

Tommy cooper you were amazing R.I.P to all you dissing this legend i feel sorry for you

Funniest comedian ever

Tommy Cooper was amazing.

A genuis. RIP Tommy. You were the best .

What year was this?

And he didn't need F this and F that to put it over - just like that!

Genius!!!

Speak for yourself and only for yourself. Incredible to read such a sad comment!!! Wow

No other comedians can take of Tommy Cooper so don't bother trying to do a remake of tommy cooper

The one word for Tommy Cooper is Genius

God bless you Tommy.

That whole confusion and everything he was having seemed pretty legit tbh. I think he just really didn't wanna hear or talk about that Fez.

Amazing, if a comic today, tried to copy or emulate Tommy's unique style of comedy, it would probably fail terribly. I cannot think of any other performer in our generation, able to carry off his timeless comedy. That's what made him unique, and a great performer Sadly missed

the clip is on youtube

whyyyyyy is the sound panned to the right????

Legend

Tommy Cooper-the meanest man in showbiz 😂