Why did Tommy Cooper wear a fez?

TOMMY COOPER was an iconic comedian and performer, rarely seen without his trademark fez hat.

The red headgear had little to do with the late Cooper’s act but still became synonymous with the Welsh star during his nearly three-decade long career.

The late comedian Tommy Cooper in his trademark red fez

Why did Tommy Cooper wear a fez?

Tommy Cooper was a comedian and magician who was hugely popular in the 1970s.

The star, born in Wales on March 19, 1921, wore a fez from the very beginning of his career, and the reasoning behind this style choice goes way back to the second World War.

Legend has it that, moments before a performance for a group of soldiers at a bar in Cairo, Egypt, Cooper, who served in the British Army himself before becoming a magician, realised he had forgotten to wear a hat.

He is then said to have taken a fez, a round red hat with a black tassle, from an Egyptian waiter’s head and put it on himself.

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Cooper then stuck with the burgundy, felt headgear throughout his entire career as an entertainer.

How much is Tommy Cooper’s fez worth?

In 2010, a fez from Cooper’s estate was sold at auction for £4,750.

According to auction house Christie’s, the hat was believed to be the last from the late Cooper’s estate.

In 2021, one sold for £4,000 at East Bristol Auctions.

What is Tommy Cooper best known for?

Tommy got his big break in the 1940s, working as a comedian and starring in pantomimes.

He regularly headlined variety shows, which led to a huge increase in popularity, but it was his television shows that really catapulted him to fame, and are now what he is best known for.

He was loved for his “bungled” routines and catchphrase “just like that”.

From 1968 to 1972 he fronted the Tommy Cooper Show and It’s Tommy Cooper on London Weekend Television, before going on to host numerous programmes for Thames Television from 1973 to 1980.

The Tommy Cooper Hour, Tommy Cooper’s Guest Night, and Cooper’s Half Hour were just some of the projects he led during his time with Thames Television.

In the 1970s, Cooper also made appearances on The Silver Jubilee Royal Variety Gala and the Parkinson chat show, where he infamously nearly killed host Michael Parkinson by forgetting to set the safety catch on the guillotine he used for a trick.

Cooper left a lasting legacy after his death, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential comedians of his time.

In 2009, a statue of Cooper was unveiled in his birthplace of Caerphilly, Wales.

When did Tommy Cooper die and what was his cause of death?

Tommy died at the age of 63 after suffering a heart attack on April 15, 1984.

The star was in the middle of his act on variety show Live From Her Majesty’s when he collapsed.

The audience initially believed his collapse was part of his act.

Once those backstage realised what had happened, paramedics moved his body to Westminster Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

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As well as the in-person audience, the Live From Her Majesty’s show, and Cooper’s death, was broadcast live to viewers at home.

In the years following his death, footage of Cooper’s on-stage heart attack has been uploaded to numerous sites, drawing criticism from fans.

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