Tommy Cooper is regularly cited as every comedian’s favourite comedian. He had a unique act as bungling fez-wearing magician unable to perform tricks while appearing entirely undeterred, but this masked a master craftsman whose every chaotic mishap was meticulously planned. Cooper had only to walk onto a stage to make an audience laugh. He was an innately funny performer, a towering presence on the British comedy and variety scene for over three decades before his untimely death on a live television variety show in 1984. His legacy lives on today in regular reruns of his popular shows and documentaries charting his phenomenal success.

Foster Brooks established himself as “the best drunk act in America” in the late 1960’s with a performance made all the more extraordinary by Brooks’ status as a committed teetotaller. No one in American comedy gave a more convincing, or more hilarious, portrayal of extreme inebriation. Brooks found national fame after Dean Martin first showcased his work on network television and he became a semi-regular on the Hollywood celebrity roasts hosted by his champion. On British television, Brooks was introduced to the UK audience by his great fan, Bob Monkhouse.

John Marley and Mark Wells discuss the work of the peerless Tommy Cooper and the comedy of the great Foster Brooks.

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