Tommy Cooper
Tommy Cooper (19 March 1921 - 15 April 1984) was a British comedian and magician. He was born in Caerphilly, Wales.One of Britain's finest ever comedians, Cooper made an art form of failing at performing magical tricks. It should be noted that despite his purported inability to perform conjuring tricks, he was actually a very competent magician, which was a large part of the joke.
He was famous for wearing a red fez and his catchphrases, "Just like that! Not that -- that!", "Whisky, sample, sample, whisky, sample...".
Cooper collapsed during a live television performance from Her Majesty's Theatre in London suffering from a heart attack. He was rushed to hospital, but was dead on arrival. 20 years after his death he is still fondly remembered by the British public.
Like comic legends Eric Morecambe, Peter Cook and Les Dawson, Cooper appeared on a set of UK stamps in 1998.
Jerome Flynn has recently portrayed Cooper in a stage show as a special one-man tribute to the comic genius.