Tommy Cooper was NOT funny

byronbay2 · 27-06-2020 1:12am #1

I've put up with this myth for a loooong time but now I have to speak out. It started (for me) in my early teens when there was a Tommy Cooper show on prime-time TV and, with only a couple of channels, I watched a few episodes. It was absolutely AWFUL! A bumbling buffoon, wearing a funny hat, getting card tricks (hilariously!) wrong and cracking a few terrible jokes. I knew he was popular at the time but it didn't bother me because most TV was terrible and I thought he appealed to an adult audience rather than me.

Fast forward 40 years and I am an adult now myself! I have seen Cooper every so often over the years and my opinion has never wavered: totally unfunny rubbish. Yet now, every few weeks it seems, there are TC retrospectives (and a movie!) with contemporaries and modern comedians falling over themselves to say what a genius he was and how hilarious his bumbling character was.

My question is: Am I wrong? Was he a genius? Or is there a giant conspiracy to fool the modern audience into thinking his act was hilarious? Surely, anyone watching him for 5 minutes could see that he was a total charlatan??

Rodney Bathgate · 27-06-2020 1:13am

Bullsh1t. Even his Fez was funny.

Larbre34 · 27-06-2020 1:15am

It takes a lot of brains to appear that stupid.

That aside, you're wrong, his timing was absolutely excellent. I daresay its just because he came from another era entirely that you may not appreciate him.

uch · 27-06-2020 1:19am

Why would he want to fool a modern audience when he died 25 or so years ago? he was funny as fúck back then though

Strumms · 27-06-2020 1:28am

Guy was pretty original and his humor and wit was quite clever, he was quite a character and me laugh, bit different from the regular joke teller the way he incorporated magic, being fûcked up in that bumbling bafoonery style, yeah , liked him, he wasn’t ‘edgy’ but he was good, great in fact, rock on Tommy.

fran38 · 27-06-2020 1:34am

[QUOTE=byronbay2;113860728]I've put up with this myth for a loooong time but now I have to speak out. It started (for me) in my early teens when there was a Tommy Cooper show on prime-time TV and, with only a couple of channels, I watched a few episodes. It was absolutely AWFUL! A bumbling buffoon, wearing a funny hat, getting card tricks (hilariously!) wrong and cracking a few terrible jokes. I knew he was popular at the time but it didn't bother me because most TV was terrible and I thought he appealed to an adult audience rather than me.

Fast forward 40 years and I am an adult now myself! I have seen Cooper every so often over the years and my opinion has never wavered: totally unfunny rubbish. Yet now, every few weeks it seems, there are TC retrospectives (and a movie!) with contemporaries and modern comedians falling over themselves to say what a genius he was and how hilarious his bumbling character was.

My question is: Am I wrong? Was he a genius? Or is there a giant conspiracy to fool the modern audience into thinking his act was hilarious? Surely, anyone watching him for 5 minutes could see that he was a total charlatan??[/QUOTE]

So sorry for your troubles

Riddle101 · 27-06-2020 1:34am

I've never watched Tommy Cooper but it seems to me that a lot of comedy acts could be attributed to a certain generation of fans. I think my grandfather liked Tommy Cooper, and he would also have been into the likes of Laurel and Hardy and The Two Ronnies yet you'd probably wouldn't see a lot of fans of those comedy acts nowadays. On the other hand, he probably wouldn't have been into a lot of the modern comedians today, he was very old fashioned.

whisky_galore · 27-06-2020 1:40am

Funny that, how 40 year old comedy routines don't stand up to 21st century scrutiny. Also what people find funny is subjective.

Ipso · 27-06-2020 1:42am

Gerronupoutofthat

JupiterKid · 27-06-2020 1:46am

whisky_galore wrote: »

Funny that, how 40 year old comedy routines don't stand up to 21st century scrutiny. Also what people find funny is subjective.

This is it in a nutshell.

Comedy is highly subjective - what one person finds side-splittingly hilarious another will see it as just...meh. Tommy Cooper was a bit before my time - he keeled over and died on the spot on stage when I was about 8 or 9. I remember at the time that he died and how he died but not the man as a regular fixture on the telly.

JohnFalstaff · 27-06-2020 1:50am

"I sleep like a baby. Every morning I wake up screaming around 2 o’clock."

One of my favourite Tommy Cooper jokes. The man never tried to be one of those comedians who provided social commentary, which makes much of his material timeless. The only time he died onstage was the time he actually died onstage. Which is also hilarious - the final punchline.

StupidLikeAFox · 27-06-2020 1:55am

Jus'li'da

Itssoeasy · 27-06-2020 1:56am

byronbay2 wrote: »

I've put up with this myth for a loooong time but now I have to speak out. It started (for me) in my early teens when there was a Tommy Cooper show on prime-time TV and, with only a couple of channels, I watched a few episodes. It was absolutely AWFUL! A bumbling buffoon, wearing a funny hat, getting card tricks (hilariously!) wrong and cracking a few terrible jokes. I knew he was popular at the time but it didn't bother me because most TV was terrible and I thought he appealed to an adult audience rather than me.

Fast forward 40 years and I am an adult now myself! I have seen Cooper every so often over the years and my opinion has never wavered: totally unfunny rubbish. Yet now, every few weeks it seems, there are TC retrospectives (and a movie!) with contemporaries and modern comedians falling over themselves to say what a genius he was and how hilarious his bumbling character was.

My question is: Am I wrong? Was he a genius? Or is there a giant conspiracy to fool the modern audience into thinking his act was hilarious? Surely, anyone watching him for 5 minutes could see that he was a total charlatan??

Answers to your questions
1.yes you are
2. Yes he was a genuis.
3. No talent isn't generational.
4. Charlatan ? Not even remotely. How many comedians today have the audience laughing before even say one word ?

byronbay2 · 27-06-2020 1:59am

whisky_galore wrote: »

Funny that, how 40 year old comedy routines don't stand up to 21st century scrutiny. Also what people find funny is subjective.

They weren't funny 40 years ago!

ShatterAlan · 27-06-2020 2:11am

byronbay2 wrote: »

I've put up with this myth for a loooong time but now I have to speak out. It started (for me) in my early teens when there was a Tommy Cooper show on prime-time TV and, with only a couple of channels, I watched a few episodes. It was absolutely AWFUL! A bumbling buffoon, wearing a funny hat, getting card tricks (hilariously!) wrong and cracking a few terrible jokes. I knew he was popular at the time but it didn't bother me because most TV was terrible and I thought he appealed to an adult audience rather than me.

Fast forward 40 years and I am an adult now myself! I have seen Cooper every so often over the years and my opinion has never wavered: totally unfunny rubbish. Yet now, every few weeks it seems, there are TC retrospectives (and a movie!) with contemporaries and modern comedians falling over themselves to say what a genius he was and how hilarious his bumbling character was.

My question is: Am I wrong? Was he a genius? Or is there a giant conspiracy to fool the modern audience into thinking his act was hilarious? Surely, anyone watching him for 5 minutes could see that he was a total charlatan??

It's fine that you don't get his situation comedy

Facial expressions, foolishness. A lot do and enjoy his clumsiness. And cheesiness.

I can't stand anything "Monty Python"...I just dont get it. To me, it is not funny AT ALL.

So I suppose it's about taste.

Arghus · 27-06-2020 3:12am

His physical appearance used to scare me when I was a child.

MrStuffins · 27-06-2020 3:15am

Comedy, just like any art form, is subjective.

You not finding him funny doesn't make him unfunny, just like me not liking Led Zep doesn't make them **** at music.

I know Led Zep are class. They're just not for me.

Badly Drunk Boy · 27-06-2020 3:16am

Scroobius Pip liked him enough to make this tribute:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8zi7vcnjVc

Badly Drunk Boy · 27-06-2020 3:24am

Just last week, they were showing old Tommy Cooper shows on Gold or ITV7 or something, and I watched a bit tried to move on, but even though it was a bit stupid, something kept me watching. He'd make a mess of a trick, continue on, and as you're thinking "This is ridiculous!" he'd suddenly do something to make you think "How did he just do that?!?". Maybe the bungling around lowers your expectation, but even if that was the case, it's a great angle! It does the job.

Tin Foil Hat · 27-06-2020 6:23am

This time next week he'll get deleted for the cultural appropriation of a hat.

sydthebeat · 27-06-2020 7:19am

He cracked me up then as a young boy, and he still does.

Comedy gold.

Unique, and his schtick was for everyone, which can't be said about a lot of other comedians at that time.

Kylta · 27-06-2020 7:22am

Where like the OP in my teens I couldn't understand what he was all about, in later years I understood his comedy act. The man was a comic legend in his own lifetime and still is. He still makes me laugh to this day

Kylta · 27-06-2020 7:25am

Tin Foil Hat wrote: »

This time next week he'll get deleted for the cultural appropriation of hat.

Lets hope they leave his statue alone.

Earthhorse · 27-06-2020 8:26am

He was good but he was no Aisling Bea.

Trigger Happy · 27-06-2020 9:11am

Its horses for courses with comedians but I thought Cooper was hilarious.

A guy walked up to me the other night and said “Quick, did you see a policeman around here?”
I said no.
He said: “Good -Stick em up.”

8-10 · 27-06-2020 9:15am

whisky_galore wrote: »

Funny that, how 40 year old comedy routines don't stand up to 21st century scrutiny. Also what people find funny is subjective.

21st century UK audiences have made Mrs Browns Boys the biggest comedy show in the country.

I think the more popular and appealing to the general public something gets, the less edgy interesting or unique it is. Diluted, generic and formulaic. I don't think it's anything to do with the era.

whisky_galore · 27-06-2020 9:20am

byronbay2 wrote: »

They weren't funny 40 years ago!

Again, subjective.

Its still better than your stand up act.

27-06-2020 9:21am

I think the fact that he literally 'died on stage' would have amused him enormously, in retrospect.

Wonderful comedian. He came from nothing, unlike those somewhat spoilt Monty Python guys. He did it all by himself, I respect that a lot.

Odyssey 2005 · 27-06-2020 9:42am

His last performance was his best.

stateofflux · 27-06-2020 9:49am

Heresy

Spoon jar jar Spoon mutha f*ckaaa!!

Bobblehats · 27-06-2020 10:00am

I remember him the twat in the hat. Or was that jamiroquai

blueser · 27-06-2020 10:23am

Go on then OP. Enlighten us; what do you find funny?

byronbay2 · 27-06-2020 1:38pm

blueser wrote: »

Go on then OP. Enlighten us; what do you find funny?

Seinfeld stands head and shoulders above any other comedy show ever made! Needless to say, I also like Curb Your Enthusiasm.

blueser · 27-06-2020 1:45pm

byronbay2 wrote: »

Seinfeld stands head and shoulders above any other comedy show ever made! Needless to say, I also like Curb Your Enthusiasm.

There you go, see. I find him as funny as a fire in an orphanage. Does that make him not funny? Only to me. Different strokes for different folks.
To me, Cooper was brilliant. His timing and delivery were bang on the money.

Potential-Monke · 27-06-2020 2:08pm

blueser wrote: »

I find him as funny as a fire in an orphanage.

I like that. That was funny. Unlike Seinfeld.

But to repeat what everyone else was saying, it's subjective. Tommy was actually a genuis wrapped in stupidity, and that was part of his charm. You either laughed at the stupidity, or the genius, or both. But not for everyone.

I've a fairly dark humour anyway, I find gallows humour to be one of the funniest (and a great coping mechanism imo). And I like comedians who push boundaries, especially now. It's not that I always laugh at the joke, but more at the reaction. I love seeing people react to stuff that would be offensive to a lot of people these days. "Clean" comedy can be good, but usually dry, and is limited.

byronbay2 · 27-06-2020 2:10pm

blueser wrote: »

There you go, see. I find him as funny as a fire in an orphanage. Does that make him not funny? Only to me. Different strokes for different folks.
To me, Cooper was brilliant. His timing and delivery were bang on the money.

Well, it seems, based on the replies here that you are absolutely right. I thought Cooper might have been perceived my many/most as objectively unfunny to a modern audience but it seems his brand of humour ("humour" to me) is still appreciated.

super_furry · 27-06-2020 2:15pm

The special effects in Fritz Lang's Metropolis are not good.

bnt · 27-06-2020 2:22pm

I had honestly forgotten about Tommy Cooper until this thread. Whether he was considered funny or not is less important to me than whether he was memorable. There are bits by Morecambe & Wise, The Two Ronnies or Billy Connolly that are burned in to my brain, but nothing by Cooper, apparently.

Strumms · 27-06-2020 2:22pm

I’d rather scoop my eyes out with a rusty spoon than be forced to watch Seinfeld. A DULL as dishwater comedian, desperate not to offend people. The type of fella who probably wakes up every morning having slept in his pullover and thinks... “hmm how can I make office workers amused today.”

Homelander · 27-06-2020 2:24pm

byronbay2 wrote: »

Well, it seems, based on the replies here that you are absolutely right. I thought Cooper might have been perceived my many/most as objectively unfunny to a modern audience but it seems his brand of humour ("humour" to me) is still appreciated.

Not a fan of stand up comedy in most cases, find most loud, obnoxious, and just...well, not funny. There are a few I like though, and I find I enjoy people who have a way with delivery and timing.

Tommy Cooper was one of those simple timing and delivery guys that made banal jokes really entertaining. Not one to have me laughing out loud but definitely would keep you amused. Easy watching, I suppose, and I think the nature of his work means it's aged well enough.

ohnonotgmail · 27-06-2020 2:35pm

It takes a very skilled magician to get tricks wrong on purpose. he was also hilariously funny at the same time.
One of his jokes that has always been a favourite of mine:

I rang up the yoga studio and told them i was thinking of taking some classes. They said "are you flexible?". I said " i cant do tuesdays or thursdays"

byronbay2 · 27-06-2020 2:46pm

Strumms wrote: »

I’d rather scoop my eyes out with a rusty spoon than be forced to watch Seinfeld. A DULL as dishwater comedian, desperate not to offend people. The type of fella who probably wakes up every morning having slept in his pullover and thinks... “hmm how can I make office workers amused today.”

A noble calling, surely!

GoatBoy74 · 27-06-2020 2:52pm

byronbay2 wrote: »

I've put up with this myth for a loooong time but now I have to speak out. It started (for me) in my early teens when there was a Tommy Cooper show on prime-time TV and, with only a couple of channels, I watched a few episodes. It was absolutely AWFUL! A bumbling buffoon, wearing a funny hat, getting card tricks (hilariously!) wrong and cracking a few terrible jokes. I knew he was popular at the time but it didn't bother me because most TV was terrible and I thought he appealed to an adult audience rather than me.

Fast forward 40 years and I am an adult now myself! I have seen Cooper every so often over the years and my opinion has never wavered: totally unfunny rubbish. Yet now, every few weeks it seems, there are TC retrospectives (and a movie!) with contemporaries and modern comedians falling over themselves to say what a genius he was and how hilarious his bumbling character was.

My question is: Am I wrong? Was he a genius? Or is there a giant conspiracy to fool the modern audience into thinking his act was hilarious? Surely, anyone watching him for 5 minutes could see that he was a total charlatan??

Are you wrong? Yes, yes you are.

GoatBoy74 · 27-06-2020 2:53pm

byronbay2 wrote: »

I've put up with this myth for a loooong time but now I have to speak out. It started (for me) in my early teens when there was a Tommy Cooper show on prime-time TV and, with only a couple of channels, I watched a few episodes. It was absolutely AWFUL! A bumbling buffoon, wearing a funny hat, getting card tricks (hilariously!) wrong and cracking a few terrible jokes. I knew he was popular at the time but it didn't bother me because most TV was terrible and I thought he appealed to an adult audience rather than me.

Fast forward 40 years and I am an adult now myself! I have seen Cooper every so often over the years and my opinion has never wavered: totally unfunny rubbish. Yet now, every few weeks it seems, there are TC retrospectives (and a movie!) with contemporaries and modern comedians falling over themselves to say what a genius he was and how hilarious his bumbling character was.

My question is: Am I wrong? Was he a genius? Or is there a giant conspiracy to fool the modern audience into thinking his act was hilarious? Surely, anyone watching him for 5 minutes could see that he was a total charlatan??

Yes, yes you are wrong.

blueser · 27-06-2020 2:56pm

Homelander wrote: »

Not a fan of stand up comedy in most cases, find most loud, obnoxious, and just...well, not funny. There are a few I like though, and I find I enjoy people who have a way with delivery and timing.

Tommy Cooper was one of those simple timing and delivery guys that made banal jokes really entertaining. Not one to have me laughing out loud but definitely would keep you amused. Easy watching, I suppose, and I think the nature of his work means it's aged well enough.

You've pretty much nailed it there. Cooper's jokes were not the funniest out there, not by a long way. You and I probably know better jokes than him, but could we deliver them like he did? I can't speak for you, but I know I couldn't. Cooper is miles ahead of likes of Tiernan, O'Carroll, Bishop, McIntyre etc etc.

Itssoeasy · 27-06-2020 3:05pm

I'd take bob Newhart, don rickles(although not all his material), foster brooks, Rodney dangerfield and others and the reason is if you watch them not one curse word used. I'm not a fan of comedians effing and blinding because any eijit can yell and throw a few ****s around and get laughs but it's not comedy.

That's my opinion anyway and no doubt people will disagree.

Strumms · 27-06-2020 3:41pm

Rodney Dangerfield was one hilarious dude,

Ipso · 27-06-2020 4:01pm

byronbay2 wrote: »

A noble calling, surely!

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

tipptom · 27-06-2020 4:01pm

byronbay2 wrote: »

Seinfeld stands head and shoulders above any other comedy show ever made! Needless to say, I also like Curb Your Enthusiasm.

I have often pondered how i can love Curb so much yet find Seinfeld so unfunny.

Cooper had a genius act at the time especially with the way he could work his props and keep the audience in suspense for a duration of a show at what he was going to do with them.

tipptom · 27-06-2020 4:05pm

Bobblehats wrote: »

I remember him the twat in the hat. Or was that jamiroquai

That was Jamiroquai.

When you are feeling down just look up "photographer headbutts Jamiroquai".

JohnnyFlash · 27-06-2020 4:13pm

I watched a few of his videos while having the breakfast this morning. He was very good. Great mixture of jokes, magic, and slapstick.

Tommy Cooper was NOT funny

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