Friday, February 26, 2021

The Art of Tommy Cooper


A documentary about the life of Tommy Cooper.

From Wikipedia: 
Thomas Frederick Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a British prop comedian and magician. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m),[1] and he habitually wore a red fez when performing. He initially served in the British Army for seven years, before eventually developing his conjuring skills and becoming a member of the The Magic Circle. Although he spent time on tour performing his magical act, which specialised on magic tricks that appeared to "fail", he rose to international prominence when his career moved into television, with programmes for London Weekend Television and Thames Television.

By the end of the 1970s, Cooper slipped into heavy smoking and drinking, which affected his career and his health, effectively ending offers to front new programmes and relegating him to performing as a guest star on other entertainment shows. Ill health eventually claimed his life when, on 15 April 1984, Cooper died of a heart attack live on television.

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

James "Tiny" Lambros

Photos courtesy of David Powell.




Tiny has had a life full of varied jobs, including circus clown. He performed with Culpepper Merriweather for the 2003 season and Kelly Miller for the 2004 season. 

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Ringling: Charivari 1980


Members of the 1980 Blue Unit Clown Alley perform an Olympics themed charivari for the 110th Edition's television special, hosted by Michael Landon.

I see Michael Goudeau, Andrea Waller, "Tuba" Heatherton, Tom and Tammy Parish, Lenny Ciaccio Dennis Struve, Gary Peare, Skip Lackey, Bob Kramer, Tom Dougherty, Joe Wesson, Jeff Darnell, and Peter Pitofsky.
There are two I'm not certain of. One might be Ron Quagiliata or Kelly Tansey, and the other is possibly Tommy Sheeter.