Tommy Cooper's Death

You are right, the clip itself can not be described as graphic in my opinion. All the clip really shows is a funny man falling over in a funny way. Hence the audience reaction being laughter rather than one of horror. It's the extra information we know 26 years later that makes it a difficult watch..

I'm not sure this clip would be such a rarity if Tommy Cooper had survived the heart attack. I'm not saying it would turn up in random clip shows but would probably be used in documentaries about Tommy Cooper.

I was wondering, if someone died live on ITV today, how would things be different? For a start, hundreds of copies of the clip would be uploaded to YouTube minutes after it happened rather than the one clip 26 years later. I also honestly believe it would be used by news programmes or the moments leading up to it at the very least.

Having watched it - it is a hard thing to watch and I don't have any particular wish to see it again. I really don't get people who say "What a fitting way for him to go" because to me it seems like such a horrible thing.

Whilst there's been a bit of debate about this thread and whether or not it is appropriate, it has so far succeeded in one aspect - although having been previously quite aware of Tommy Cooper, I really never appreciated his genius and this thread inspired me to find out more about him... what I discovered is a truly funny man - actually just bought a DVD with his best sketches... looking forward to watching it already.

Obviously the choice of whether to watch the footage or not is there but I would re-iterate a statement so far made by a few others in this thread - it is really difficult to watch and I really wouldn't recommend that anyone does watch it... I don't know whether it is distasteful of YouTube to allow this - but I really can't see how the footage will help anyone or any circumstance in which it needs to be viewied.

Sorry for the long winded post - just my personal opinion.

Yes, the new clip is of much better quality and, to be blunt, is of greater historical interest because it shows more of Cooper's act before his collapse, and also the way the programme went to the break earlier than planned afterward. It provides a context that the clip from Dutch TV doesn't.

As a massive fan of Tommy Cooper, I have been aware of the circumstances surrounding his death for many years, and the amount of graphic detail it has been described in in the various media I have read / heard gave me a pretty vivid picture in my imagination. Actually seeing it for real wasn't particularly shocking or upsetting for me, as it was pretty much what I'd expected.

Incidentally, I'm not in favour of censorship; anyone who wants to view the clip should be able to. It may not be the most tasteful of clips, but it's real life and there are far worse images accessible on the net, even on YouTube, and (as a very secondary sidenote) seeing a real life heart attack may even help others recognise the symptoms and be able to act accordingly.

interesting popint at it shows a real heart attack which is completely different to what you see on TV when a character is having one, like Pat on Eastenders on Friday night, seems to me it's played out more in acting than it really is in real life or does it depend on the individual.

what disconcerted me with the clip (I saw it months ago whilst watching clips of his acts on youtube) was the assistants reaction when he fell, she just looked at him took the mike and left, he even briefly raises his hand as if to gesture for help but she walkes off. (unless back stage she was getting help)

I think if it happened now it would be shown on the news, remember seeing a report of a football player dropping dead during a televised match and they showed the footage as the camera was on him at the time

I didn't see this when I was a child but what I did see was the bradford stadium fire live on the tv, that clip is on you tube as well

you do wonder where you tube gets it's moral guidance from showing clips of deaths and disasters captured live on tv

She has no idea that anything's wrong. She's just a random assistant who was given the job that night, she has no clue what's part of the act and what isn't, so she's just assuming that Tommy is clowning around.

I agree.
The clip, although difficult to watch, should not be censored. However, do think twice before clicking on it.
I had read a lot, and had seen documentaries about his life, but had not seen this footage before.
From a TV presentation point of view, I would have liked to have seen the next part of the show, or if any mention was made over closing credits. I did think they were quite slow in cutting to the break, surely the show would have been rehearsed so the production crew would have know something was wrong. Why not simply cut the feed? Fade to black?

I think they mean the whole being on stage infront of his fans, in that sense its fitting... not how he died, where he died.

In terms of my opinion on this 6 page debate about a single YouTube clip, if people want to see it, they can see it. If they don't, then they don't see it. Simples!

But it isn't!

What about Benny hill? he had a heart attack and no one found him for days alone in his flat.

Quote: "When I go I want to be on stage I want the audience laughing and everyone happy." -Tommy Cooper.

In that sense it is fitting.

The entire show wasn't necessarily rehearsed in full, and with an act like Tommy Cooper there would always need to be room to allow him to improvise a bit. Hence there wouldn't have been an immediate awareness that something was wrong when he collapsed, it would have taken time for the gallery to realise that he wasn't doing a spur-of-the-moment gag. And to be blunt, any director worth their salt would want to find a professional way out of the situation. Simply cutting to black would have been an inexperienced panic response; there was a whole network that needed to be cued and a short cue dot followed by the normal end-of-part routine (and doubtless lots of shouting down the talkback) was the best way to do it under the circumstances.