Tommy Cooper statue unveiling due
Tommy Cooper's father Thomas was a miner from Caerphilly
A statue of the comic Tommy Cooper is set to be unveiled in his hometown - just like that - by Hollywood star Sir Anthony Hopkins.
Cooper - thought by many to be the greatest comedian of his generation - was born in Caerphilly, south Wales.
The 9ft (2.7m) bronze was sculpted by James Done who said Cooper would have been "the highest paid jester in any kingdom."
Cooper died of a heart attack during a TV show in 1984.
It ended a career built around magic routines which went wrong.
He was born in 1921 in Llwyn Onn Street, Caerphilly, before leaving with his family as a small boy to live in Exeter.
The Tommy Cooper society was set up five years ago aimed at erecting a statue of the comic in the town of his birth.
The statue has been placed in the centre of the town
It raised £45,000 to pay for the life-size statue.
Standing on a 4ft (1.2m) plinth, the statue will depict the late comic wearing his trademark fez and be located opposite the castle in the centre of the town.
The society's patron, Sir Anthony said he was pleased to accept the invitation to unveil the statue.
"I am delighted to be unveiling a statue which will commemorate not just one of my heroes, but one of the greatest comics of all time," he said.
Cooper's daughter Vicky is a honorary member of the society and in a letter to the society, she recalled how proud her father was of his Welsh roots.
The society's secretary Tudor Jones said: "She said her dad looked upon himself as a Welshman from the top of his black curly hair to the bottom of his size 13 boots."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7260219.stm
good job he moved when he was a kid as he show would never have had the same inpact in a Taff accent.
"Not liiiiiiiiiike thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaart liiiiiiiiiike thaaaaaaaaaaaaaart boyooooooooooo !" nope doesn't work.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7260219.stm
Social Networking Bookmarks