What was the chosen profession of Tommy Cooper?

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

His act consisted of 'patter' (talking to the audience) while setting up a magic trick. The trick would typically fail or disclose the workings of the trick, drawing feigned surprise from Cooper and laughter from the audience. Then, unexpectedly, he would perform an actual trick which would impress the audience.

By the end of the 1970s, Cooper was smoking and drinking heavily, which affected his career and his health, effectively ending offers to front new programs and relegating him to short performances as a guest star on other entertainment shows. On April 15, 1984, Cooper was performing on live television and collapsed on stage. It was thought to be part of his act and he lay for several minutes before someone checked on him and found that he had died from a heart attack. He was 63.