Thomas Henty

Thomas Henty (born Thomas Cooper, 19 January 1956; died 13 August 1988) was the son of the British magician and comedian Tommy Cooper. He went on to appear alongside his famous father in a 1979 episode of the Thames Television variety series "London Night Out", as well as four episodes of the 1980 series "Cooper's Half Hour", also for Thames. He also acted as occasional stage manager to his father, [John Fisher, "Tommy Cooper: Always Leave Them Laughing" (London: Harper Collins, 2006), p. 371] and was backstage when Cooper died in front of a live television audience at Her Majesty's Theatre on 15 April 1984.

In addition to his work with his father, Henty was also an actor in his own right; indeed his desire to make his own mark in the field was behind his decision to adopt his mother's maiden name. In an archive interview with the television personality Frank Bough included in the 2001 ITV documentary "The Unforgettable Tommy Cooper", Henty explained that he did not want people in the acting profession to know that he was Cooper's son, presumably because he was fearful of claims of nepotism. Henty went on to make appearances in episodes of the popular British television series "Robin of Sherwood" (1984) and "Just Good Friends" (1986), as well as the British film "Bellman and True" (1987).

His role in "Bellman and True" would be his last; in 1988 Henty's marriage collapsed after seven years. Just six weeks later he died of haemophilia, following complications caused by liver failure. Doctors had attempted to pump seventy pints of new blood into his body, but the blood failed to clot, and after three days his mother took the decision to have his life support machine switched off. ["Ibid", p. 419]

Henty died on 13 August 1988, just four years after his father. He left a son, Tam, of six years.

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Persondata
NAME= Henty, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=actor
DATE OF BIRTH=1956-01-19
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=1988-08-13
PLACE OF DEATH=