John Fisher (4) (1945–)

I guess you can only ever be saddened by the biography of a comedian.

Sure there are laughs but they get lost in there somehow.

Great detail about his hate campaign against his agent which lasted his entire career and ended only with Tommy’s death. Lots of stuff that maybe you really didn’t want to know but then again this is biography not a hagiography, which is what we really want.

I’m glad I read it and I bet you would be too.

This book has it all: I laughed until my sides ached, and cried until my eyes were red raw.
The story of Hancock is well known but this book, whilst giving no blinding flashes of unknown Hancock, put his life into a better context than any other biography. John Fisher makes Hancock a real person.
Although Fisher does not play upon the point, this book may contain an explanation of Hancock's change of character, which everyone puts down to 'the booze'. Hancock had recently suffered a head show more injury in a motor car accident: this is now accepted to be a frequent cause of personality change.... show less

272 pages and it has taken ages to read: why? because it is packed from page one with facts and an insight into so many music hall comedians. Each chapter is between five and ten pages long but, in those few paragraphs, one feels that one has rad a full biography of the artist.
Of particular interest to me, were the chapters upon Dan Leno and Monsewer (yes, I have spelt that correctly!) Eddie Gray. Both have come across as names, either revered by later comics or generally feted: now, I feel show more that I have some understanding of their talent.
Each chapter contains snatches of the comedians act and these have clearly been well chosen for, when the subject is known to me, I could so easily hear their delivery of the lines.
Definitely recommended. show less

This is the 'definitive biography' of the great British comedian Tommy Cooper. I thought it was overlong and whilst a must for Cooper fans I found it too detailed for me, someone who loved Cooper in his prime but doesn't want the level of detail contained here. For example there are long passages about older comedians the author thinks influenced Cooper and lots of detail about contract details with his manager, TV companies, etc.