There's somewhat of a recurring theme of comedians and heart attacks on this list, and whilst this entry is no exception, it is most certainly the highest profile of them all. Tommy Cooper was Britain's favourite comedian in the seventies, and was dearly loved by the nation throughout his thirty-year career on television as a hapless magician who simply could not get the most basic of tricks to work. Similar to James and Feldman, Cooper had an addictive lifestyle, and was known to enjoy whiskey with his breakfast as alcoholism took hold of him in the eighties. His professionalism took a big hit thanks to booze, and he was moments away from accidentally killing beloved chat show host Michael Parkinson, somehow persuading him to participate in a guillotine gag, but forgetting to set the safety mechanism. Again, like James, an attempt to kickstart a healthier lifestyle did not do Cooper much good, and , in an eerily similar episode to James, Cooper died of a major heart attack whilst performing not only on stage, but live in front of a television audience of millions. Cooper had rigged himself into a cloak full of props to be yanked by fellow comedian Jimmy Tarbuck, who was standing off stage, when he collapsed. Sadly, he was known for physical comedy, and both stage hands and the audience laughed hysterically at the effortlessly funny man, believing the fall to be part of the act. Once a realisation had hit that Cooper was ill, the producers dropped the curtain, but were unable to move the comedian whilst he was being treated, meaning that the following acts had to perform mere feet away from where Cooper was being treated. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at Westminster Hospital, and the news programme following the broadcast of the show displayed Cooper's illness as the lead headline.
