Pat Cooper
| Pat Cooper | |
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| Born | Pasquale Caputo July 31, 1929 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor/Comedian |
| Years active | 1963–present |
Pat Cooper (born July 31, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. Cooper is primarily known for his stand-up routines, where he often makes reference to his Italian heritage from Mola di Bari, Italy. He was also a frequent guest on many radio shows, most notably The Howard Stern Show in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, in January 2011, and more recently, Imus in the Morning and Opie and Anthony.
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[edit] Early years
Pat Cooper was born Pasquale Caputo in Brooklyn, New York. He was a twice-over high school dropout (Manual Training High School, Brooklyn). He was a sixth-generation bricklayer and also had an extremely short career as a furrier in Manhattan's Garment District. But his weekdays were spent at neighborhood block parties or local clubs' charity events. Soon though, he was paying his dues playing strip clubs.
[edit] Performing career
Pat's big break came in 1953 via TV's Jackie Gleason Show. From there on it was the big time, playing the top nightclubs such as the 500 Club, Latin Casino, Palumbo's, and various Atlantic City and Las Vegas casino/hotels. It meant appearing on the same show as Frank Sinatra, Martin and Lewis, Tony Bennett, Sergio Franchi, Sammy Davis Jr., Connie Francis, Bobby Darin, Tony Martin and many others.
On May 2, 1969, Cooper and singer Jimmy Roselli premiered in their two man show at Broadway's Palace Theatre, New York.
On radio, Pat Cooper has made memorable guest appearances on such programs as The Howard Stern Show, Bob Grant and the Opie and Anthony Show (the latter on XM Satellite Radio on April 27, 2006, October 17, 2007, April 24, 2008, March 16, 2010, November 16, 2010, February 25, 2011, and December 7, 2011), and on The Jay Thomas Show on January 25, 2011.
He was an occasional contributor to Colin Quinn’s late-night TV show on Comedy Central, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn.
Cooper commented on the subject of comedy and comedians in the 2004 TV series Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time and in the 2005 film The Aristocrats.
In the Summer of 2007, Cooper was a featured interview on the HBO special—Brooklyn Dodgers...Ghosts of Flatbush.
[edit] Recording career
During the 1960s Cooper recorded albums for United Artists Records including: "Our Hero", "Spaghetti Sauce and Other Delights", "You Don't Have to be Italian To Like Pat Cooper" (1967), "An Italian Wedding" and "More Saucy Stories From..." (1968). Pat Cooper's comedy albums have sold millions of copies, and have earned Pat numerous gold and platinum records.[citation needed]
[edit] Acting career
Cooper appears in the episode “The Friars Club” of the TV series Seinfeld; he initially supports Jerry’s membership in the Friars Club but becomes upset when Jerry mistakenly walks out with a jacket belonging to the club.
Cooper also appeared in the films Analyze This and Analyze That.
[edit] Publishing career
In November 2010, Cooper published his autobiography, "How Dare You Say How Dare Me!" with co-authors Steve Garrin and Rich Herschlag. Actor and comedian Jerry Lewis wrote the foreword. The book is published by Square One Publishers.
