Thomas Henty (born Thomas John Cooper 19January 195613August 1988) was an English actor, and the son of the magician and

prop comedian A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

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 , and he habitually wore a red fez when performing. He served in the British Army ...

. He attended Sutton Court Primary School in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

, and

Latymer Upper School Latymer Upper School is a public school in Hammersmith, London, England, on King Street. It derives from a charity school, and is part of the same 1624 Latymer Foundation, from a bequest by the English legal official Edward Latymer. There ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

from September 1965. He went on to appear alongside his father in an episode of the

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

variety series ''London Night Out'' in 1979, as well as in four episodes of the series ''Cooper's Half Hour'' in 1980, also for Thames. He also acted as an occasional

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...

to his father, and was backstage when Cooper had a fatal heart attack in front of a live television audience at

Her Majesty's Theatre His Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated in the Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The building, designed by Charles J. Phipps, was constructed in 1897 for the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who ...

on 15April 1984. In addition to his work with his father, Henty was an actor in his own right. 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 Francis Joseph Bough (; 15 January 1933 – 21 October 2020) was an English television presenter. He was best known as the host of BBC sports and current affairs shows including '' Grandstand'', '' Nationwide'' and '' Breakfast Time'', which he l ...

, included in the ITV documentary ''The Unforgettable Tommy Cooper'' (2001), Henty said that he did not want people in the acting profession to know that he was Cooper's son. Henty made appearances in episodes of the television series ''

Robin of Sherwood ''Robin of Sherwood'' is a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 28 April 1984 to 28 June 1986 on the ITV network. In th ...

'' (1984) and ''

Just Good Friends ''Just Good Friends'' is a British sitcom written by John Sullivan. It stars Paul Nicholas and Jan Francis as former lovers Vincent Pinner and Penny Warrender, who meet in a pub five years after he jilted her at the altar. Three series and a ...

'' (1986), as well as the film ''

Bellman and True ''Bellman and True'' is a 1987 film based on the novel of the same name by Desmond Lowden. The film was written and directed by Richard Loncraine. It stars Bernard Hill, Derek Newark and Richard Hope. The title comes from an old Cumberland s ...

'' (1987), which would be his final film role. In 1988, Henty's marriage collapsed after seven years. He died on 13 August 1988, aged 32, of

haemophilia Haemophilia (British English), or hemophilia (American English) (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a long ...

, following complications caused by

liver failure Liver failure is the inability of the liver to perform its normal synthetic and metabolic functions as part of normal physiology. Two forms are recognised, acute and chronic (cirrhosis). Recently, a third form of liver failure known as acute- ...

. Doctors had given him transfusions totalling 70 pints, but the blood failed to clot and after three days his mother took the decision to have his life support machine switched off, four years after his father's death. He left behind a son, who was aged six at the time.

References

Bibliography *

External links

* 1956 births 1988 deaths English male television actors People with haemophilia 20th-century English male actors Deaths from liver failure English people of Welsh descent English male comedians {{England-actor-stub