Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

palordrolap t1_jbo8fzz wrote

Reply to comment by AdSweaty8557 in TIL that actor Red Foxx was only 49 when he starred in Sandford & Son. He wore makeup to look older. by SaltyDogBill

Had to look that up. Awful way to go.

At least it wasn't live on TV like Britain's Tommy Cooper. People also thought that was an unscripted bit. Until they realised that it very much wasn't.

Faking heart attacks, at least not to that degree, wasn't even one of his bits, unlike Foxx.

Being messed around by the production crew to the point of annoyance definitely won't have helped in Foxx's case. It's probably what pushed him over the edge. It might not be live on TV but it's still no way to go.

Regarding Cooper: Don't go looking for the video of his collapse if you don't want to feel sad. Go looking for other videos. Very funny man.

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TIGHazard t1_jbo81np wrote

Reply to comment by AdSweaty8557 in TIL that actor Red Foxx was only 49 when he starred in Sandford & Son. He wore makeup to look older. by SaltyDogBill

Same with UK comedian Tommy Cooper. Except this was on live TV :(

> On 15 April 1984, Cooper collapsed from a heart attack in front of 12 million viewers, midway through his act on the London Weekend Television variety show Live from Her Majesty's, transmitted live from Her Majesty's Theatre in Westminster, London. An assistant had helped him put on a cloak for his sketch, while Jimmy Tarbuck, the host, was hiding behind the stage curtains waiting to pass him different props that he would then appear to pull from inside his gown. His last words seemed to be "Thank you, love," to the assistant seconds before collapsing. The assistant smiled at him as he slumped down, believing that it was part of the act. Likewise, the audience laughed as he fell backwards.

> As Cooper lay dying on the floor, the audience continued to laugh at him believing it was part of an act. Cooper then began snorting and snoring, and died after. Around this time, Jimmy Tarbuck, Alasdair MacMillan (the director of the television production), and the crew behind the curtain who witnessed the incident realised that what was happening to him was not part of the act.

> After realising what had happened, Alasdair MacMillan cued the orchestra to play music for an unscripted commercial break (noticeable because of several seconds of blank screen while LWT's master control contacted regional stations to start transmitting advertisements) and Tarbuck's manager tried to pull Cooper back through the curtains.

> It was decided to continue with the show. Dustin Gee and Les Dennis were the act that had to follow Cooper, and other stars proceeded to present their acts in the limited space in front of the curtains. While the show continued, efforts were being made backstage to revive Cooper. It was not until a second commercial break that paramedics moved his body to Westminster Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His death was not officially reported until the next morning, although the incident was the leading item on the news programme that followed the show.

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pembroke529 t1_jbo6ahj wrote

Reply to TIL that actor Red Foxx was only 49 when he starred in Sandford & Son. He wore makeup to look older. by SaltyDogBill

If you're Las Vegas and have some free time, visit Redd's grave site. It's basically a grave marker in the ground (not an upright tombstone) with a graphic of an animal fox.

Also, nearby is my favorite simple grave marker for Sonny Liston. It's simply his name, birth year, death year and "A Man" epitaph.

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Complicated-HorseAss t1_jbo5iga wrote

Reply to comment by GrandmaPoses in TIL that actor Red Foxx was only 49 when he starred in Sandford & Son. He wore makeup to look older. by SaltyDogBill

"You're pretty, if you were just darker, I don't want no white women, you see me with a white woman it's because I'm holding her for the police"

"She was so ugly she looked like crime in her face"

"My great great great grandfather was the first black politician in Mississippi, he ran for the boarder"

Dude was the inspiration for comedians like Eddie Murphy.

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