Live From….A Theatre In The West End Of London
Live From… refers to a series of television variety shows in the great tradition set by Sunday Night At The Palladium. There were forty three shows screened over seven series. The shows were titled Live From whichever theatre they were presented from.
For the first three series the show was called Live From Her Majesty’s. Of course this series became noted for Tommy Cooper’s final appearance as whilst performing his ac,t on 15th April 1984 during series two, he collapsed from what would be a fatal heart attack. In true Cooper style, as he collapsed against the curtain he had the audience roaring with laughter as they thought it was part of the act. . It was not until host Jimmy Tarbuck realised that the drop was not part of Cooper’s plot, that the production crew suddenly realised what had occurred. The curtain was dropped and after a brief pause the show continued when Jimmy Tarbuck was reassured Cooper was recovering. Paramedics continued to work on him to no avail. Tommy Cooper was pronounced dead on arrival at Westminster Hospital.
Series four moved to The Piccadilly Theatre. In 1987 the series moved back to it’s spiritual home at The London Palladium. The series came to an end in 1988.
Summary
Variety in it’s finest tradition as Jimmy Tarbuck presented a variety of acts from the worlds of singing, dancing, comedy and musicals.
During its run, Dionne Warwick, Shirley Bassey, Roy Orbison, George Benson, Bruce Forsyth and Donny Osmond all topped the bill at least once.
Clips
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Hosted By
Jimmy Tarbuck
Music By
Alyn Ainsworth Orchestra
Stage Dancers
The Brian Rogers Dancers
Details
Channel: ITV
Production Company: London Weekend television
Original Transmission Dates: 16th January 1983 – 27th November 1988