Pat Cooper

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 in the 1980s, and more recently, Imus in the Morning, The Howard Stern Show and Opie and Anthony. Pat Cooper was born Pasquale Caputo in Brooklyn, New York. He was a twice-over high school dropout (Manual Training High School, Brooklyn). For twelve years he was a sixth generation brick layer, and also had an extremely short career as a furrier in Manhattan's Garment District. But his weekends were spent being the funny guy at neighborhood block parties or local clubs' charity events. Soon though, he was paying his dues playing comedy clubs. Pat's big break came in 1963 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, Atlantic City and Las Vegas Hotels, and Casinos. It meant appearing on the same show as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Jerry 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. 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. Pat Cooper made a guest appearance on the Opie and Anthony Show on XM Satellite Radio on April 27, 2006, October 17, 2007, and April 24, 2008. In the Summer of 2007, Cooper was a featured interview on the HBO special—Brooklyn Dodgers...Ghosts of Flatbush. 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", "An Italian Wedding" and "More Saucy Stories". Pat Cooper's comedy albums have sold millions of copies, and have earned Pat numerous gold and platinum records. 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.