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| Tommy Cooper statue unveiling due | Tommy Cooper statue unveiling due |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| A statue of the comic Tommy Cooper is set to be unveiled in his hometown - just like that - by Hollywood star Sir Anthony Hopkins. | |
| Cooper - thought by many to be the greatest comedian of his generation - was born in Caerphilly, south Wales. | |
| The 9ft (2.7m) bronze was sculpted by James Done who said Cooper would have been "the highest paid jester in any kingdom." | |
| Cooper died of a heart attack during a TV show in 1984. | |
| It ended a career built around magic routines which went wrong. | |
| He was born in 1921 in Llwyn Onn Street, Caerphilly, before leaving with his family as a small boy to live in Exeter. | He was born in 1921 in Llwyn Onn Street, Caerphilly, before leaving with his family as a small boy to live in Exeter. |
| The Tommy Cooper society was set up five years ago aimed at erecting a statue of the comic in the town of his birth. | The Tommy Cooper society was set up five years ago aimed at erecting a statue of the comic in the town of his birth. |
| The statue has been placed in the centre of the town | |
| It raised £45,000 to pay for the life-size statue. | It raised £45,000 to pay for the life-size statue. |
| Standing on a 4ft (1.2m) plinth, the statue will depict the late comic wearing his trademark fez and be located opposite the castle in the centre of the town. | Standing on a 4ft (1.2m) plinth, the statue will depict the late comic wearing his trademark fez and be located opposite the castle in the centre of the town. |
| The society's patron, Sir Anthony said he was pleased to accept the invitation to unveil the statue. | |
| "I am delighted to be unveiling a statue which will commemorate not just one of my heroes, but one of the greatest comics of all time," he said. | |
| Cooper's daughter Vicky is a honorary member of the society and in a letter to the society, she recalled how proud her father was of his Welsh roots. | Cooper's daughter Vicky is a honorary member of the society and in a letter to the society, she recalled how proud her father was of his Welsh roots. |
| The society's secretary Tudor Jones said: "She said her dad looked upon himself as a Welshman from the top of his black curly hair to the bottom of his size 13 boots." |