Pat Cooper, stand-up comedian and Robert De Niro’s co-star on Analyze This, dead at 93
Pat Cooper, stand-up comedian and actor, has died at 93.
Cooper passed away on Tuesday night at his home in Las Vegas. The death was announced in a statement by his wife, Emily Conner.
The fast-talking funnyman — born Pasquale Vito Caputo — was known for his acerbic style of comedy and appeared on shows like Ed Sullivan in the 1960s, and later on Howard Stern in the 1980s.
He also branched out into acting later in his career, and co-starred alongside Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal in the 1999 comedy film Analyze This — where he played Salvatore Masiello, a member of the De Niro character’s mob crew — and its 2002 sequel, Analyze That, and appeared on an episode of Seinfeld, where he played himself.
He is survived by his son Michael Caputo; daughters Louise Caputo and Patti Jo Weidenfeld; and several grandchildren.
Sad news: Stand-up comedian and actor Pat Cooper has died at 93. He passed on Tuesday night at his home in Las Vegas; Pictured 2005 at CineVegas Film Festival in Las Vegas
Cooper was born in 1929 to an Italian family in Brooklyn, New York. He admitted he did not have a happy childhood, recalling once, ‘I think I broke a record in my neighborhood — I think I must have run away 14 times. People don’t run away from good homes.’
He started out his career by playing at local New York clubs.
He began working on The Jackie Gleason Show in 1963, and later started performing at the Copacabana, opening for acts such as the Four Seasons and Jimmy Roselli.
As his career progressed, he went on to perform in various clubs across the United States, and worked with artists including Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis, Jr., George Burns, Sergio Franchi, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Dionne Warwick and more.
He was known for his outrage comedy, and for over 50 years he frequently mocked Italian American families like his own and hilariously ranted about anything that irked him, including a number of stars he had worked with.
In 1965 he released a comedy album titled Our Hero, which was one of the first to feature Italian American humor.
He then followed it up with Spaghetti Sauce and Other Delights, which was a parody of the Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass’s 1965 ‘Whipped Cream and Other Delights’ album.
He also parodied the cover. While the original featured a nude woman covered in whipped cream, his cover featured him with marinara sauce smeared all over his body and covered in a mound of spaghetti.
He brought the laughter: The fast-talking funnyman — born Pasquale Caputo — was known for his acerbic style of comedy and appeared on shows like Ed Sullivan in the 1960s, and later on Howard Stern; Pictured (R) performing alongside Frankie Vaughan and Liza Minnelli in 1970
Famous role: He also branched out into acting later on, and co-starred alongside Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal in the 1999 comedy film Analyze This
His career: He also appeared on an episode of Seinfeld, where he played himself; Pictured with Jerry Seinfeld in New York City in 2015
Italian-American humor: He was known for his outrage comedy, and for over 50 years he frequently mocked Italian American families like his own and hilariously ranted about anything that irked him
Retired: The comic retired in 2013, following his performance at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in New Jersey; Pictured with Tony Danza
Cooper’s act was a novelty at the time, when there were many more Jewish than Italian American comedians who made jokes about their background and culture.
Unfortunately his act came at a heavy personal price, as he became estranged from his parents and siblings. Later on he also became estranged from his first wife, Dolores Nola, and his children.
He claimed that they had a difficult time accepting his success.
Cooper even had a falling out with Howard Stern due to the tense relationship with his family, after Stern put Cooper’s estranged son, Michael, and his former wife on the air, and Cooper chose not to interact with them and later berated Stern, according to The New York Times. Afterwards Stern decided to cut ties with the comedian.
Cooper resealed his autobiography, How Dare You Say How Dare Me! in 2010.
The comic retired in 2013, following his performance at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in New Jersey.
At the time he complained about the treatment he received from the industry, saying, ‘They don’t want me because I say what’s on my mind, and they punish it.’
Source: Read Full Article
