Live from Her Majesty's, Live from the Piccadilly and Live from the Palladium were Sunday night live entertainment variety television shows that aired on ITV from 16 January 1983 to 27 November 1988 and were hosted by Jimmy Tarbuck. Each was broadcast live from a theatre in London and followed in the tradition of earlier variety spectacles such as Sunday Night at the Palladium.

Live from...
Also known as
  • Live from Her Majesty's (1983–5)
  • Live from the Piccadilly (1986)
  • Live from the Palladium (1987–8)
GenreEntertainment
Directed byAlasdair Macmillan, Ian Hamilton
Presented byJimmy Tarbuck
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series7
No. of episodes43
Production
ProducersDavid Bell, Marcus Plantin, Ian Hamilton
Production locations
Running time60 mins
Production companyLWT
Original release
NetworkITV
Release16 January 1983 (1983-01-16) –
27 November 1988 (1988-11-27)
Related
Sunday Night at the Palladium

Death of Tommy Cooper

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During the second series of Live from Her Majesty's on 15 April 1984, comedian Tommy Cooper collapsed and died after suffering a massive heart attack.[1] Cooper collapsed against the curtain, and most members of the audience were laughing, assuming that it was a joke Cooper was playing. It was not until compere Jimmy Tarbuck realised that the drop was not part of Cooper's routine, that the production crew suddenly realised what had occurred.

The show continued after an earlier than planned commercial break and after Tarbuck was reportedly informed Cooper was recovering. Backstage, while the show continued with Howard Keel's performance, paramedics frantically attempted to revive Cooper, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Westminster Hospital. His death was not officially reported until the next morning, although the incident led the ITN News bulletin which followed the show.

Transmissions

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Series Start date End date Episodes Location
1 16 January 1983 27 February 1983 7 Her Majesty's Theatre
2 11 March 1984 29 April 1984 7
3 6 October 1985 10 November 1985 6
4 28 September 1986 2 November 1986 6 Piccadilly Theatre
5 5 April 1987 10 May 1987 6 London Palladium
6 11 October 1987 15 November 1987 6
7 9 October 1988 27 November 1988 5

References

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  1. ^ ""I Was There in the Theatre That Night" - The Death of Tommy Cooper, Live on TV". HuffPost UK. 28 May 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2023.