Pat Cooper How Dare You Say How Dare Me!

Few comics today can say they have worked with the likes of George Burns, Frank Sinatra,

Tony Bennett, and Bobby Darin but Pat Cooper can. Born Pasquale Caputo, the legendary

comedian didn't break into show business until age thirty-two. But from that moment in

1963, when the young smart-mouthed Brooklynite was beamed into millions of homes via

The Jackie Gleason Show, people across the country knew that they were seeing something

special. Brash, irreverent, and undeniably hilarious, his view of what was happening around

him has always been honest, unyielding, and colored by his comedic anger. And now, in Pat

Cooper: How Dare You Say How Dare Me, he shares the amazing, often bizarre story of his life.

In his unique no-holds-barred style, Cooper begins his story at the beginning as a child

growing up under the strict hand of an Italian immigrant father. He shares memorable,

typically comical moments from his youth, including his mother's pepper-and-egg

sandwiches that left trails of oil on his brown bag lunches; the loss of his virginity to a

middle-aged yenta; and his efforts to join the military at age seventeen only to be kicked

out for having hammer toes A sixth-generation bricklayer by trade, Pat recounts performing

his stand-up routine in small clubs and theaters at night until he got his big break into the

big time. From that point on, Pat pulls no punches in relating story after story of his life as a

top entertainer, including the good, the bad, and the funny From Las Vegas to Atlantic City

and everywhere in between, it's all here.

Still every bit as brash, irreverent, and hilarious as he ever was, Pat Cooper proves in this

very truthful autobiography that one can succeed in show business without being phony

just as long as you learn to duck, and you're not too surprised when you're fired. (Hey, one

door closes and another opens.) Like his sold-out live shows, How Dare You Say How Dare

Me will leave you roaring

"Cooper begins his spirited memoir by discussing his early Italian family life in Brooklyn and his debut on the Fox Amateur Hour radio show, where his impressions won him first prize. He left school and worked as a brick layer and longshoreman before being drafted into the Army, and was the 'man of the house' in his early 20s when his parents divorced and his father was mostly absent. Without much encouragement, Cooper never stopped performing, whether on the corner or at neighborhood events, and finally got his big break, at 30, on The Jackie Gleason Show. The Atlantic City and the Vegas of the Rat Pack era followed, with Cooper gaining notoriety as an 'angry' comic; his routines were full of harsh wit that often cut close to home. Calling broadcasting the truth his version of therapy, Cooper cemented his status with regular appearances on The Howard Stern Show in the late '80s. But beneath the loud and relentless shtick was the darker side typical of many funny men, and he discusses strained relationships with his children, including a daughter who once called in to Stern's radio show to attack him. Still going strong at 80, Cooper believes '...in getting things out of my system,' so the warts-and-all approach to his autobiography will come as no surprise to fans.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved." Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)

The amazing, often bizarre story of the life of one of the most popular and well known comedians in show business. Pat Cooper has worked with the best, Frank Sinatra, George Burns, Tony Bennett, Jackie Gleason. A brash, irreverent and hilarious autobiography.

Few comics can say they have worked with the likes of George BUrns, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Bobby Darin, but Pat Cooper Can. From his career launch in 1963 on the Jackie Gleason Show, Pat Cooper has succeeded in show business for five decades, and his hilarious, and irreverant autobiography tells the story. Jerry Seinfeld says He's the comedian's comedian. I think, and Robert De Niro claims He's a great actor-comedian-but I'm not sure which one. This autobiography as told to Rich Herschlag and Steve Garrin, with foreward by Jerry Lewis, is an honest, and comical account of the life of one of entertainment's giants.