Phil Cool (born Phil Martin in Chorley, Lancashire) is an English comedian, impressionist, musician and one-time professional wrestler.
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Career
After building up a live following in the early 1980s, he came to wider public attention in the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s in a number of television shows bearing his name, notably Cool It (BBC, 1985-1988), with his ability to gurn. After the success of Cool It, he moved to ITV for a further series with Cool Head (Central Television, 1991).
Whereas many of his impressionist peers concentrated on mimicking the voice of the target and changing in and out of a succession of hats, beards, spectacles and coats, Cool placed an emphasis on thrusting his eyebrows, lips and even, seemingly, his ears into the positions required of the part, rather than on costumes.[1]
In 1992 Cool teamed up with producer, friend and fellow performer Jasper Carrott and toured the country with their "Carrott & Cool" show, playing to sold out houses during the record 143 performances nation-wide. They revived that touring partnership again in 2003.
Resident in Chipping, Lancashire,[citation needed] he is still performing regularly for UK audiences as of 2008.[2]
In addition to his solo gigs Cool has also recently (2008) been touring with fellow Lancastrian and guitarist Ken Nicol performing as Nicol and Cool, [3] providing a blend of music and comedy impressions. Nicol and Cool toured with Folk Rock group Fairport Convention as a support act for Fairport's winter tour 2009. This tour started in January, and finished in March. They have released a CD album, also called Nicol & Cool.
In a 2002 production on BBC comedy performers, Karl Howman recalled how he and Cool obtained tickets and backstage passes for a World Championship Wrestling (WCW) event while both were in the United States during the early 1990s. Cool's humour and impressions of wrestling stars such as Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair were well received by the wrestlers backstage who were told of his BBC work and keen to have Cool involved in the product in some way. Cool's schedule would not allow a long term commitment, but he did appear at one live show, portraying masked wrestler Kendo Nagasaki (also known as The Dragonmaster). Cool was unmasked and revealed as an imposter sent by Nagasaki to throw off his opponent. The real Nagasaki, played by Kazuo Sakurada (who is also well-known as the trainer of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and WCW superstar Bret "The Hitman" Hart), appeared on the rampway as Cool delivered some amusing facial expressions and a brief monologue in the ring.[4]
Videography
- Cool 'n' Hot (1989)
- Cool Head (1991)
- Cool It (1992)
- Cool It Too (1992)
- Classic Cool (1995)
- How To Cheat At Fishing (1995)
- The Last Mimzy (2007)
References
- ^ Phil Cool - Biography
- ^ Phil Cool
- ^ Nicol and Cool
- ^ This is Comedy?. BBC. BBC 1. 2002. No. 1/1. 34 minutes in. Karl Howman segment featuring clips from Brush Strokes and Mulberry, and insights on BBC friends and colleagues.
External links
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