Cooney began to act in 1946, appearing in many of the
Whitehall farces of
Brian Rix throughout the 1950s and 1960s. It was during this time that he co-wrote his first play,
One For The Pot. With Tony Hilton, he co-wrote the screenplay for the British comedy film
What a Carve Up! (1961), which features
Sid James and
Kenneth Connor. In 1968 and 1969, Cooney adapted
Richard Gordon's
Doctor novels for BBC radio, as series starring
Richard Briers. He also took parts in them. Cooney has also appeared on TV, (including an uncredited appearance in the
Dial 999 episode, 'A Mined Area', as a hold-up victim) and in several films, including a film adaptation of his successful theatrical farce
Not Now, Darling (1973), which he co-wrote with
John Chapman. In 2000, he appeared in the
Last of the Summer Wine episode "
Last Post and Pigeon" where he played the role of a wordless and energetic French peasant. In 1983, Cooney created the Theatre of Comedy Company and became its
artistic director. During his tenure the company produced over twenty plays such as
Pygmalion (starring
Peter O'Toole and
John Thaw),
Loot and
Run For Your Wife. He co-wrote a farce with his son
Michael,
Tom, Dick and Harry (1993). Cooney produced and directed the film
Run For Your Wife (2012), based on his own play. The film however was not a success: it was savaged by critics and has been referred to as
one of the worst films of all time. Cooney's farces combine a traditional British bawdiness with structural complication, as characters leap to assumptions, are forced to pretend to be things that they are not, and often talk at cross-purposes. He is greatly admired in
France where he is known as "Le Feydeau Anglais" ("The English Feydeau") in reference to the French farceur
Georges Feydeau. Many of his plays have been first produced, or revived, at the
Théâtre de la Michodière in Paris. In January 1975, Cooney was the subject of
This Is Your Life when he was surprised by
Eamonn Andrews at London's
Savoy Hotel. In the
2005 New Year Honours, Cooney was made an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his services to drama. ==Personal life==