Henry Cooper - Life Outside Boxing

Life Outside Boxing

After his retirement from boxing Henry Cooper maintained a high public profile with appearances in the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport and various advertisements, most famously in those for Brut aftershave, which have been credited with removing a lingering suspicion among the British that men who wore cologne were effeminate. Although generally a traditionalist, Cooper abhorred racism; his grandfather was an Irish immigrant and Cooper became the first celebrity sponsor of the Anti-Nazi League, a largely left-wing campaign against far-right groups which were agitating against immigration. He was also active in charity events. He appeared as boxer John Gully in the 1975 film Royal Flash and in his latter years featured in a series of UK public service announcements urging vulnerable groups to go to their doctor for vaccination against influenza called Get your Jab in First!

Cooper had become a 'name' at Lloyd's of London, a supposedly 'blue chip' investment, but in the 1990s he was reportedly one of those who suffered enormous personal losses because of the unlimited liability which a 'name' was then responsible for, and he was forced to sell his hard won Lonsdale belts. Subsequently, Cooper's enduring popularity as an after dinner speaker provided a source of income and he was in most respects a picture of contentment until the death of his wife.

Considering his long career, Henry Cooper had suffered relatively little boxing-related damage to his health. Apart from "a bit of arthritis", his only problem had been damage to a knee because of running several miles a day in plimsolls in the days before trainers became available. Cooper remained an imposing figure into his seventies, in the words of one journalist, "the living manifestation of an age of tuxedos in ringside seats, Harry Carpenter commentaries, sponge buckets and 'seconds out'". He lived in Hildenborough, Kent, and he was the president of Nizels Golf Club in the town until his death.

Cooper was married to Albina Genepri, an Italian Catholic, from 1960 until her death from a heart attack aged 71 in 2008. He converted to her faith. He was survived by their sons, Henry Marco and John Pietro, and two grandchildren. He left £747,098. In an interview published a few days after his death, Cooper described Albina, who "hated" his sport, as "an ideal wife for a boxer", never grumbling about his long absences before big fights and inviting journalists in for tea while they waited for Cooper to get out of bed the morning after bouts.