The Amazing Johnathan dies at 63

Comedy magician passes away, years after being given '12 months to live'

Comedy magician The Amazing Johnathan has died at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 63.

An anarchic performer who called himself the ‘Freddy Krueger of comedy’, he was diagnosed with a degenerative heart disease in 2007. But he kept it quiet until 2014 when he revealed on stage that he had been given a year to live. The audience initially thought it was a joke.

His wife, sideshow stunt artist Anastasia Synn, confirmed his death to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, saying: ‘The last thing I said to him was, "I love you, honey, I’ll be with you when you get up from your nap,"… Johnathan did not wake up from that nap.’

She had previously tweeted: ‘I am losing my honey beeps. I'm so sad and feel like this is carving a hole in my chest. He is COMPLETELY unresponsive. He is end stage. Please give us peace at this time. His decline was fast, but it also wasn't. He is so strong.’

Johnathan – whose real surname was Szeles – started as a street performer in San Francisco and his career rocketed after an appearance at the Hollywood Improv.. He made numerous appearances on late-night talk shows in the US and on Hey Hey It's Saturday in Australia. And from 2001 to 2014, he was a year-round headliner in Las Vegas.

Among those paying tribute today were British comedy-magician Pete Firman, who tweeted: 'Sad to hear that The Amazing Johnathan has passed away. He was one of the greatest comedy magicians of all time. A powerhouse on stage and brilliantly funny. He’ll be missed by many. Thoughts with his family and friends.'

In 2019, Ben Berman made a documentary about the comedian and his death: