Tributes have been pouring in for John Edward Szeles, after the comedian died aged 63.
The American comic and magician, who was best known as “The Amazing Johnathan”, died on Tuesday (22 February).
Szeles’s death was announced on Facebook by fellow comedian Penny Wiggins, who wrote: “Johnathan Szeles (Amazing Johnathan) has passed away at around 11:30 pm 2/22/22.
“My heart is broken. One of my best friends, one of the funniest humans I’ve ever met. I loved him so very much and will never forget this wonderful, amazing, kind, funny, great person.”
The day before Szeles’s death, his wife Anastasia Synn wrote on Facebook that she was “losing” him as he was “completely unresponsive”.
See tributes from comedians such as Dave Attell and Dante below.
In March 2007, Szeles was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a disease that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood around the body. During a talk in 2014, Szeles said he was told by doctors he had a year to live.
Some of Szeles’s most famous tricks included appearing to snort an entire jar of cocaine, seeming to drive a spike through his tongue and pretending to swallow his own eyeball.
In 2019, a film about Szeles was released, called The Amazing Johnathan Documentary. It followed the comedian as he faced addiction and terminal illness.
