Comedy / Film & TV
The Amazing Johnathan
1958–2022 · comedian, magician
Detroit-born 'Freddy Krueger of Comedy', a gory comedy-magic act that headlined in Las Vegas year-round from 2001 to 2014.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Las Vegas, Nevada
aged 63- Birth name
- John Edward Szeles
- Detroit years
- 1958–1970s
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
John Szeles was born in Detroit, the son of Doreen and Edward Szeles, and caught the magic bug when his Uncle Eugene showed him his first card trick, a moment he later credited, jokingly, with starting 'this whole mess'. In the 1970s he moved to California and began performing on the streets of San Francisco. His act, built on audience heckling, deliberately botched tricks and fake gore, from a dangling eyeball to a skewered tongue, all performed in his trademark headband, made him a regular on Late Night with David Letterman and on Fox's Comic Strip Live, where he set a record with 24 appearances. He hosted the syndicated game show Ruckus in 1991, had several Comedy Central specials and was a Las Vegas headliner year-round from 2001 to 2014. He died in Las Vegas in 2022.
Highlights
- Born in Detroit; learned his first card trick from his uncle
- Record 24 appearances on Fox's Comic Strip Live
- Host of the syndicated game show Ruckus (1991)
- Year-round Las Vegas headliner, 2001–2014