R.I.P. The Amazing Johnathan, unpredictable and inventive magician and stand-up comedian
“The Freddy Kruger Of Magic” was a revolutionary showman, known for deconstructing the rules of sleight of hand and stagecraft
John Edward Szeles, the magician and stand up comedian better known by his stage name, The Amazing Johnathan, has died. His death, confirmed by his wife, fellow performer Anastasia Synn, was the result of a critical heart condition, a diagnosis he struggled with since 2007. He was 63.
“The last thing I said to him was, ‘I love you, honey, I’ll be with you when you get up from your nap,’” Synn said near midnight Tuesday night. “We were feeding him oranges and strawberries. He was so peaceful. He said, ‘Yay!’ He had the most pure and sweetest look on his face.”
Szeles’ magic was not for the faint of heart. A mix of brazen, aggressive comedy and subversive illusions, The Amazing Johnathan’s bag of tricks appealed to Vegas tourists and magic aficionados alike. His work was riotous, violent, and frenetic. With machine-gun precision, he rattled off bits, tricks, and jokes that left stages covered in faux body parts and audiences in stitches.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, on September 9, 1958, he was the youngest of three children. His family moved to Fraser, MI, where he attended a Christian private school, where he was, according to his website, a “below average student.”
His path from just plain-old Johnathan to the Amazing one began in 1973 when he walked into a local magic shop. There, the owner trained the teenager before his big break: A neighborhood boy’s birthday party. The set ended with young Szeles locked in the trunk of a car and a chorus of boos. He made $4.
Three years later, he was performing on the streets of San Francisco, where he befriended fellow amateur magician and future Night Court star Harry Anderson. The pair were on the cutting edge between magic and comedy, and as Anderson made his rise, so too did the Amazing Johnathan.
In the 1980s, he toured colleges and comedy clubs, establishing himself as one of magic’s most original acts. Soon, he’d make his television debut, appearing on HBO, David Letterman, and The Weird Al Show, where he received his only acting credit as “Uncle Jonathan.”