He was known for his crazy and wacky comedy magic shows seen around the world and at his Las Vegas residency. Michigan’s own, The Amazing Johnathan, has passed away from a terminal heart condition at the age of 63, according to TMZ who cites an assistant to his wife.
Johnathan Szeles was born in Detroit in 1958 and grew up in Fraser in Metro Detroit. Years ago, he says doctors told him he had about a year to live. He defeated the odds and even continued to perform for many more years after that diagnosis, including back home in Michigan at Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle in Royal Oak.
Here’s what he told us in an interview we did with him back in 2017 as he came out of retirement.
“I haven’t done a show in three and a half years. I was told I had a year and a half to live,” the magician told MLive at that time. “What you do in that time is you basically get rid of everything. You give everything away and then now that I’m still here, I’m trying to get all my stuff back (laughs). It’s kind of liberating to give away all your stuff.”
According to TMZ, The Amazing Johnathan’s assistant says there will be memorials in Michigan, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
“The fans, when I tell them I was dying, it was kind of being at your own funeral. People come out of the woodwork to say goodbye and how much I meant to them. How they were sick and watched me when they were down. How I saved their sanity. All kinds of stuff. It’s really nice to feel that love. I’m going to go back out and give fans one more run. Granted, I’m going to probably have to sit down halfway through the show because I don’t have the stamina.”
Toward the end of our interview with him in 2017, he left us with this:
“I’ve lived a really great life. I’ve really lived a terrific life. If I were to go during this interview, I would be perfectly happy. I couldn’t have asked for more. I’ve been so lucky.”
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