Comic-magician The Amazing Johnathan, beloved oddball with Detroit roots, dies

John Szeles, known in the entertainment world as The Amazing Johnathan, a Las Vegas-based comic-magician with metro Detroit roots, died Tuesday.

He was 63.

A well-known prankster and a skilled illusionist, Szeles was briefly suspected of faking his terminal illness, as documented in the 2019 film "The Amazing Johnathan Documentary."

In 2014, Szeles revealed at a show in Las Vegas that he had been diagnosed with severe cardiomyopathy and that he had one year to live. Many in the audience thought it was a joke.

The film documented his return to the stage after surviving longer than doctors expected. It became clear during the course of filming that he was indeed severely ill.

Related: Freep Film Festival's 'Amazing Johnathan' is a documentary with a startling twist

The Neptune Society of Las Vegas, a cremation services provider, confirmed Friday that Szeles had indeed died and that it was coordinating services with his family. Szeles' wife, magician Anastasia Synn, said via Twitter that he had been in hospice care.

Born John Edward Szeles in Detroit, Johnathan grew up in Fraser before eventually ending up in Las Vegas.

“I really loved him,” said Ben Berman, director of "The Amazing Johnathan Documentary," which is available on Hulu.

“I met him in 2016 when I started filming.”

Berman said Szeles pranked him during his first visit to his home.

He knocked on the magician's front door for what seemed like 15 minutes before Szeles slowly opened the door using a walker and feigned vomiting. Berman said a horror washed over him as he realized he had set himself up to film a documentary on someone who is dying. After a few seconds, Szeles looked at Berman and said, “I’m just f---ing with you."

Szeles was in Detroit in 2019 during the Freep Film Festival for a screening of the documentary, which went on to win Freep’s Best of Festival award.

“He was easily one of the most memorable guests to ever appear at our event,” said Steve Byrne, the festival’s executive director. “His over-the-top comedy and blunt communication — which you were never quite sure was serious or a put on — consistently left our staff pie-eyed, laughing or both.”

Comedian Kevin Lepine, a metro Detroit native known for "Hypnosis Unleashed — The Vegas Hypnosis Show" was friends with Szeles for the past 11 years. They served as groomsmen at each other’s weddings.

“He was my big brother," Lepine said. "We pranked each other; there was always love and laughter. … If he was joking with you, it also meant he loved you."

Berman described Szeles as refreshing and silly, very confident in himself and his ideas and also a great painter.

Szeles' career spanned over 35 years. He was a regular at Detroit comedy clubs, appeared on hundreds of television shows, including Comedy Central’s "One Night Stand," "Lounge Lizards," "Premium Blend," and his one-hour special, "Wrong on Every Level." He has also appeared on HBO's "Young Comedians Special," "Late Night with David Letterman," "World's Greatest Magic," A&E's "Mindfreak," as well as a game show called "Ruckus," which he co-created with Merv Griffin, according to his website.

In 2001, Szeles stopped touring and took up residency at the Golden Nugget Las Vegas Hotel & Casino on the Strip, which he called the longest running comedy/magic show in Vegas’ history at 13 years.

He was named one of the “Top Ten Acts in Vegas” by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and also won the “Best of Las Vegas Award.”

In 2014, Szeles proposed to Anastasia Synn on stage during a performance at Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle in Royal Oak,

"It was a tender moment and one that I was happy to share," Mark Ridley wrote in a tribute to Szeles on the comedy club's Facebook page.

"He marched to his own drummer," said Ridley, who met Szeles when he was in his early 20s and still lived in Michigan.

"Johnathan was from the area. Every time he came to town, we sold out all the shows."

His final few years were spent relaxing at home with his wife, Anastasia, and their daughter in between hospital visits, according to his website.

When he felt well enough, he performed occasionally and had multiple documentaries filmed about his life.

“His wife, Anastasia, is why he lived for so long," said Lepine. "She adamantly took on making sure that he followed the doctors’ orders and got the care he needed. She was so good at keeping him as healthy as possible.

"He never lost that childhood wonder,” Lepine said about Szeles, “Rest In Play.”

Memorial service:

• 3 p.m. March 7 at the Plaza Hotel & Casino Showroom in Las Vegas according to Anastasia Synn's Facebook page.

Synn announced via Facebook a social made hashtag to be used for the memorial: #notaprank.

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Brendel Hightower is an assistant editor at the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at bhightower@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The Amazing Johnathan, oddball magician with Detroit roots, dies