Johnny Fox performing at Maryland Renaissance Festival - 02

John Robert "Johnny" Fox (November 13, 1953 – December 17, 2017) was an American professional

sword swallower Sword swallowing is a skill in which the performer passes a sword through the mouth and down the esophagus to the stomach. This feat is not swallowing in the traditional sense. The natural processes that constitute swallowing do not take place, bu ...

and

sleight of hand Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' () comprises fine motor skills used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card fl ...

expert.

Early life

Fox was born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, and grew up in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. He saw his first sword swallower at the

Eastern States Exposition The Big E, formally known as The Eastern States Exposition, is an annual fair in West Springfield, Massachusetts, which opens on the second Friday after Labor Day and runs for seventeen days. It is billed as "New England's Great State Fair," th ...

West Springfield, Massachusetts West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,835 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is also known as "West ...

, when he was eight or nine years old.Feuer, Alan. "Pickled Piglets and Other Curiosities, in Exile."

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, 2005-06-04, p. B1. At approximately the same age, his father gave him a book about

Harry Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...

which inspired Fox—substituting

spaghetti Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.spaghetti
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Una ...

—to recreate the magician's trick of swallowing a key on a string and then regurgitating it.

Performance career

Fox began performing

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

and

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

while working as a waiter in

Saint Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the state that is not a county seat (the ...

.Montgomery, David. "Strange Attraction: As Sideshows Vanish from the Midway, a Film Recalls Their Glory Days."

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

, 2003-10-24, p. C1. He learned sleight-of-hand in the 1970s from

Tony Slydini Tony Slydini (September 1, 1900, Foggia, Italy – January 15, 1991), known as Slydini, was a magician known for close-up artistry magic. His public performances and lectures to other magicians inspired Doug Henning, Dick Cavett, Bill Bixby, ...

, an Italian magician known as ''"the Master of Misdirection"''. In his early twenties, Fox was performing in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

, when he heard that his act had been stolen by a competing magician. He was inspired to begin swallowing swords in order to have "an act people couldn't copy easily". It took him eight months to master the technique, although he injured himself on several occasions learning it. Fox estimated in 1999 he was one of only twenty professional sword swallowers in the United States, noting there were many more than when he began. Fox could swallow up to 22 inches of steel. Besides swallowing regular swords, his act included swallowing a retractable

tape measure A tape measure or measuring tape is a long, flexible ruler used to measure length or distance. It usually consists of a ribbon of cloth, plastic, fibreglass, or metal (usually - hard steel alloy) strip with linear measurement markings. Types Ta ...

, a giant

screwdriver A screwdriver is a tool, manual or powered, used for turning screws. Description A typical simple screwdriver has a handle and a shaft, ending in a tip the user puts into the screw head before turning the handle. This form of the screwdriver ...

and a neon glowing sword plugged into an outlet. His act also included eating fire-until he learned that the chemicals used in the trick could seep into his

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

. Fox appeared at such venues as comedy clubs, casinos, and tattoo conventions, as well as special events such as an

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

album release party. His television appearances include the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

'', a 1992

Jonathan Winters Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American comedian, actor, author, television host, and artist. He started performing as a stand up comedian before transitioning his career to acting in film and te ...

television special, and a

Maalox Maalox was a brand of antacid owned by Sanofi. Their main product is a flavored liquid containing a suspension of aluminum hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide, which act to neutralize or reduce stomach acid, for the purpose of relieving the sympto ...

commercial in which he swallowed light bulbs."Open Up and Say AHHH!"
CNN Live Today. 2002-09-03 He was featured in the 2003 documentary ''Traveling Sideshow: Shocked and Amazed'' by

Jeff Krulik Jeff Krulik is a director of independent films and a former Discovery Channel producer. Krulik's work frequently explores the fringes of popular culture from an enthusiastic and appreciative point of view. He is best known for his 1986 document ...

. Fox was the resident sword-swallower at the annual

Maryland Renaissance Festival The Maryland Renaissance Festival is a Renaissance fair located in Crownsville, Maryland. Set in a fictional 16th-century English village named ''Revel Grove'', the festival is spread over . It is open from the last weekend of August and runs f ...

in Crownsville, and performed there from 1981 through 2017. Prior to the festival's 2017 season, the festival's Royal Stage, where Fox performed, was renamed to the Royal Fox Theatre in his honor. He began performing at the

Sterling Renaissance Festival Sterling Renaissance Festival is a Renaissance Festival that operates in Sterling, New York. Since 1976, it runs for seven consecutive weekends through July and August and features music, comedy, and interactive theatre performances as well as th ...

Sterling, New York Sterling is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Cayuga County, New York, Cayuga County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,040 at the 2010 census. Located on the shore of Lake Ontario, the town is nam ...

in 1997.Murphy, Justin
"Fare thee well for 2011."
The Citizen (Auburn), 2011-08-22. He occasionally worked as a

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

for other sideshow artists. Image:Sword-Swallower Johnny Fox.jpg, Johnny Fox sword swallowing at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 2006 File:Johnny Fox performing at Maryland Renaissance Festival - 08.jpg, Johnny Fox performing

cups and balls The cups and balls is a performance of magic with innumerable adaptations. Street gambling variations performed by conmen were known as Bunco Booths. A typical cups and balls routine includes many of the most fundamental effects of magic: the ...

routine at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 2016 File:Johnny Fox performing at Maryland Renaissance Festival - 10.jpg, Johnny Fox sword swallowing at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 2016, before his diagnosis

Freakatorium

In June 1999, Fox opened the ''Freakatorium'', ''El Museo Loco'', a museum of side show curiosities, on the

Lower East Side of Manhattan The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal Street (Manhattan), Canal to Houston Str ...

. In the face of low numbers of visitors and rising rent, the museum was closed in January 2005. Fox was partly inspired to open the museum by his childhood visits to Hubert's Museum and

Flea Circus A flea circus is a circus sideshow attraction in which fleas are attached (or appear to be attached) to miniature carts and other items, and encouraged to perform circus acts within a small housing. History The first records of flea perfor ...

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

. His collection of oddities includes

narwhal The narwhal (''Monodon monoceros'') is a species of toothed whale native to the Arctic. It is the only member of the genus ''Monodon'' and one of two living representatives of the family Monodontidae. The narwhal is a stocky cetacean with a ...

tusks, an elephant's-foot liquor chest, a two-headed turtle, a vest owned by

General Tom Thumb Charles Sherwood Stratton (January 4, 1838 – July 15, 1883), better known by his stage name "General Tom Thumb", was an American with dwarfism who achieved great fame as a performer under circus pioneer P. T. Barnum. Childhood and early ...

, and the glass eye of

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

Personal life

Fox married his wife, Valeria, an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

dancer and photographer, while they were atop elephants in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, in 2002.Lee, Jennifer. "A Sword-Swallowing Collector Closes an Odd Little Museum."

, 2005-01-01, p. B6. They resided in

Seymour, Connecticut Seymour is a town located in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was 16,748 at the 2020 census. Seymour is bordered by the towns of Oxford and Beacon Falls to th ...

Illness and death

Johnny Fox memorial at Maryland Renaissance Festival - 1

In the fall of 2016, Fox was diagnosed with

hepatitis-C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can includ ...

and

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

of the liver and tumors. Then, in the winter of 2016, Fox slipped on

black ice Black ice, sometimes called clear ice, is a coating of glaze ice on a surface, for example on streets or on lakes. The ice itself is not black, but visually transparent, allowing the often black road below to be seen through it and light to be ...

at his home in Connecticut which, combined with his liver problems, put him in a coma for several days. After waking up from his coma, he recovered enough to return to performing at the

for the fall 2017 season. Fox died on Sunday, December 17, 2017, of liver cancer, aged 64.

References

External links

Freakatorium – El Museo Loco

Maryland Renaissance Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Johnny 1953 births 2017 deaths American curators American magicians American stunt performers People from Hartford, Connecticut Entertainers from Minneapolis Renaissance fair performers Sideshow performers Deaths from liver cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in Connecticut Sword swallowers