Australian comedian Joel Ozborn celebrates the remarkable 25-year friendship he’s shared with The Amazing Johnathan when he presents ‘The Madman & Me’.
“It's over 25 years in the making,” Joel says of ‘The Madman & Me’. “When I was a 12-year-old kid my dad took me to see The Amazing Johnathan in Sydney and I had no idea what to expect and I was just blown away. It was an experience I’d never had before. . . Because I’d never experienced the roar of an audience like that before.
“I remember sitting there, looking up at the stage at him thinking, 'that's what I want to do when I grow up'; it was one of those epiphany moments that stuck with me. I basically became an obsessed fan, trying to find out everything I could about him.”
In the world of live magic, The Amazing Johnathan stands alone for his uniquely manic stage presence and illusions, from eating his own eyeball to sawing his arm with a knife. Joel’s relationship with Johnathan has seen him work in various roles – as teenage manager for Johnathan’s magic gigs in Australia, as his North American touring manager and even his warm-up act in Las Vegas.
Joel chronicled his friendship with Johnathan in 2018 documentary film ‘Always Amazing’, to which ‘The Madman & Me’ works as an appendix where Joel can expand on the story along with performing a few tricks of his own.
“I'm able to get into a bit more detail on stories, and stories that just couldn’t make it into the documentary due to time restraints,” Joel says.
“It complements that well, which has done really well so far. I’ve been happy with the response, especially online. The great thing about it is nowadays you can get the feedback directly from people. To see the way that this story resonates across the board with people all over the world, it’s been really encouraging to get that feedback.”
The impact of The Amazing Johnathan on the world of comedic magic cannot be understated; legends of the genre such as Penn Jillette and David Copperfield, even stand-up immortal George Carlin have all sung his praises.
“He does have a really universal appeal,” Joel says, “and it’s funny – great comics in Australia, I’ve heard them say 'man, you can't follow that'. He literally destroys the stage, it’s carnage.”
The manic onstage persona of The Amazing Johnathan reflected his offstage zeal for life, including a voracious drug habit.
“I learnt so much from him over the years of what to do with my life but more importantly what not to do with my life as well,” Joel shares.
“He had made some interesting choices throughout his life that I’ve vicariously learnt from as well, to go 'hmm, maybe I should take a different direction' when it comes to, you know, becoming a drug addict.”
For all his vices, Johnathan has nevertheless been an enduring presence in the lives of many people, perhaps none more than Joel who says ‘The Madman & Me’ provides a fitting bookend to the career of someone who, above anything else, will always remain a dear friend.
“It's been great to be able to show this coming-of-age story for me,” he says.
“Being able to pay homage to Johnathan, who's no longer well enough to be able to get on stage, to bring back the essence of him on stage.”
