Comedian dies onstage as audience laughs for five minutes
“We thought it was part of the act. We came out feeling really sick, we just sat there for five minutes watching him, laughing at him.”
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“We thought it was part of the act. We came out feeling really sick, we just sat there for five minutes watching him, laughing at him.”
British comedian Ian Cognito had a heart attack and died onstage during his set at a comedy club last night.
According to Global News, Cognito was mid-set at Bicester’s Lone Wolf Comedy Club when he fell ill and died.
The audience assumed it was part of the act and laughed for around five minutes as Cognito remained motionless on a chair.
“We thought it was part of the act,” audience member John Ostojak told the BBC, “We came out feeling really sick, we just sat there for five minutes watching him, laughing at him.”
Cognito was a well-known and beloved figure in British comedy. Many comedians took to social media to pay their respects to their fallen comrade.
Veteran stand-up comedian Ian Cognito has died on-stage – literally. The audience thought it was part of the act. Died with his boots on. That’s commitment to comedy. I’ll never forget his kindness when I started out & how god damn funny he was.
— Jimmy Carr (@jimmycarr)
I’d heard so many stories before I met him. I got to a gig & the promoter said “Ian’s here & is in the dressing room”. I didn’t know which Ian he meant, opened the door & a man was pissing in the sink and smiling at me. I remember thinking to myself “I think this is Ian Cognito”
— James Acaster (@JamesAcaster)
In shock at the news of Ian Cognito's sudden passing. He was always kind to me when I started out, and brilliant and provocative and entirely original onstage. What a loss.
— Matt Lucas (@RealMattLucas)
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