Sword Swallowing

[GeneChing]

Coney Island's beloved sword swallower dies at 64



Johnny Fox, 64, had appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman” and a Maalox commercial in which he swallowed light bulbs. He died of liver cancer. (NORMAN BLAKE)
BY ANDY MAI
STEPHEN REX BROWN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Sunday, December 17, 2017, 8:39 PM

His death is hard to swallow.

Coney Island’s sideshow community was reeling Sunday from the death of a legendary and beloved sword swallower to liver cancer.

Johnny Fox, 64, had appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman” and a Maalox commercial in which he swallowed light bulbs. He was so revered at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Crownsville that its main stage was named after him. He’d performed there since the early 1980s.

“He was one of the finest examples of a sideshow virtuoso as well as being a celebrity within our own culture,” said Patrick Wall, general manager at the nonprofit arts organization Coney Island USA.

“We lost one of the best ... He had a dynamic stage presence and just a complete love and commitment to what he did.”

Fox, who grew up in Hartford, Conn., ran the Freakatorium on the Lower East Side, showcasing sideshow culture, from 1999 to 2005. He also had performed at the Coney Island Freak Show.

“When it came to actually dropping the blade and doing the extremely dangerous acts, he was one of the best,” said Dick Zigun, founder of Coney Island USA.

He recalled that Fox was a dedicated collector of sideshow memorabilia.


Fox was so revered at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Crownsville that its main stage was named after him. He’d performed there since the early 1980s. (NORMAN BLAKE)
“If you hung out with Johnny, he would pull out Sammy Davis Jr.’s glass eye!” Zigun recalled.

Magician Todd Robbins called Fox “one of the greats.”

“I used to joke I wanted to be Johnny Fox,” he said.

In 2016, Fox received a grim diagnosis and then took a fall that resulted in him slipping into a coma for several days. He chose not to go to hospice and instead sought treatment at a facility in Arizona specializing in alternative medicine.

He recovered enough to perform again this year at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. His fans and fellow sideshow freaks started a fund-raiser for him called “A Hard One 2 Swallow.”

“Gratitude and optimism and being content have gotten me through so much of my life, and if I can share those things with others and help each other out ... we’re all in this crazy world together,” he told NPR in October.

“There’s love, and there’s fear,” he said. “I choose love.”

"His death is hard to swallow." srsly?

[GeneChing]

[GeneChing]

Boy pushes a 7-inch pencil down his throat as he tries to 'imitate Kung Fu masters swallowing swords on TV'
The seven-year-old in China swallowed the sharp pencil while doing homework
His parents rushed him to a Henan hospital after the boy confessed the incident
X-ray shows the 7-inch pointy object lodged across the young patient's stomach
The school pupil has recovered after surgeons removed the pencil from his body
By EMILIA JIANG FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 09:41 EDT, 26 August 2020 | UPDATED: 09:58 EDT, 26 August 2020

A Chinese boy has had a 7-inch pencil removed from his stomach after he swallowed the pointy object while doing his homework.

The seven-year-old was rushed to a hospital in China’s central Henan province after he confessed to his parents about the incident.

The child claimed that he was trying to mimic the sword-swallowing actors he had seen on Kung Fu TV shows.


A Chinese boy has had a 7-inch pencil removed from his stomach after he swallowed the pointy object while doing his homework. An X-ray shows the pencil lodged in the patient's stomach

The incident was brought to light when the boy’s parents took him to seek medical attention at Henan Provincial Children’s Hospital in the city of Zhengzhou on Friday.

The school pupil was doing his homework in the morning when he felt bored and became distracted, said the hospital in a report.

The boy suddenly remembered watching actors passing swords down their throats on TV and decided to imitate the stunt himself – with the 7-inch pencil in his hand.

After pushing the entire pencil down his throat, the child eventually confessed to his mother about the dangerous act.

The horrified parents immediately rushed their son to the Henan hospital upon hearing the news.


The incident was brought to light when the boy’s parents took him to seek medical attention at Henan Provincial Children’s Hospital in the city of Zhengzhou, Henan Province on Friday

While conducting an X-ray scan, doctors saw the pointy object lodged across the young patient’s stomach.

‘He was lucky because the pointy side of the pencil is facing upwards,’ a chief medic told reporters. ‘It could possibly puncture his stomach and digestive tract if it was facing downwards.’

The child is said to have recovered after surgeons performed an emergency operation to remove the foreign object.

The brand-new sharp pencil measured 18 centimetres (7.09 inches).

'It is the longest foreign object that I have removed since I started working as a doctor over ten years ago,' the medic added.

He urged parents to educate their children about the danger of swallowing toys or tools.

The news comes as a five-year-old Chinese girl has had 190 magnetic beads removed from her stomach after she swallowed them while playing.

The toy balls had been stuck inside the child for two months before she was taken by her parents to a hospital for examination.

Medics were shocked to discover the tiny beads all bundled up inside the little girl's body while conducting an X-ray scan.

This is totally inappropriate but the pen is mightier than the sword.

[highlypotion]

This is totally inappropriate but the pen is mightier than the sword.

WOW! That is extremely dangerous. I hope the performer will be safe during that performance.

[mawali]

My former girlfriends nickname :Sword Swallower:

[GeneChing]

Entertainment company denies sword swallowing was behind medical call to Six Flags



The performer was working for magician Aaron Radatz' production company Saturday night, according to a Six Flags spokesperson.

Author: Scott Broom
Published: 5:04 PM EDT October 31, 2022
Updated: 1:54 PM EDT November 1, 2022

BOWIE, Md. — A representative for the company staging a Halloween magic performance at Six Flags America in Bowie says an emergency call that medics described as a serious injury caused by sword swallowing was caused by an “unrelated medical condition.”
The call for help came from Six Flags in Bowie between 9:30 and 10 p.m. Saturday evening.
“It was not for an accident during the show but rather for other unrelated health conditions…,” reported Josh Bowren, the Production Manager for Aaron Radatz Productionz which staged the show according to Six Flags officials.
Bowren did not name the actor, who he described as “our sword swallower," and authorities have not released the name of the injured person. The performer was a 59-year-old man who was in serious but not life-threatening condition when he was transported to Capital Region Health Hospital in Largo Saturday night, rescuers said.
Rescuers described the weapon to medical workers as "a haunted house sword" and said it occurred during a "Halloween show."
A spokesperson for Six Flags said the company's “thoughts and prayers are with the performer and his family.”
According to the company's website, magician Aaron Radatz, 47, and his wife April are featured performers who also produce productions with casts at locations throughout the U.S.
The couple posted live on Facebook from Six Flags America in Bowie on their Facebook page about a half hour before the time of the Saturday night accident.
Prince George’s County police report officers responded to the accident because they at first feared a stabbing or cutting attack.

And how was your Halloween?

Sword-Swallowing
Happy-Halloween!

[GeneChing]

Legendary San Diego sword swallower hospitalized with slashed abdominal cavity, pierced liver

World-renowned swallower Scott Nelson was hospitalized after swords sliced his abdominal cavity, and a lobe of his liver was pierced, according to his GoFundMe.
Legendary San Diego sword swallower hospitalized with slashed abdominal cavity, pierced liver

Author: Malik Earnest
Published: 6:19 PM PST December 5, 2022
Updated: 10:44 PM PST December 5, 2022

SAN DIEGO — Well-known San Diegan and sword swallower Scott Nelson, also known as "Murrugun The Mystic," was hospitalized in Washington, DC, following "an unrelated sword swallowing" mishap at Six Flags.
First responders were called to the scene at Six Flags of America on October 31 in the Woodmore CDP of Prince George's County, Maryland, near Upper Marlboro, and in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, following reports of a medical emergency.
"It was not for an accident during the show but rather for other unrelated health conditions…," said Josh Bowren, the Production Manager for Aaron Radatz Productionz, which staged the show according to Six Flags officials.
Scott Nelson, 59, was transported to an area hospital in serious but not life-threatening condition, according to authorities.
According to a GoFundMe page created in Nelson's honor to assist him financially while he recovers, "Five Swords scissored my abdominal cavity. It also appears that I pierced the lobe of my liver," fundraiser organizer Demetrius Antuna said.
A part of Nelson's lung was removed, and doctors did not think Nelson would recover from the health scare, Antuna said.
"Holy moly!!!! i had no idea just how bad this was," Nelson said in a Facebook post.
Photos on his social media showed numerous contusions, wounds, and stitches on his body, some a true testament to his craft.
Nelson frequently referred to himself as "The most dangerous man in show business and ace of swords."
Nelson is known for several acts, including being the only man in the world to swallow a rocket-powered sword.
"Murrugun The Mystic," said he's practiced transcendental meditation for over 35 years.
"I can stop my heart; lower my heart rate, blood pressure...I deal with the pain of my act by doing the mediation, prayer, relaxation technique," Nelson told AMCTV.
Nelson could not eat for a month, and Antuna said he was out of work and would not be able to work for some time.
If you'd like to donate to local San Diegan, Scott Nelson, also known as "Murrugun The Mystic, click here.

There's a vid and pix behind the link.