News / Comedy
Bristol comedian dies on stage during stand-up show
Comedians from across the UK have paid tribute to Ian Cognito, who died on stage while performing in Oxfordshire.
The comic, who lived on a houseboat in Keynsham, was taken ill at the Lone Wolf Comedy Club in Bicester and sat slumped on stage for several minutes, with audience members thinking it was part of the gig.
The 60-year-old comic sat down on a stool while breathing heavily, before falling silent.
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Compere Andrew Bird told BBC News that Cognito had even joked about his health during his set, telling the audience: “Imagine if I died in front of you lot here.”
Bird went on stage to check if Cognito was okay. “Everyone in the crowd, me included, thought he was joking,” he said. “Even when I walked on stage and touched his arm I was expecting him to say ‘boo’.”
Paramedics were called but South Central Ambulance Service confirmed Cognito was pronounced dead at the scene.
Tributes have poured in for Incognito from some of the biggest names on the comedy circuit:
https://twitter.com/RufusHound/status/1116653404632354816
https://twitter.com/JamesAcaster/status/1116715432231096320
https://twitter.com/joelycett/status/1116762366274760704
Fellow Bristol comic Mark Olver said that Cognito was “one of the coolest men I’ve ever met”.
Olver tweeted: “I have a few favourite Cogs memories. My favourite might be Yeovil in about 2003. I picked him up on the main road near his boat and he was wearing his pj’s and dressing gown, holding a pint glass and smoking. I asked him why and he said ‘I like to do this twice a year’
“We drove to the gig and he had already been drinking for about 6 hours. Got to the gig and it was tiny so he did it with no mic and spent the majority of the gig with his back to the audience lining up left over roast potatoes on the bar. About 30 of them.
“At one point he forgot about the potatoes and went into Angry Cogs mode. Discovering the spuds mid rant he smashed his fist down on one and it went flying so with utter glee and anger did them all, covering the whole venue in potato. Beautiful, glorious anarchy.
“And the one thing I’ve not noticed many people say today is how amazing his kids were. He’d sometimes bring Billy and Oli to gigs or be with them in Edinburgh. He was an amazing comic, a charismatic genius, and, importantly, a seemingly brilliant dad.”
Read more: Bristol Comedy Garden announced 2019 lineup
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