R.I.P. John Fox (1957-2012)

John Fox has died from colon cancer. The comedian was 54.

Fox liked to joke that he looked like Nick Nolte’s headshot and told jokes that suggested he lived even bawdier — he was the kind of dirty club comic that inspired other comedians to write songs about him. Here is Pat Godwin singing, “The Legend of John Fox,” on The Bob & Tom Show.

So would there even be that scene in I Am Comic without a comic such as John Fox?

Fox made his living on the club circuit, and for a time he also appeared on television specials, too — perhaps most notably, Rodney Dangerfield’s Opening Night at Rodney’s Place, followed by Dangerfield’s 1991 special, The Really Big Show.

Here Fox was a few years ago, promoting his comedy DVDs on Amazon.

Fox’s best-known bit isn’t naughty at all, even if it does include words you cannot hear on primetime television. This is his bit on “Archibald Barisol.” Roll it.

His lasting legacy, hopefully, is helping other comedians.

Fox found out in the beginning of March that he had stage four colon cancer, and had two months or so to live.

To help other comedians avoid his fate, he set up the John Fox Memorial Fund, whose mission is “to provide funding for cancer screening for working comedians without insurance. A working comedian is one who makes at least $10,000/year doing stand up. We will provide funding for colonoscopies, pap smears, mammograms and other routine cancer screening tests.”

You can donate to the John Fox Memorial Fund here. Call (847) 287-1257 for more info.

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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3 thoughts on “R.I.P. John Fox (1957-2012)

  1. I had the pleasure of seeing John Fox not once, but twice in the last 4 years at Wiley’s Comedy Club in Dayton, OH… I laughed until my sides ached. After the 2nd show I seen I approached him and told him what a great act he had and how this was the 2nd show I seen with my (then) boyfriend. His response in true John Fox form was, “So I got ya goin and your boyfriend closed the deal” … I had hoped to see him again so this news of his passing was a huge shock.

    You will be missed. … Hope to see your show again on the other side!

  2. Fox was 59, not 54. He would have gone a lot further had his name not sounded so close to fellow country comic Jeff Foxworthy. Not that it matters much now.

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