Perry Kurtz Dies: Comedian Who Appeared On ‘America’s Got Talent’ & ‘Late Late Show With James Corden’ Was 73

Denise Petski
·2 min read
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Perry Kurtz, a comedian who appeared on Season 8 of America’s Got Talent as well as on The Late Late Show with James Corden, died Thursday in a hit-and-run in the L.A. neighborhood of Tarzana. He was 73.

His death was confirmed by the L.A. County Medical Examiner’s Office. An official cause of death is deferred pending an autopsy.

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Perry was struck by a gray Honda Civic at around 11:20 pm Thursday, according to law enforcement sources cited by TMZ. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

TMZ reports a suspect has been arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run causing death.

Kurtz auditioned in the sixth episode of Season 8 of America’s Got Talent, in a rap act about judges Howard Stern, Heidi Klum and Mel B. All three hit the buzzer and he was eliminated from the competition.

His first gig in came in 1977 when he entered a talent show at The Crazy Horse Saloon in New Jersey, taking a $250 first prize for singing a parody of “Eleanor Rigby” as Jerry Lewis. From there, he headed to San Francisco to pursue comedy full-time.

In San Francisco he spent much of his time at the Holy City Zoo Comedy Club where he improvised with Robin Williams, and followed Williams more than a dozen times at management request, according to his bio on the Entertainers Worldwide website.

In 1989, he relocated to Los Angeles where he became a paid regular at The Comedy Store in Hollywood and also appeared at Dangerfields in New York City.

According to IMDB, he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2014 and most recently on The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2018.

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