British comedian Ian Cognito dies of heart attack during a gig on stage
British stand-up comedian Ian Cognito died of a heart attack during a gig on stage on Thursday night, according to reports. Paramedics were called to the Lone Wolf Comedy Club in Bicester after he collapsed, however, the first responders pronounced him dead at the scene.
Cognito had reportedly been taking medication for a heart condition. The details of his heart disease are still not known.
Multiple comics took to social media to pay tribute to the popular stand-up comic with Joe Bor writing on Twitter: "A sad day for the comedy community. He was a legend of the circuit. Funny and unique. Incredible writer and performer."
While Mark Oliver wrote: "A sad day for comics today. The great Ian Cognito passed away last night. One the most charismatic performers and men (most of the time) I ever met."
Brendan Burns also paid tribute to the comic on Twitter and said: "He changed the face of this circuit single-handedly. He was rallying against political correctness before it even had a name. I also love it when he pisses in my mouth."
The British comedian had won the prestigious Time Out Award for Stand-up Comedy in 1999.
The comic, speaking at an interview in 2012, about his humor, said: "Ultimately they should wanna be funny, then they'll be liked. Simples. Nasty can be funny, so long as you don't take it seriously. Best thing about getting old, a f**k you can not give. Anyway, no matter how nice you are, someone, somewhere thinks you're a c***. Sorry to tell you that."
"Course in Jimmy Carr's case someone somewhere thinks he's alright. I didn't do much comedy before I did comedy. Mainly tears in our house. For what it's worth I see quite a few established comedians nicking my moves. They know who I am," he had said.