Veteran comedian Ian Cognito, who was criticised for his racist acts, died on stage while performing a comic act in London. He was 60.
Time Out Award winner for Comedy, Cognito fell ill during the performance at the Atic bar in the English town of Bicester, and when paramedics arrived at the venue, he was already pronounced dead, reported cnn.com.
Ryan Mold, the owner of the venue, said that Cognito was on stage and "around halfway through his act" when he fell ill on Thursday.
"He sat down, putting his head and arms back; his shoulders were twitching," Mold added.
According to Mold, it took a few minutes before fellow comedians began to realise that something was wrong and ran onstage to help the comic. After calling for an ambulance, a paramedic in the venue performed CPR while the rest of the audience was vacated.
Cognito began performing stand-up comedy in 1985 and was described as Britain's most-banned comic due to his racist acts. In 1999, he won the Time Out Award for Stand-up Comedy.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Mamata Banerjee's Sunday Ultimatum To CBI For Death Penalty In Rape-Murder How Extreme Weather Is Leading To Rise In Child Marriages In Pakistan "Prove With Pics Crime Scene Intact": Court To Bengal Over Hospital Vandalism Eva's Hot Take On A Little Black Dress Was Served In A Rosette Number Matthew Perry "Froze" When Doctor Gave Him Large Ketamine Dose Before Death JD Vance's Bestselling Tale From Rags To Riches Can Be His Political Tool Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.