A comedian featured on “America’s Got Talent” and “The Late Late Show with James Corden” died after being struck by a car in a hit-and-run in the Tarzana area late Thursday night, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Perry Kurtz, 73, was struck by a gray Honda Civic while crossing Ventura Boulevard east of Corbin Avenue at about 11:20 p.m.
“The Honda continued eastbound and failed to stop, identify itself or render aid as required by law,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.
Kurtz, who was from Philadelphia, was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency personnel, police said. An LAPD spokesperson could not confirm whether or not Kurtz was struck in a crosswalk.
The suspected driver — 18-year-old Nathon Jaimes of Reseda — was arrested at his home at 3:20 a.m. and charged on suspicion of hit-and-run causing death, a felony, according to arrest records. He was released Friday on $30,000 bail and his next court date is Sept. 13.
On Thursday night, Kurtz had posted a short video on Facebook where he was performing during karaoke hour at Pat’s Cocktail Lounge, a bar about 10 miles from the crash site.
Kurtz was a comedian for 51 years, according to his Linkedin profile. “Goal: To make everyone in the world laugh at least once. Maybe twice…” reads his profile.
He began his career in 1973, when he took a group of friends to enter a talent contest at a New Jersey salon, he said Shoutout LA in an interview in 2022. He won $250, then decided he wanted to be a comedian and moved to San Francisco six years later to pursue comedy, he said.
Kurtz rapped to an unimpressed group of judges, including Howard Stern, on the eighth season of “America’s Got Talent” and was eliminated from the competition. He appeared on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” in 2018 and played a keyboard guitar with tongue. His name appears on the side of the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, where he was a paying regular since 1989.