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 hit by a gray Honda Civic while crossing Ventura Boulevard east of Corbin Avenue at around 11:20 p.m.
“The Honda continued eastbound failing to stop, identify self, 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 responding paramedics, police said. An LAPD spokesperson could not confirm whether Kurtz was hit in a crosswalk or not.
The suspected driver — 18-year-old Nathon Jaimes, of Reseda — was arrested at his home at around 3:20 a.m. and booked on suspicion of a hit-and-run causing death, a felony, according to arrest records. He was released Friday on a $30,000 bond and his next court date is Sept. 13.
On Thursday night, Kurtz had posted a short video on Facebook of him 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 …” his profile reads.
He started his career in 1973, when he took a group of friends to enter a talent contest at a New Jersey saloon, he told Shoutout LA in a 2022 interview. He won $250, then decided he should 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 his tongue. His name appears on the side of the Comedy Store in Los Angeles, where he was a paid regular since 1989.