Sword Swallower Makes Triumphant Return As He Battles Severe Health Issues
For decades, Johnny Fox has been a beloved figure at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Even as he battles serious health problems, Fox is back on stage this fall, thanks to support from friends.
by Tara Boyle
Oct 14, 2017
4 minutes
When Johnny Fox was a boy, all his friends were obsessed with superheroes.
"Friends of mine were reading comics about Superman and Batman and I thought, 'You know, this is cartoons and made-up stories,' " he says. "I want a real superhero. There's got to be real superheroes out there."
When he was 8 or 9, his parents took him to the Eastern States Exposition near Springfield, Mass. That's where he found those real superheroes.
"I saw these big banners," he says. "One of them said: 'The Giant From Rekjavik, Iceland, 8 foot-8,' and it said 'Alive.' Another one said: 'The Lobster Boy, Alive.' Another one said: 'The Monkey Girl, Alive.' "
More than a half century later, Fox — now a
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