Fun House

Friday, July 30, 2004 | 8:47 a.m.

You have to wonder what goes through the amazing mind of the Amazing Johnathan, the amazing comic magician whose macabre sense of humor has made him one of the most popular acts in Las Vegas.

Since we can't open his head and take a peek inside, Johnathan allowed us to do the next best thing -- he took us on a tour of his home.

What is Johnathan really like?

His fancy digs are inside the Fountains, an exclusive gated community in Green Valley with a guard at the entrance that leads into a tree-lined neighborhood of mansions of various sizes and architectural designs.

Johnathan's magnificent two-story, pillared, white palatial estate sits on a corner lot, more or less isolated from neighbors by a couple of streets and a park.

It's a place to play when he finishes his 10 p.m. performance at the Riviera (Fridays through Wednesdays). There's an indoor theater with a giant-screen TV that covers one wall and an elaborate sound system for guests who want to move out the furniture and dance on the hardwood floor.

And, of course, a backyard swimming pool and Jacuzzi that are lined with fiber optic cable that, at night, creates water of various colors.

"The girls like to come over after the show to play volleyball in the pool," Johnathan said. "We can turn the stereo up and nobody complains because there aren't any neighbors."

What a life.

A dozen gorgeous women bouncing around in his pool.

A couple of fake trees in the back yard that explode on command, startling unwary guests.

A koi pond stocked with his favorite exotic fish.

A second pond where, at some point, Johnathan will install a mechanical alligator guaranteed to scare the bejesus out of you.

Three classic automobiles sitting in his driveway -- a 1957 Porsche, a '61 Corvette and a '67 GTO.

Johnathan's favorite car is the 'Vette, which he bought for a former girlfriend who was living with him in Los Angeles, where he owns a second home.

"I bought it for her on the same day she left me," the 45-year-old comic recalled. "I was playing at the Sahara when I bought it. I brought it back from Vegas. Told her, 'Wait till you see what I bought you for Valentine's Day,' and she said, 'I'm going back to Australia.' "

The girl is gone, but the 'Vette is still around, sitting with the Porsche and the GTO, which boasts a 507-horsepower engine.

"It's one of the fastest cars on the road," Johnathan said.

He installed flamethrowers in the GTO's tailpipes.

"I put some gas in there, press a button and 10 feet of fire shoots out the back end," Johnathan said. "As soon as I'm done beating them, I rub it in their face by laying down a nice blue line of fire."

He drives the classic cars to work at the Riviera, where he has a stretch limousine parked just in case he might need it for some reason.

He also has a Lexus at his home in Los Angeles, where he goes after each Wednesday night show to spend Thursdays mowing lawns and taking care of the property before returning to Vegas for his Friday performance.

To travel short distances around the neighborhood, he has a Segway personal transportation device -- a two-wheeled, battery-powered stand equipped with a gyroscope that keeps the vehicle from tipping over.

So how does it feel, going from street magician to living in luxury, the owner of a 5,000-square-foot, two-story home?

"You make it sound easy," Johnathan said.

Johnathan has been a professional comic/magician for almost 30 years.

The Detroit native began his career performing at parties and other functions while in high school and then moved to the streets of San Francisco.

He spent the late '70s at Fisherman's Wharf, perfecting his act, which includes illusions of pain and genuine political incorrectness.

Johnathan once said extreme illusions drew bigger crowds on the streets, and consequently earned him more money. He has raised edginess to an art form.

During his routines Johnathan frequently curses, makes comments that could be considered racist and sexist and jokes about drug use.

"Everything has gotten to be so sterile and you can't say anything against blacks or women ... there's no rules in this show. I make my own rules. There's a line that you draw and I know when I've gone over it," Johnathan said.

What were the rules when he bought his Las Vegas home two years ago, a house in the million-dollar range?

He was looking for a fixer-upper.

Not one that required extensive work, but one that he could fix up to reflect his quirkiness.

Johnathan was looking for a home that looked normal in every respect, but one that he could fill with pranks.

The residence was perfect. He says the owners did such a good job he even wanted to buy the furniture and all -- he just wanted to move in.

But the price was too steep, so he bought the house unfurnished and has spent two years molding it to meet his needs.

It's an eclectic collection of tasteful furnishings and gags, a couple of them not so tasteful -- such as a restroom wired for sound. When a guest uses it, embarrassing noises emanate from the room.

Every painting in the house seems to do something -- such as the one of the cow at the wet bar which will actually give milk.

A wooden paddle leaning against the wall in one room is 100 years old. The paddle, about the size of a baseball bat, is rigged with a device in which a small shotgun shell is placed. When a victim is whacked across the behind with the paddle, the shell explodes.

A giant poster moves to reveal a passageway that leads to a network of crawl spaces throughout the house.

Johnathan only recently discovered the crawl spaces.

"The builder put them there for easy access to all the fixtures," he said.

But Johnathan has other ideas. He connected all of the hidden spaces so he can move around the house undetected. One of the hidden spaces on the second floor was a cedar closet, which Johnathan turned into a panic room -- where he can lock himself in if he is under attack.

"I lived here almost two years before I found the spaces," he said.

Johnathan doesn't yet know how he is going to utilize the tunnels, but he is working on ideas.

Meanwhile, the rest of the house reflects his sense of humor.

He bought one of two original dolls from the 1998 film "Bride of Chucky." Look closely, and the blood-spattered puppet suddenly will leap at you. Tarantulas drop from the ceiling. A folding chair will give you an electrical jolt.

Johnathan's garage is filled with gags he is working on -- for his house and his show.

The master of the bizarre never ceases to amaze.

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