Famed Allusionist Chaim Witz Found Dead at Age 47

Las Vegas- World Famous Allusionist Chaim Witz was found dead in his suite in the Bellagio Hotel, Sunday.

Witz was born Thomas Locke in Northbrook, Illinois on July 14th, 1958. At a young age Witz began to show an interest in allusions. Inspired by such great turn of the century allusionists Faysal Al Husayni and Dr. Francis Solomon, considered by many to be the greatest Allusionists of all time. After earning his Degree from Northern Iowa University, the only college in the United States to offer an Allusion major, he set off for New York City to pursue his dreams.

First, Witz changed his name from Thomas Locke, taking the moniker of Chaim Witz, itself an allusion, being the birth name of "Kiss" frontman Gene Simmons. In New York Witz arrived at the beginning of the Stand-Up Comedy Renaissance of the 1980s. While many referential comedians such as Dennis Miller and Edgar "Lefty" Malcolm became incredibly wealthy and famous, Witz and many other allusionists, did not gain as large a following as those enjoyed by comedians.

This all changed in 1990, when Witz performed the first of many high profile televised allusions. His fame increased as did the daringness of his allusions, earning him the nickname the "David Copperfield of allusions". While, Witz said he considered himself more like the "Jack Dawkins of allusion."

When asked how he pulled off such amazing allusions he responded with a cryptic allusion informing the reporter that he couldn't answer the question and that he, "had to be vague, like Queequeg."

By the mid-1990s, however Witz descended into the world of substance abuse. He frequently joked about his problems likening his battle with alcahol to "Grendel's last night in Heorot". After struggling with his addiction for years he eventually overcame his alcaholism, he once again expressed himself in a reference to the expic poem Beowulf saying " [He] fe[lt] like Wiglaf when he defeated the dragon."

After revealing that he had completed treatment at the Sierra-Tucson Drug Treatment facility in Arizona, Witz began to plot a come-back. He returned to the Poetry Lofts and Literary Cafes of Greenwitch Village, where he had gotten his start in the mid-1980s, working to re-build his allusion abilities.

In 1998 he performed his first major television allusion in 4 years. The special was a ratings goldmine, earning Witz a contract for 5 specials over 3 years. He subsequently performed on several specials as well as touring both nationally and worldwide, performing for sold out crowds in theatres around the world.

After touring extensively for 5 years Witz was exhausted and felt that he needed to spend more time with his family. So, he decided that it was time for him to settle down. In 2005 Witz signed a contract with the Bellagio Hotel and Casino, saying that he would perform at the resort exclusively, through 2010. He had been performing nightly to sold out shows since he started performing at the Bellagio last September, when he was found dead Friday morning.

Witz was about to begin a publicity tour for his new book Choose Your Allusion: A Beginner's Guide to the Veiled Reference, published by Simon & Schuster on June 15th.

When informed of Witz's death his most notable student, Allusionist Dorcas Finklebaum said that "[She had] to quote Roscoe Conkling when he said, 'now he belongs to the ages'."

Witz is survived by his wife Electra, 35 and sons Asher, 24, Dan, 22, Gad, 20, Issachar, 18, Zebulun, 16, Joseph, 14, Benjamin, 12, Naphtali, 10, Judah, 8, Levi, 6, Simeon,4, and Ruben, 2.