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Legendary local daredevil performance artist Jeremy Kinison is used to thrilling audiences of hundreds or more. Later this summer, however, he might be unleashing his insane antics for an audience of millions.
The 32-year-old tattooed sideshow performer, who’s stunned crowds at First Friday and other local venues with his stunts for more than a decade as a part of the Cut Throat Freak Show, will likely appear on America’s Got Talent sometime this summer.
Kinison makes a very brief appearance in a recently released trailer plugging the upcoming season of the NBC talent show and reality competition, which premieres on May 14.
Although Kinison is unable to confirm whether or not he’ll appear in an episode of AGT because of a non-disclosure agreement he signed, we’re inclined to believe he will hit the national airwaves, considering the fact he was not only included in the trailer, but has been on the show once before.
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Only this time around, he didn’t attempt to blow up his junk.
If you fast-forward to one minute and 50 seconds into the above trailer, you’ll catch a short glimpse of Kinison performing one of his signature stunts — using chains connected to his lower eyelids and cheeks to lift some sort of object. Such a scary-looking feat has been a part of Kinison’s act, which has included fire-breathing, chainsaw-juggling, and walking on broken glass.
Kinison says that his fiancée, Lauren “CandyPants” Grace (who is also a member of the CTFS), also performed for the AGT cameras, although he declined to mention specific details.
The touring sideshow performer — who currently divides his time among Phoenix, Oklahoma City, and other cities that the CTFS performs in around the country (but still has roots in the Valley) — says the couple auditioned for AGT‘s preliminary rounds last October in St. Louis and that he was “really proud of our performance.”
“We did the Cut Throat Freak Show tradition proud,” he adds. “[I] can’t say how we did. You’ll have to tune in for that.”
And while he’s limited in what else he can say about the experience (due to the aforementioned non-disclosure agreement), he told Jacakalope Ranch that they made some rather hasty preparations prior to the audtion.
“We barely prepared. Let’s just say there were some back-alley ‘deals’ to acquire what we needed to perform our act. And, no, it wasn’t drugs or hookers — but close.”
In other words, they dug through dumpsters to find some glass and other junk for the act.
And as spectacular and eye-catching (pun intended) as the couple’s audition might have been, it’s probably nowhere near as explosive as Kinison’s previous stunt for the AGT cameras in 2010. (The daredevil and his ex-wife were also featured in a 2006 episode of ABC’s Wife Swap.)
On an early episode in the show’s fifth season, Kinison lit off an M-80 near his exposed genitals during the preliminary rounds. It shocked both AGT‘s celebrity judges (particularly Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan) and the audience, resulting in numerous gasps and boos. Needless to say, Kinison was swiftly — and unanimously — booted from the show by the judges.
Here’s hoping that Kinison makes it past the preliminary rounds this time, which he just might, considering that new AGT celebrity judge Howard Stern has such a soft spot for freaks.
The new season of America’s Got Talent premieres on Monday, May 14, on KPNX Channel 12.
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