[4] Sadowitz is also widely acclaimed as one of the best close-up magicians in the world[5] and an accomplished practitioner of sleight of hand, having written several books on magic and invented several conjuring innovations.

Sadowitz was born in June 1961[6] in New Jersey, the son of a Scottish-Jewish mother named Roslyn and a Jewish-American father who worked as a scrap metal merchant.

[11][12] Sadowitz was encouraged by his mother to research magic at his local library, and he was once kicked out of a school exam after the examiner discovered his deck of cards and thought he was cheating.

The pub was run by future comedian Janey Godley, and Sadowitz got the gig after her brother Jim begged her to put him on.

[12][15] Sadowitz began travelling to London to perform at The Comedy Store every two weeks for two years, making the 400-mile journey via Stagecoach express coach.

[22] Sadowitz's 1987 Edinburgh Fringe show Total Abuse was filmed at the Assembly Rooms and also released in audio as the album Gobshite.

[23] The album was quickly withdrawn from sale due to fears of being sued for libel by Jimmy Savile as Sadowitz references rumours of the TV personality being a paedophile.

The tour culminated in a show at the Dominion Theatre in London, at the end of which he appeared from the rear of the auditorium wearing a kilt and a huge plastic phallus from which he sprayed the audience.

[26] In 1991, Sadowitz was knocked unconscious by an audience member during a performance at the Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, where he mocked French Canadians, starting with the greeting "Hello moosefuckers!

If Sadowitz was not convinced or became bored during the audience member's time, he would ring a bell on the desk signalling for the show's resident bouncer Dave Courtney to escort them from the stage.

The show led to the channel being reprimanded by the Broadcasting Standards Commission, after they concluded that the repeated use of the words "fuck" and "cunt" "had a cumulative effect that was both excessive and unnecessary".

[36] In the same year, a full-frontal nude shot of Sadowitz appeared in Esquire magazine as part of a 14-page "uncensored sex special".

[42] In 2008, Sadowitz published an open letter to reviewers asking them not to quote his material stating that "a very important element of comedy is surprise, and it can often make the difference between a show that works and one that does not".

"[3] Sadowitz appeared in the 2012 Kathy Burke comedy-drama Walking and Talking on Sky Atlantic, playing the character Jimmy the Jew.

A gig in Liverpool during this run of shows was covered on comedy website Chortle after an audience member collapsed due to excessive laughter.

Sadowitz's 2022 Edinburgh Fringe show was cancelled after one night because staff members—and, reportedly, audience members–at the Pleasance theatre found the material offensive.

[50][51][52] The venue later clarified that this was due to "racism, sexism, homophobia and misogyny", that "the material presented at his first show is not acceptable and does not align with our values", and that he had exposed his penis to a member of the audience.

[54] In the aftermath of Sadowitz's show at the Fringe being cancelled, his tour of the UK saw increased ticket sales and a date being added at London's Hammersmith Apollo.