Phil Austin, Fox Island resident and voice of Firesign Theatre’s Nick Danger, dies at 74

Writer-comedian Phil Austin, a founding member of the satirical group Firesign Theatre, whose albums became a touchstone of the countercultural era, died Friday on Fox Island.

Firesign co-founder David Ossman said Austin had battled cancer and died of cardiac arrest at the age of 74.

Austin created and voiced the character of Nick Danger, a wacky detective with mystical “third eye” power and Firesign’s best-known character.

“He was a great comic writer, a great voice talent, a dear friend and colleague,” Ossman said. “That’s how I think of Phil and how our fans will think of Phil — in the role of Nick Danger, who solved the crime by using his third eye, which, of course, he kept hidden under his hat.”

The group largely faded from the scene in the late 1970s. Its last appearance was at the 2012 memorial for founding member Peter Bergman.

Austin was often asked whether Firesign would perform again.

“Very unlikely,” he told the Firesign fanzine Chromium Switch last year. “Our last show was in Seattle for Pete’s memorial and that seems fitting. Live performance was never the biggest part of our lives together.”

Firesign recorded more than a dozen albums. Nick Danger appeared on the group’s 1969 breakthrough album, “How Can You Be in Two Places At Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All.”

Austin was born April 6, 1941, in Denver, and grew up mostly in Fresno, California.

“His mother was a drama teacher,” said Philip Proctor, the other surviving member of Firesign. “That’s where he got his strong background as an actor.”

Austin appeared in plays in Los Angles in the 1960s and apart from Firesign, became the voice of television commercials for Apple, Pizza Hut, Nissan, Nike and others. His audio book, “Tales of the Old Detective and Other Big Fat Lies,” was released in 1995.

He is survived by his wife, Oona, and a sister, Cathy Andreasen.

This story was originally published June 24, 2015 at 10:57 AM.