Del Close (March 9, 1934 – March 4, 1999), is considered one of the premier influences on modern improvisational theater. An actor, improviser, writer, and teacher, Close had a prolific career, appearing in a number of films and television shows. He was a co-author of the book
Truth in Comedy along with partner
Charna HalpernCharna Halpern was born and raised on the North Side of Chicago. She is a co-founder of the ImprovOlympic, now known as The iO. In 1984, with partner Del Close, she began teaching The Harold to many students in the Chicago theatre community. She and Close co-authored the book Truth in Comedy:The...
, which outlines techniques now common to longform improvisational theater and describes the overall structure of “
HaroldHarold is a form of improvised longform comedy. Developed by Del Close and brought to fruition through Close's collaboration with Charna Halpern, the Harold has become the signature form of Chicago's I.O...
” which remains a common frame for longer improvisational scenes. His favorite framework for comedic storytelling was the structures of
WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas...
’s Ring Cycle.
Biography
Close was born and raised in
Manhattan, KansasManhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kansas, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It lies primarily in Riley County, of which it is the county seat, but also extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the July 2007 census estimate, its...
, the son of an inattentive, alcoholic father. He ran away from home at the age of 17 to work on a traveling side show, but returned to attend college at
Kansas StateKansas State University, officially named Kansas State University of Agriculture and Applied Science but commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
. At the age of 23, he became a member of the
Compass PlayersThe Compass Players was a 1950s cabaret revue show started by alumni, dropouts and hangers-on from the University of Chicago.. The troupe was active from 1955-1958 in Chicago and St. Louis...
in
St. LouisSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
. When most of the cast moved to
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
in 1959 to help form
The Second CityThe Second City is a long-running improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
, Close instead moved to
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
to perform
stand-up comedyStand-up comedy is a style of comedy where a comedian performs for a live audience, usually speaking directly to them. It is usually performed by a single comedian with the aid of a microphone, either hand-held or mounted on a stand...
, where he also performed in the Broadway musical revue "The Nervous Set" in 1959.
Around this time, Close also worked with John Brent to record the classic
beatnikBeatnik, a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s, was a synthesis of the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s into violent film images and a cartoonish misrepresentation of the real-life people and the spirituality found in Jack Kerouac's...
satire album
How to Speak HipHow to Speak Hip was a comedy album by Del Close and John Brent, released by Mercury Records in 1959. The album presents itself as a didactic tool to be used by the listener to learn the secret language of the 'hipster'. As a parody of language-learning tools, the album presents a course in 'hip'...
. The album became a prized record for DJs worldwide, and was one of
Brian WilsonBrian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the rock group The Beach Boys...
’s favorite comedy albums.
In 1960, Close moved to Chicago – which was to be his home base for much of the rest of his life – to perform and direct with Second City. Close was fired from Second City due to his substance abuse and spent the latter half of the 1960s in San Francisco, where he was the House Director of
The CommitteeThe Committee may refer to any of the following:*The Committee is a San Francisco based improvisational comedy group.*The Committee is a London based group which engages the public environment....
theater, toured with the
Merry PrankstersThe Merry Pranksters were a group of people who formed around American author Ken Kesey in 1964 and sometimes lived communally at his homes in California and Oregon. The group promoted the use of psychedelic drugs...
, and made light images for
Grateful DeadThe Grateful Dead were an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, jazz, psychedelia, and space rock—and for live performances of long musical...
shows.
After returning to Chicago in the early 1970s, Close was hired again to direct at Second City. He also performed and directed the Second City show in Toronto in 1977. Over the next decade he helped develop many of today’s leading comedians. Acolytes of Del Close have gained prominence in the field of comedy with astounding frequency. At any given time, roughly a quarter of
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...
’s cast has been composed of his former trainees.
Close spent the early 1980s in New York, as "House Metaphysician" at Saturday Night Live, coaching the cast in the wake of Producer Lorne Michaels' departure. He spent the mid-to-late 80's and 1990s teaching improv, collaborating with Charna Halpern in Yes And Productions and Improv Olympic, while slowly succumbing to
emphysemaEmphysema is a lung disease, characterized by an abnormal, permanent enlargement of air spaces distal to the terminal bronchioles. The disease is coupled with the destruction of walls, but without obvious fibrosis...
. But he remained active, consumed pot brownies, and used various tobacco supplements. During this period, Close acted in several movies, including
The Untouchables and
Ferris Bueller's Day OffFerris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 comedy film written and directed by John Hughes. It stars Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones and Jennifer Grey. The film was released by Paramount Pictures on June 11, 1986....
, where he played an English teacher. He also co-authored the graphic horror anthology
WastelandWasteland was an American anthology-style horror comic book published by DC Comics in 1987-1989 and intended for adult readers. The series lasted 18 issues....
for
DC ComicsDC Comics is one of the largest and most popular American comic book and related media companies, along with Marvel Comics. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment...
with
John OstranderJohn Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. Originally an actor in a Chicago theatre company, he moved into writing comics in 1983. His first published works were stories about the character "Sargon, Mistress of War", who appeared the First Comics series Warp!, based on a series of plays...
, as well as co-wrote several installments of
GrimjackGrimjack is the main character of a comic book published by First Comics. John Ostrander and Timothy Truman are credited as co-creators of the character, although Ostrander had been developing Grimjack with artist Lenin Delsol before Truman's arrival on the project...
's backup feature
Munden's BarMunden's Bar is a fictional bar featured in the First Comics title Grimjack. It is also the title of the back-up feature that ran in the GrimJack title for most of the first 69 issues and also received two annuals of its own, each mixing new stories and reprints from Grimjack...
. Finally, along with Charna Halpern he co-founded the ImprovOlympic Theater.
Legend has it that Close's last words were, "I’m tired of being the funniest person in the room." Before passing away, Close requested that his skull be given to the
Goodman TheatreThe Goodman Theatre is a theater located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit organization. The building occupies the site of landmark Harris and Selwyn Theaters property....
for use in
HamletThe Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then...
productions, on the condition that he should receive credit in the program as Yorick. However, in 2006 it was revealed that an alternate skull was given to the Goodman instead. In honor of Del after his death, his former students the
Upright Citizens BrigadeThe Upright Citizens Brigade is an improvisational comedy and sketch comedy group that emerged from Chicago's ImprovOlympic in 1990. The most recent incarnation consists of Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh...
created The Del Close Marathon.
Del's voice can be heard narrating in the Upright Citizens Brigade TV show opening credits.
Quotes
"It is easy to become deluded by the audience, because they laugh. Don't let them make you buy the lie that what you're doing is for the laughter. Is what we're doing comedy? Probably not. Is it funny? Probably yes. Where do the really best laughs come from? Terrific connections made intellectually, or terrific revelations made emotionally." -Del Close (Truth in Comedy 25)
"What we do is too enchanting to be quantified" - Del Close
"Del Close is my biggest influence in comedy" - John Belushi
Notable students
- Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning Canadian-American comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist...
- Jim Belushi
- John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician notable for his work on Saturday Night Live, National Lampoon's Animal House, and The Blues Brothers...
- John Candy
John Franklin Candy was a Canadian-American comedian and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the Toronto, Ontario branch of The Second City...
- Matt Besser
Matt Besser is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade, an improv/sketch troupe who also had their own sketch show on Comedy Central for 3 seasons. Later on he would create and star in Crossballs, also on Comedy Central, for one season in the...
- Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian and television host. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an actor,...
- Andy Dick
Andrew R. "Andy" Dick is an American comedian, actor, musician and TV/film producer.-Early life:Dick was born in Charleston, South Carolina and was adopted at birth by Sue and Allen Dick, a naval officer. As a child, he lived in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New York, and Yugoslavia...
- Rachel Dratch
Rachel Susan Dratch is an American actress and comedienne, perhaps best known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
- Chris Farley
Christopher Crosby "Chris" Farley was an American comedian and actor. He was a member at Chicago's Second City Theatre and the cast of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live...
- Tina Fey
Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedienne, writer, and producer. She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards...
- Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, best known for his role as Janitor in the sitcom Scrubs.-Early life:Flynn was born in the south side of Chicago, Illinois and moved to Waukegan, Illinois at an early age...
- Aaron Freeman
Aaron Freeman is an American journalist, stand up comedian, author, cartoonist and blogger.Freeman has performed with The Second City. As a stand up comedian, he is a member of the quartet The Israeli/Palestinian Comedy Tour...
- Tim Kazurinsky
Tim Kazurinsky is an American comedian best known for performances on the NBC show Saturday Night Live. Typically his characters were mousey, sheepish types.-Early life:...
- Shelley Long
Shelley Lee Long is an American actress.-Early life:Long was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana at 7:00 A.M. on Tuesday, August 23, 1949. The daughter of Evandine, a school teacher, and Leland Long, who worked in the rubber industry before becoming a teacher...
- Adam McKay
Adam McKay is an American writer, director and comedian.-Early life:McKay was born in Colorado, graduated from Great Valley High School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, in 1986, and attended Penn State and Temple universities...
- Tim Meadows
Tim Meadows is an American actor and comedian who performed on the TV show Saturday Night Live.-Life and career:Meadows was born in Highland Park, Michigan, the son of Mardell, a nurse's assistant, and Lathon Meadows, a janitor. Meadows' start in show business was as a member of The Second City...
- Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live, and went on to star in films including Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Lost in Translation and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.-Early years:Murray, the fifth...
- Joel Murray
Joel Murray is an American actor who has starred in film and on television.-Early life:Murray, one of nine children, was born and raised in Wilmette, Illinois , the son of Lucille , a mail room clerk, and Edward J. Murray II, a lumber salesman. Murray, along with his siblings, grew up in an Irish...
- Mike Myers
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian-English actor, comedian, screenwriter and film producer. He was a long-time cast member on the NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live in the late 1980s and the early 1990s and starred as the title characters in the films Wayne's World, Austin Powers, and ...
- Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American comedian, actor, writer, director and producer. Odenkirk is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show.-Early life:...
- Tim O'Malley
Tim O'Malley is an American actor and playwright, director living in Chicago. He is a Core Faculty Member at The Second City Training Center. He is most recognizable as Patrick, the bartender in Return to Me.-Career:...
- David Pasquesi
David Pasquesi is a comedian and actor living in Chicago. He is currently in Director Ron Howard's "Angels & Demons" playing the character Claudio Vincenzi. Some of his other screen credits include Groundhog Day, Strangers with Candy, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Return to Me, and The Ice Harvest...
- Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American actress and comedienne. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls alongside Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008...
- Gilda Radner
Gilda Susan Radner was an American comedienne and actress, best known for her five years as part of the original cast of the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award...
- Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis is an American actor, director, and writer, specializing in comedy. His best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters and Russell Ziskey in Stripes ; Ramis also co-wrote both films...
- Ian Roberts
-Entertainment:* Ian Roberts , British DJ on Magic 1152 in Manchester* Ian Roberts , American actor and comedian* Ian Roberts , South African actor, playwright and singer...
- Andy Richter
Paul Andrew "Andy" Richter is an American actor, writer and comedian. He is best known for his sidekick role on Late Night with Conan O'Brien between 1993 and 2000...
- Dave Thomas
David "Dave" Thomas is a Canadian comedian and actor. He was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, but moved to Durham, North Carolina where his father, John E. Thomas, attended Duke University and earned a PhD in Philosophy. Thomas attended George Watts and Moorehead elementary schools...
- Matt Walsh
- Stephnie Weir
Stephnie Weir , sometimes credited as Stephanie Weir, is an American actress and comedian. Weir is most notable for her membership in the recurring cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv.- Early life :...
- George Wendt
George Robert Wendt is an American actor, best known for the role of Norm Peterson on the television show Cheers.-Early life:...
The Delmonic Interviews
In 2002, Cesar Jaime and Jeff Pacocha produced and directed a film composed of interviews with former students, friends, and collaborators of Del Close. The film documented not only Del's life and history, but the impact he had on the people in his life and the art form he helped to create. It is not sold on DVD and was made as a thank you and a tribute to Del, "as a way to allow those that never got to meet or study with him, a chance to understand what he was like." .
The Delmonic Interviews includes interviews with:
Charna HalpernCharna Halpern was born and raised on the North Side of Chicago. She is a co-founder of the ImprovOlympic, now known as The iO. In 1984, with partner Del Close, she began teaching The Harold to many students in the Chicago theatre community. She and Close co-authored the book Truth in Comedy:The...
(co-founder of Chicago's iO),
Matt BesserMatt Besser is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade, an improv/sketch troupe who also had their own sketch show on Comedy Central for 3 seasons. Later on he would create and star in Crossballs, also on Comedy Central, for one season in the...
(iO's The Family; Upright Citizens Brigade),
Rachel DratchRachel Susan Dratch is an American actress and comedienne, perhaps best known as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
(iO; Second City; Saturday Night Live),
Neil FlynnNeil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, best known for his role as Janitor in the sitcom Scrubs.-Early life:Flynn was born in the south side of Chicago, Illinois and moved to Waukegan, Illinois at an early age...
(iO's The Family; NBC's Scrubs),
Susan MessingSusan Messing is a director and actress living in Chicago. She graduated from Northwestern University and was a performer on The Second City mainstage. Messing is an ensemble member of Annoyance Theatre. She has performed in The Real Live Brady Bunch and directed What Every Girl Should Know......
(iO; Second City; Annoyance Productions),
Amy PoehlerAmy Meredith Poehler is an American actress and comedienne. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls alongside Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008...
(Upright Citizens Brigade, Saturday Night Live). The film was shown at several national improv festivals, including the 2004 Chicago Improv Festival, the 2004 Phoenix Improv Festival, the 2002 Del Close Marathon in New York City, and the 2006 LA Improv Festival.
Guru
In 2005, Jeff Griggs published
Guru, a book detailing his friendship with Del during the last two years of his life. Due to Del’s poor health (in part caused by long-term alcohol and drug use), Charna Halpern arranged for Griggs to spend every Thursday afternoon with Close and run errands with him.
Guru gives a particularly detailed and complete picture of Del. At the beginning of their relationship, Griggs was a student of Del’s, and the book includes several chapters in which Griggs depicts Del as a teacher.
The book has been adapted into a
screenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A play for television is known as a teleplay.- Format and style :...
, and as of 2006
Harold RamisHarold Allen Ramis is an American actor, director, and writer, specializing in comedy. His best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters and Russell Ziskey in Stripes ; Ramis also co-wrote both films...
was attached to direct the script, although it does not appear that the movie will soon be made. Ramis would like
Bill MurrayWilliam James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live, and went on to star in films including Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Lost in Translation and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.-Early years:Murray, the fifth...
to play Close.
In 2007 Eric Spitznagel wrote an article in the September issue of
The Believer-Overview:Published by McSweeney's out of San Francisco, the magazine also covers other artforms, and features articles about authors, artists, and literary issues of the past and present, often relating to politics and popular culture...
magazine reflecting on Close's life and his propensity for story-telling.
In 2008, Kim "Howard" Johnson's full-length biography of Close, "The Funniest One in the Room: The Lives and Legends of Del Close" was published. Johnson himself was a student of Close, and remained friends with Close until his death. In 1994, Howard co-authored "Truth in Comedy: The Manual of Improvisation" with Close and Charna Halpern.
PRI's Studio 360
In 2009, Ed Zareh and Derek John wrote and produced a radio story for PRI's Studio 360, which aired to over half a million listeners on National Public Radio. The story featured interviews with Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Ian Roberts and Andy Dick. The piece is available online at www.improvgenius.com, and on Studio 360's homepage.
External links