Del Close
Encyclopedia
Del Close was an actor, improviser, writer, and teacher. Considered one of the premier influences on modern improvisational theater, 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, which outlines techniques now common to longform improvisational theater and describes the overall structure of “Harold
” which remains a common frame for longer improvisational scenes. His favorite framework for comedic storytelling was the structures of Wagner
’s Ring Cycle.
, 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 State
. At the age of 23, he became a member of the Compass Players
in St. Louis
. When most of the cast – including Mike Nichols and Elaine May – moved to New York
, Close followed to perform stand-up comedy
, appear in the Broadway musical revue "The Nervous Set," and perform briefly with an improv company in the Village with Mark and Barbara Gordon, who had appeared with the Compass Players
in Chicago.
Around this time, Close also worked with John Brent to record the classic beatnik
satire album How to Speak Hip
. The album became a prized record for DJs worldwide, and was one of Brian Wilson
’s favorite comedy albums.
theater, toured with the Merry Pranksters
, and made light images for Grateful Dead
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. Many of his protégés have gained prominence in the field of comedy; at any given time, roughly a quarter of Saturday Night Live
’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 1980s and 1990s teaching improv, collaborating with Charna Halpern in Yes And Productions and Improv Olympic. Despite suffering from emphysema
, he continued to consume pot brownies, and use various tobacco supplements. During this period, Close acted in several movies, including portraying a corrupt alderman in The Untouchables and an English teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off
. He also co-authored the graphic horror anthology Wasteland
for DC Comics
with John Ostrander
, and co-wrote several installments of Grimjack
's backup feature Munden's Bar
. Close joined Charna Halpern
at the ImprovOlympic Theater, which she had founded and briefly run with Compass Players
producer David Shepherd
.
Legend has it that Close's last words were, "I’m tired of being the funniest person in the room."
for use in Hamlet
productions, with him being duly credited in the program as portraying Yorick
. Local conwoman Charna Halpern, named by Close as the executor of his will, delivered a skull to the Goldman Theater, falsely claiming it was Close's.
A 2006 front-page Chicago Tribune
article by Robert K. Elder
revealed that the donation of Close’s skull was a hoax, a fact which was then publicized nationwide. Halpern had been unable to fulfill Close's wish as she had sold off his complete body to a medical school for money, and had donated a cheaper purchased skull to the Goodman.
To memorialize Close, his former students the Upright Citizens Brigade
created The Del Close Marathon. Del's voice can be heard narrating in the opening credits for the first two seasons of the television show Upright Citizens Brigade
, which features a group of his former students.
The Delmonic Interviews includes interviews with: Charna Halpern
(co-founder of Chicago's iO), Matt Besser
(iO's The Family; Upright Citizens Brigade), Rachel Dratch
(iO; Second City; Saturday Night Live), Neil Flynn
(iO's The Family; NBC's Scrubs), Susan Messing
(iO; Second City; Annoyance Productions), Amy Poehler
(Upright Citizens Brigade, Saturday Night Live), and Miles Stroth
(iO's The Family; Del's "Warchief"). 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.
and Second City
written by Jeffrey Sweet
. Originally published in 1978 by Avon, it is currently available from Limelight Editions.
In 2005, Jeff Griggs published Guru, a book detailing his friendship with Close during the last two years of his life. Due to Close’s poor health (in part caused by long-term alcohol and drug use), Halpern suggested that Griggs run errands with Close. Guru gives a particularly detailed and complete picture of Close based on those shared hours. At the beginning of their relationship, Griggs was a student of Del’s, and the book includes several chapters in which Griggs depicts Close as a teacher.
The book has been adapted into a screenplay
, and as of 2006 Harold Ramis
was attached to direct the script. Ramis would like Bill Murray
to play Close.
In 2007, Eric Spitznagel wrote an article in the September issue of The Believer
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.
Harold (improvisation)
Harold is a form of longform improv. 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. and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York and Los Angeles...
” which remains a common frame for longer improvisational scenes. His favorite framework for comedic storytelling was the structures of Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
’s Ring Cycle.
Early life
Close was born and raised in Manhattan, KansasManhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...
, 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 State
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, 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 Players
Compass Players
The 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. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. When most of the cast – including Mike Nichols and Elaine May – moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Close followed to perform stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
, appear in the Broadway musical revue "The Nervous Set," and perform briefly with an improv company in the Village with Mark and Barbara Gordon, who had appeared with the Compass Players
Compass Players
The 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 Chicago.
Around this time, Close also worked with John Brent to record the classic beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
satire album How to Speak Hip
How to Speak Hip
How to Speak Hip was a comedy album by Del Close and John Brent, released by Mercury Records in 1959. The album is designed as a satire of language-learning records, where the secret language of the 'hipster' is treated as a foreign language...
. The album became a prized record for DJs worldwide, and was one of Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
’s favorite comedy albums.
Chicago years
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 (improv group)
The Committee is a San Francisco based improvisational comedy group founded by Alan Myerson and Jessica Myerson . The Myersons were both alums of The Second City in Chicago. The Committee opened April 10, 1963 at 622 Broadway in a 300 seat Cabaret theater that used to be an indoor bocce ball court...
theater, toured with the Merry Pranksters
Merry Pranksters
The 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...
, and made light images for Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was 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, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
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. Many of his protégés have gained prominence in the field of comedy; at any given time, roughly a quarter of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
’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 1980s and 1990s teaching improv, collaborating with Charna Halpern in Yes And Productions and Improv Olympic. Despite suffering from emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
, he continued to consume pot brownies, and use various tobacco supplements. During this period, Close acted in several movies, including portraying a corrupt alderman in The Untouchables and an English teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American teen coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by John Hughes.The film follows high school senior Ferris Bueller , who decides to skip school and spend the day in downtown Chicago...
. He also co-authored the graphic horror anthology Wasteland
Wasteland (DC Comics)
Wasteland 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 Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
with John Ostrander
John Ostrander
John Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.-Career:...
, and co-wrote several installments of Grimjack
GrimJack
Grimjack is the main character of a comic book originally 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 Bar
Munden's Bar
Munden'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...
. Close joined Charna Halpern
Charna Halpern
Charna Halpern is a co-founder of the ImprovOlympic, now known as The iO. She was born and raised on the North Side of Chicago. 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...
at the ImprovOlympic Theater, which she had founded and briefly run with Compass Players
Compass Players
The 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...
producer David Shepherd
David Shepherd
David Shepherd may refer to:* David H. Shepard , American inventor* David Shepard, Democratic member of the Tennessee House of Representatives* David Shepard , American film preservationist...
.
Legend has it that Close's last words were, "I’m tired of being the funniest person in the room."
After life
Before he died, Close requested that his skull be given to the Goodman TheatreGoodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
for use in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
productions, with him being duly credited in the program as portraying Yorick
Yorick
Yorick is the deceased court jester whose skull is exhumed by the gravedigger in Act 5, Scene 1, of William Shakespeare's Hamlet.Yorick may also refer to:* Yorick...
. Local conwoman Charna Halpern, named by Close as the executor of his will, delivered a skull to the Goldman Theater, falsely claiming it was Close's.
A 2006 front-page Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
article by Robert K. Elder
Robert K. Elder
Robert K. Elder is an American journalist, author and film columnist.- Early life and education :A Montana native, Elder interviewed Ken Kesey for his high school newspaper. The author encouraged Elder to attend his alma mater, the University of Oregon, which Elder did two years later...
revealed that the donation of Close’s skull was a hoax, a fact which was then publicized nationwide. Halpern had been unable to fulfill Close's wish as she had sold off his complete body to a medical school for money, and had donated a cheaper purchased skull to the Goodman.
To memorialize Close, his former students the Upright Citizens Brigade
Upright Citizens Brigade
The 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 opening credits for the first two seasons of the television show Upright Citizens Brigade
Upright Citizens Brigade
The 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...
, which features a group of his former students.
Notable students
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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 Halpern
Charna Halpern
Charna Halpern is a co-founder of the ImprovOlympic, now known as The iO. She was born and raised on the North Side of Chicago. 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 Besser
Matt Besser
Matthew Gregory "Matt" Besser is an American actor and comedian best known as one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe who also had their own show on Comedy Central from 1998-2000....
(iO's The Family; Upright Citizens Brigade), Rachel Dratch
Rachel Dratch
Rachel Susan Dratch is an American comic actress best known for her roles as a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1999 to 2006.-Early life:...
(iO; Second City; Saturday Night Live), Neil Flynn
Neil Flynn
Neil Richard Flynn is an American actor and comedian, known for his role as Janitor in the medical comedy-drama Scrubs. He currently portrays Mike Heck in the ABC sitcom The Middle.-Early life:...
(iO's The Family; NBC's Scrubs), Susan Messing
Susan Messing
Susan 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 Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. 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 with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
(Upright Citizens Brigade, Saturday Night Live), and Miles Stroth
Miles Stroth
Miles Stroth is an American actor, comedian, and teacher. He is best known for his work with the improvisational theatre, Improv Olympic and Del Close and for creating the improvisational form "The Deconstruction." -Early life:...
(iO's The Family; Del's "Warchief"). 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.
Close in print
Close is featured in an extensive interview in Something Wonderful Right Away, a book about the members of the Compass PlayersCompass Players
The 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...
and Second City
Second City
Second City or The Second City may refer to:* The second largest city in a country. See: List of largest cities and second largest cities by country...
written by Jeffrey Sweet
Jeffrey Sweet
Jeffrey Sweet is an American writer, journalist, songwriter and theatre historian. Sweet's father was the late James Sweet, a science writer for the University of Chicago who aided Supreme Court chief justice Earl Warren in drafting two anti-McCarthy speeches; his mother is violinist Vivian...
. Originally published in 1978 by Avon, it is currently available from Limelight Editions.
In 2005, Jeff Griggs published Guru, a book detailing his friendship with Close during the last two years of his life. Due to Close’s poor health (in part caused by long-term alcohol and drug use), Halpern suggested that Griggs run errands with Close. Guru gives a particularly detailed and complete picture of Close based on those shared hours. At the beginning of their relationship, Griggs was a student of Del’s, and the book includes several chapters in which Griggs depicts Close as a teacher.
The book has been adapted into a screenplay
Screenplay
A 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. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
, and as of 2006 Harold Ramis
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 , both of which he also co-wrote...
was attached to direct the script. Ramis would like Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
to play Close.
In 2007, Eric Spitznagel wrote an article in the September issue of The Believer
The Believer (magazine)
The Believer is a United States literary magazine that also covers other arts and general culture. Founded and designed in 2003 by the writer and publisher Dave Eggers, it is edited by Vendela Vida, Heidi Julavits and Ed Park...
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.
External links
- Audio Interview with Griggs on The Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young AmericaThe Sound of Young America is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California and distributed by Public Radio International...
: MP3 Link - Del Close at Improv/Comedy
- Del Close Improv Marathon
- "As Del Lay Dying," an account of Del Close's final days (w/ video)