Del Close (March 9, 1934–March 4, 1999), along with Keith Johnstone and Viola Spolin, 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 Halpern, 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.

Biography

Close was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas. He ran away from home at the age of 17 to join 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 moved to Chicago in 1959 to help form The Second City, Close instead moved to New York City to perform stand-up comedy, where he also performed in the broadway musical revue "The Nervous Set" in 1959.

Around this time, he worked with John Brent to record the classic beatnik satire album How to Speak Hip (Mercury, 1959), which became a prized record for DJs worldwide and was one of Brian Wilson’s favourite 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 stage manager for The Committee 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. 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 Live’s cast has been composed of his former trainees.

Close spent the 1980s and 1990s teaching comedy improv while slowly succumbing to emphysema. But he remained active. During this period, Close acted in several movies, including Ferris Bueller's Day Off, where he played an English teacher. He also co-authored the horror anthology Wasteland for DC Comics with John Ostrander, as well as co-writing several installments of Grimjack's backup feature Munden's Bar. Along with Charna Halpern he co-founded the ImprovOlympic.

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 Theatre for use in Hamlet 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.^[1]

Notable students

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, 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 various memorable chapters in which Griggs depicts Del as a teacher.

The book has been adapted into a screenplay, and as of 2006, Harold Ramis was attached to direct the script, although it does not appear that the movie will soon be made.^[2] 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 the life of Close and his propensity for story-telling. ^[3]

References

External links

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