The Funniest One in the Room: The Lives and Legends of Del CloseChicago Review Press, 2008 M04 1 - 416 páginas Nichols and May. John Belushi. Bill Murray. Chris Farley. Tina Fey. Mike Myers. Stephen Colbert. For nearly a half century, Del Close—cocreator of the Harold, director for the Second City, San Francisco's the Committee, and the ImprovOlympic, and “house metaphysician” for Saturday Night Live—influenced improvisational theater's greatest comedic talents. His students went on to found the Groundlings in Los Angeles, the Upright Citizens Brigade in both New York and Los Angeles, and the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago. But this Pied Piper of improv has gone largely unrecognized outside the close-knit comedy community. Del was never one to let the truth of his life stand in the way of a good story—and yet the truth is even more fascinating than the fiction. In his early years, he traveled the country with Dr. Dracula's Den of Living Nightmares, knew L. Ron Hubbard before Scientology, and appeared in The Blob. Del cavorted with the Merry Pranksters, used aversion therapy to recover from alcoholism, and kicked a cocaine habit with the help of a coven of witches. And when he was dying, Del bequeathed his postmortem skull to the Goodman Theatre for use in its productions of Hamlet—a final legend that lives on, long beyond the death of the father of long-form improvisation. |
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... Severn Darden , who would become one of his closest friends . The Barter Theatre first opened its doors on June 10 , 1933 , provid- ing relief and diversions for Depression - era audiences . It was founded by Robert Porterfield , a ...
... Severn Darden . Fran- cis Xavier Severn Teakel Darden Jr. was a gentleman of the Old South ; his father was district attorney of New Orleans . Del and Darden were " entirely , utterly different sorts of personalities , a New Orleans ...
... Severn Darden . According to one story , Flicker offered both Del and Har- din jobs with the incipient St. Louis Compass ; however , Flicker quickly discovered that he couldn't afford both of them . The offer to Hardin was rescinded ...
... Severn because there was no bunny rabbit in his hands. That would stop Severn from taking that chance again with Shelley.” (Darden held no grudges, and is effusive in his praise of Berman in Sweet's Something Wonderful Right Away.) When ...
... Severn Darden was an occasional visitor . Del had talked him into buying a huge motorcycle , a BMW Double Twin Cylinder 650 - CC , and Darden apparently ran a stop sign and was struck by a car . His leg was crushed and doctors held it ...
Contenido
1 | |
22 | |
36 | |
44 | |
62 | |
77 | |
7 Stongehenge and a Skate Through the Sewers | 95 |
8 The Merry Pranksters and My Mother the Car | 109 |
17 The ImprovOlympic | 239 |
18 Roaches in the Dental Floss | 251 |
19 The Return of the Harold the Barons Barracudas and Charna | 267 |
20 The Brain of the Galaxy | 285 |
21 Chris Farley The Blob and Farewell to Second City | 300 |
22 Workshops Reunions and the Family | 316 |
23 Close Youve Gone Sane | 331 |
24 The Party | 350 |
With the Committee in San Francisco | 118 |
10 The Birth of Harold Spidering and a Pornographic Western | 132 |
11 Pretty Much a Blur | 153 |
Belushi and the Bean Can | 165 |
13 Valium Vitriol and Ancient Egyptian Opium | 175 |
14 The Clockwork Orange Treatment | 193 |
15 Junkies Give the Best Shots | 208 |
16 Saturday Night Live Tennessee Williams and the Cleanup | 220 |
25 Curtain Call | 364 |
Bibliography | 376 |
Notes | 377 |
Interviews | 386 |
Acknowledgments | 389 |
Works of Del Close | 393 |
Index | 410 |
Otras ediciones - Ver todas
The Funniest One in the Room: The Lives and Legends of Del Close Kim Johnson Sin vista previa disponible - 2008 |