Del Close is perhaps the least famous of the great comedy maestros of the latter half of the 20th century. The performers he worked with, directed, or taught at the Compass Players in Saint Louis, the Committee in San Francisco, and Second City and the ImprovOlympic in Chicago constitute a who’s who—Elaine May, Mike Nichols, Shelly Berman, Fred Willard, Joe Flaherty, John Belushi, John Candy, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Vince Vaughn, Tina Fey, and Stephen Colbert, to name only a handful. But his ultimate legacy might be theoretical: Close led the movement to reinvent improvisation and establish it as an art form.
Del was immediately put on inhalation therapy and his color came back. “Oh, thank you honey, you saved my life,” he told Charna. She left after dinner and told him she’d pick him up in the morning. But overnight Del took a turn for the worse. Charna got a call from the hospital at 5 AM and rushed to his side.
I DONT WANT TO DIE THEIR WAY
When the therapists arrived they were reluctant to act. SHE IS MY CUSTODIAL CARE GIVER, Del wrote. They had to comply.
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“How dare you rob me of my right to die with dignity!” he shouted.
He was bemused by the nurses who attempted to draw blood but couldn’t find an uncollapsed vein. “Sorry! I got there first!” he told them.
Del Close at Second City: The ’60s & ’70s
With David Pasquesi, Noah Gregoropoulos, Susan Messing, and Charna Halpern, Mon 4/7, 6:30 PM, iO Theater, 3451 N. Clark, 773-880-0199 or iochicago.net. F
With Tim Kazurinsky, Joyce Sloane, Michael Gellman, and Andrew Alexander, Tue 4/29, 6 PM, Second City E.T.C., 1608 N. Wells, 312-337-3992 or secondcity.com. F
