Del Close: 75 years

[JRC]

Hi.
Del Close died yesterday and celebrates his birthday this coming Monday (the 9th.)
If you're living in Chicago doing, watching, or studying improvisation you were influenced by the work and teachings of Del Close. There are few people who were students of Del still here in Chicago and even fewer still actively performing. Even the Lindbergh Babies 2.0, the first "5B" taught by Del, scrapes by by adding new friends to the cast.
I imagine this thread would be to remember some Del events or maybe even some vets who had Del could answer a question or two from people who did not have him for a teacher. That'd be swell.
I'm not starting this thread to open a debate on him. I understand that some people may have different opinions on him and his effect on improv, but this isn't the time or place. We can argue another day.

[Evan]

For those who knew Del, could you hazard a guess at what he would think of the current state of improv? It would help to give a brief overview of what changes you see in the improv world since Del died, and then what he might make of those changes.

How do you think the improv world would be different if Del were still alive?

Thanks,
Evan

[JRC]

Based on what was happening while I was in classes, I think he would be amazed and dismayed at the number of people doing improv now. I know he loved that there were so many people moving to Chicago just to do improv but he also loved it when weird, odd, or off-beat people would come to take a class... people with varied and storied backgrounds only add to the flavors of perspective.

Del loved smart, mean, weird improvisation.



I hope other Del students chime in here.

[...Cesar J.]

I think he'd be both pleased and pissed.

Too many get into this world solely as a stepping stone to get on snl, etc, and very few are actually affected by the work the way he hoped people would.

He never discouraged people from dreaming big, but he encouraged them to do this work 'right' and with honesty, so that their work and talent would shine in a more appropriate way while at the same time truly getting something out of the art form on a more personal level.

He'd be dismayed at the amount of audience pandering that seems to be happening a lot.

I imagine he'd slap me around a few times for being guilty of that myself then tell me to sit down.

[Hendo]

this last Wednesday was the 10th anniversary of his passing, and I actually spent a fair amount of time reflecting on those last couple of months and that last party the night before he died.

I think part of Del would be really happy to see long-form improv doing so well... kind of a final "fuck you" to Bernie Sahlins, who pretty much never gave long-form (or Del) the due it deserved.

I think he'd be utterly dismayed by the speed of improv these days. I think he'd ask why scenes seem to be so short in shows across the spectrum. I think he'd wonder what the hell happened to "slow comedy."

I think he'd try to bum a cigarette.

[benjohnson]

What do you guys think would be different at iO on an institutional level?

Feel free to name names.

[joek18]

Originally Posted by Hendo

this last Wednesday was the 10th anniversary of his passing, and I actually spent a fair amount of time reflecting on those last couple of months and that last party the night before he died.

I think part of Del would be really happy to see long-form improv doing so well... kind of a final "fuck you" to Bernie Sahlins, who pretty much never gave long-form (or Del) the due it deserved.

With respect, Bernie Sahlins is one of the primary reasons Del Close not only became who he was but also became anything at all. While they certainly had their disagreements - valid on both sides - there were YEARS when Del's sole means of support were the shows that Bernie offered him. During at least one show at SC, Bernie himself would drive to pick up Del from the rehab center and then drop him off at end of the evening.

Before Charna worked the considerable miracle of cleaning up Del, he was a drug abuser of epic proportions. This is not to denigrate Del's abilities but there were months during the drug decades when he wasn't there at all.

I also might point out that Bernie's central contention was that improv should not be used as a commercial enterprise but rather as a means to an end. As much as people enjoy ripping him, it was Bernie's steadfast rule that improv sets be free of charge - both to encourage an audience to view the work in progress and also to demand that improvisers take sufficient risks to fail.

To this day, IO charges for improv sets while Second City doesn't. That's not such a bad legacy for Bernie. As to "credit", I don't think either Bernie or Del believed either owed the other one damn thing - other than a grudging respect for the warhorses they both were.

It's also worth noting that at Del's going away party, Bernie admitted, in front of the entire group, that "Del was right... for tonight." While it was humorous, it also meant a lot to Del.

Again with respect, it's noble to laud Del for the work he inspired but it's not necessary to rip Bernie to do it.