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I read a quote
the other day. Somebody like
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can't remember if it was
p.T. Barnum
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or Henry David Thoreau that
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said that democracy is based
on the notion
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that ordinary people
can do extraordinary things.
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Societal pressures tend to keep
our abilities quashed down.
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We don't sing. We don't dance
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because the professionals
do it for us.
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But in order to do improvisation
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you have to have
some respect for
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the possibilities of
human abilities.
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Like
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you have to assume that people
can do extraordinary things
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we've got a real special treat
for you right now
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it's my pleasure
to introduce to you
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ladies and gentlemen,
Mr. Del close.
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If you've never
heard of del close
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well, congratulations
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that means you're not a comedian
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which all in all, is probably
good news for you.
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If you are a comedian,
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then you know this actor
turned comedy guru
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trained pretty much
everyone in the business.
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He was like a living legend.
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If you don't know del close,
Google him.
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He's done everything interesting
in comedy, in my opinion.
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What do you want to see
a show about?
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- Yeah, I'm talking to you!
- Um...
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Um, crime!
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An excellent suggestion!
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Del close showed me
the connection between
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comedy and bigger ideas.
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We're not worthy!
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Oh yeah, the cult of del
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it should be the church of del.
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Del taught me
the whole concept of just
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being bold in your life
and being fearless.
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I'm just trying
to put you to bed.
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No! Me baby!
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Baby no go night night!
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It was the first time I was
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part of a bohemian culture
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I was around gay people.
I was around white people
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that... I was around white people
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a whole lot of white people
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del, thanks for
teaching me everything I know.
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Being present in the moment.
In a scene.
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And not going for a cheap gag
or a cheap joke.
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Thanks honey.
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And that's just
a smattering of comedians
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who studied with del close.
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Dozens of those comics started
their own del-inspired theaters
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passing down the wisedom to a
whole new crop of comedy nerds.
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Del has created now
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multiple generations of people
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who seek even more freedom
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like the free jazz of the 60s
and 70s.
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This is a very pretentious
comparison, I know
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- I like it.
- See!
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But I'm an eccentric.
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That's three
generations of comedians
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if you're keeping track.
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All of them chasing this myth
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of the guru who discovered
a new art form...
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Improvised comedy.
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Which, for some reason,
he called Harold.
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And a friend of mine said
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they're doing this pure
improvised show.
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It's called Harold.
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I went down and I watched it
and I thought, this is for me!
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I have to improvise.
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A lot of the
comedy everyone is used to
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they improvise like crazy.
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I mean, look at
judd apatow's films.
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There's so much improvisation.
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I've never been in one... judd.
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When we did "anchorman"
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and "Talladega nights"
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we improvised for hours.
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The skeleton took a shower
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the skeleton ran out of shampoo
in the shower.
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Which was heavily
inspired by del close.
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The human torch could not
get a bank loan.
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The human torch
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so one cameraman
if you look at his dailies,
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you can see the camera
move a little bit.
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Sure, laugh it up
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but del's path of destruction
has cut through almost every
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seminal comedy moment
of the last sixty years.
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Which is all the more amazing
when you realize he was
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I bite myself,
I bite myself, I bite myself
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literally nuts.
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There was a period where del
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was doing shows at second city
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where he was
in the mental hospital.
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They had to go pick him up
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bring him back to do a show
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and then take him back
to the mental hospital.
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He was a fucking crazy person.
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He was crazy.
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Undecided!
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I think with that crazyness
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he's kind of a genius.
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So how did a mad man
manage to change
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the face of comedy
as we know it?
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And end up with roughly the same
name recognition
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as a third tier fast food chain?
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Well, you can't ask him
because frankly, he's dead.
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But he did leave behind
one clue.
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The burn of the...
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Uh, nickel, dimed, and quartered
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uh yeah
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the goddamn fog
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ooh! Matin' with Satan.
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No! The creamin' demon
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which one?
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The creamin' demon
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what am I looking at?
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Is maybe what you're asking
yourself right now.
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Well, del close has just
been hired to write
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a comic book about his life.
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For DC comics, no less.
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Emergency room service?
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No, no... emergency...
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- Rumors!
- Rumors!
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Great minds.
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And this is his team.
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Smell... of the mega brain.
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Here's del. Full of ideas.
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Sniff and crawl.
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Only problem is
they're all batshit.
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Done.
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That's Mike gold, del's editor,
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trying to turn batshit
into comic books.
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Well, he was insane.
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Now, I like that.
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Insane people come up
with great stories.
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They go places nobody's ever
been before.
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What happened to Merlin?
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Feed us... the fetus
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here's John ostrander,
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del's trusty writing partner.
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He's just happy to be
in the room,
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even if it smells like an
ashtray full of farts.
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Many times, I go,
how did del and I ever
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together?
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Del is... hip.
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I'm a square.
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I'm so square, I'm almost cute.
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But I knew comics,
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but he was del.
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He had this imagination.
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Probably there's androids.
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Probably..
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- Probably there's androids.
- There might be...
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You know what?
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Oh, and all del's
lines here are direct quotes
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taken from tape recordings
he made throughout his life.
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Starting with the
audition process...
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Anyway, back to 1987.
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Witches in Toronto.
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I love that.
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Witches...
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Toronto freaks me the fuck out.
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Right?
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That is great.
Can I get an outline on that?
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- Witches in Toronto, Thursday?
- Yeah, yeah, you bet.
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Beautiful
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- did you write that?
- Good.
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I got it.
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Witches in Toronto.
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I got it.
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Thank you, John.
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I was the outside-the-box guy
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over at DC.
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They had just started
"the dark knight"
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and "watchmen" and, you know,
they were feeling pretty good.
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And they figured this is
a good time to sort of
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push the boundaries of comics
and enjoy the surreal.
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That's del.
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Anybody who ventures
into the land of del close
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hears all of these
del close stories.
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And they're phenomenal.
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We famously
dine out on del's stories.
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We feast on del's stories.
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I wanted to get some of those
in print.
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Del volunteered for some tests
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for the U.S. air force.
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00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:57,002
They would give people acid
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and they monitor their dreams.
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He left the experiment
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and he ended up
getting a letter that said:
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"Mr. Close, you owe
the United States air force
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one more dream."
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So I'm driving
through the streets
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of San Francisco,
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and del is going to eat fire.
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He pulled it out,
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and that thing of flame
shoots out
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and my car caught fire.
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He met Tennessee Williams.
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And he reaches out,
and he shakes
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Tennessee Williams' hand,
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and a cockroach crawls out
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from his sleeve onto
tennesee Williams.
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And del goes
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"excuse me, I believe
that's mine."
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And sticks it in his pocket.
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Del's whole movie-acting career
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is just so bizarre.
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I know he did
a lot of weird films
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and stuff earlier in his career.
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He had two parts in
"the untouchables".
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- That's right.
- Two parts.
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You fellas are untouchable,
is that the thing?
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00:08:48,153 --> 00:08:50,088
There's a story
of him with I. Ron Hubbard.
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He was a science fiction writer
that del loved,
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and I. Ron was complaining
about the fact that
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he was getting taxed so heavily,
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00:08:56,628 --> 00:08:58,430
and he said,
"well, form a church."
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00:09:00,065 --> 00:09:01,745
And he said,
"alright, maybe I'll do that."
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00:09:03,368 --> 00:09:04,879
He was a natural.
These stories are so unusual.
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00:09:04,903 --> 00:09:07,506
And, in comics,
you have free reign.
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00:09:09,174 --> 00:09:10,852
For "wasteland",
del would be given full freedom
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00:09:10,876 --> 00:09:12,444
with the comic book form.
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Using a variety of artists,
del could go
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00:09:14,313 --> 00:09:14,948
literal,
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00:09:15,013 --> 00:09:15,647
metaphorical,
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00:09:15,714 --> 00:09:16,448
hallucinatory,
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00:09:16,515 --> 00:09:17,015
conceptual,
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00:09:17,082 --> 00:09:17,951
meta,
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00:09:18,016 --> 00:09:20,686
whatever... this is.
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00:09:20,752 --> 00:09:23,188
All in service of excavating
his own life story.
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00:09:23,455 --> 00:09:26,325
Which also happens to be
the story of an entire
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00:09:26,391 --> 00:09:28,193
comedy movement.
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00:09:28,260 --> 00:09:29,995
You know,
I'm writing my autobiography.
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- You are?
- In a comic book, yeah.
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00:09:32,631 --> 00:09:35,467
Great!
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00:09:35,534 --> 00:09:36,912
It's in a comic book called
"wasteland". It's, uh, for DC.
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00:09:36,936 --> 00:09:39,171
- Really?
- Yeah.
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00:09:39,238 --> 00:09:40,706
But what, why?
244
00:09:40,772 --> 00:09:42,450
But I wanted to
leave behind the great lessons
245
00:09:42,474 --> 00:09:43,675
really?
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00:09:43,742 --> 00:09:45,611
Indeed, the secrets of comedy.
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00:09:46,378 --> 00:09:47,412
Okey, doke.
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00:09:49,047 --> 00:09:49,748
That's, I think,
part of the reason why
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he liked "wasteland".
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00:09:50,950 --> 00:09:53,118
Because he had a chance
to do more,
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00:09:54,386 --> 00:09:56,130
and even with some of the
autobiography pieces,
252
00:09:56,154 --> 00:09:57,222
to show more.
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00:09:58,958 --> 00:09:59,591
He wanted to reveal what
he'd learned in the past
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about comedy.
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00:10:02,861 --> 00:10:04,305
The concept was
the first issue would be of
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00:10:04,329 --> 00:10:08,467
del's origin, or as close to
an origin story as possible.
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00:10:23,482 --> 00:10:24,349
Yeah, I worked for Dr. Dracula.
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00:10:24,416 --> 00:10:27,452
I was his assistant.
259
00:10:27,519 --> 00:10:29,719
I carried out a flaming bowl
while Dr. Dracula ate fire.
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00:10:30,689 --> 00:10:32,166
Del used to tell
everybody that studied with him
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00:10:32,190 --> 00:10:35,294
about running away from home,
and going and traveling with
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00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:37,429
Dr. Dracula's tomb of terror.
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00:10:38,263 --> 00:10:41,266
There was this old guy
who played Dr. Dracula.
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00:10:41,333 --> 00:10:44,069
He would get up, and he would do
a magic act.
265
00:10:44,469 --> 00:10:46,371
And you learned how to
eat fire from him?
266
00:10:46,438 --> 00:10:48,238
No, he wouldn't teach me.
I learned on my own.
267
00:10:48,473 --> 00:10:51,209
And my entrance music was.
268
00:10:57,449 --> 00:10:59,209
Dr. Dracula would come down
to the footlights
269
00:10:59,251 --> 00:11:00,552
and he would say,
270
00:11:00,619 --> 00:11:02,421
"a plague of worms will descend
upon you",
271
00:11:02,487 --> 00:11:04,991
and the lights would go out,
and I would run up the aisle
272
00:11:05,058 --> 00:11:06,498
throwing cooked spaghetti
everywhere.
273
00:11:07,626 --> 00:11:09,595
And the audience would literally
go "wah!"
274
00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:23,909
My first show business
experience
275
00:11:23,977 --> 00:11:26,478
you know, and I cause people
to shit their pants.
276
00:11:26,545 --> 00:11:28,222
You know, man, and it's been
downhill ever since.
277
00:11:28,246 --> 00:11:29,314
I know what del means.
278
00:11:29,381 --> 00:11:31,583
If I was onstage and something
I did
279
00:11:31,650 --> 00:11:35,120
led someone in the audience
to say, "I just shit my pants!"
280
00:11:35,420 --> 00:11:36,521
Oh my god!
281
00:11:37,322 --> 00:11:38,857
It's an amazing thing.
282
00:11:38,924 --> 00:11:40,525
This line between, kind of,
is it great?
283
00:11:40,592 --> 00:11:44,463
Or is it wrong? Should I be
scared or should I be laughing?
284
00:11:44,696 --> 00:11:47,265
What journey can you take
an audience on?
285
00:11:47,466 --> 00:11:48,968
It was like performance art
286
00:11:49,035 --> 00:11:52,304
meets improv, which I think is
what del was kind of all about.
287
00:11:52,771 --> 00:11:56,308
He just loved that weird,
subversive world.
288
00:11:56,508 --> 00:11:57,743
Even if the audience hated it
289
00:11:58,377 --> 00:11:59,377
he was like
290
00:11:59,411 --> 00:12:00,411
killed it!
291
00:12:02,048 --> 00:12:03,524
Freaking people out
as a teenage carnie runaway
292
00:12:03,548 --> 00:12:04,908
was a perfect origin story
for del.
293
00:12:06,284 --> 00:12:08,353
But what was he running from?
294
00:12:24,703 --> 00:12:27,372
Del's life as a child
was really ordinary
295
00:12:27,439 --> 00:12:28,540
growing up in Kansas
296
00:12:30,409 --> 00:12:32,569
he was much smarter than most
of the kids in his class.
297
00:12:33,378 --> 00:12:35,523
You know, by all conventional
standards, he was brilliant.
298
00:12:35,547 --> 00:12:38,750
But his father didn't see that.
299
00:12:39,384 --> 00:12:43,588
Del loved his mother.
He wanted to love his father.
300
00:12:44,090 --> 00:12:45,090
And then...
301
00:12:48,326 --> 00:12:50,029
John, can I talk
to del for a minute?
302
00:12:50,096 --> 00:12:51,096
Yeah.
303
00:12:51,530 --> 00:12:53,498
Enjoy... this.
304
00:12:53,565 --> 00:12:55,300
Del,
305
00:12:55,367 --> 00:12:57,769
I just want to say, I love
all the Dr. Dracula stuff
306
00:12:57,836 --> 00:12:59,671
it's great.
The guy pooping his pants.
307
00:13:01,473 --> 00:13:02,583
But I was also wondering,
maybe there's something...
308
00:13:02,607 --> 00:13:05,510
A little darker
from your childhood?
309
00:13:06,112 --> 00:13:09,781
More appropriate for our little
grotesque booklet here?
310
00:13:11,117 --> 00:13:12,217
Nah.
311
00:13:13,285 --> 00:13:15,420
Anything from before
you left Kansas?
312
00:13:15,487 --> 00:13:17,756
Something rotten
in the little apple?
313
00:13:19,125 --> 00:13:21,626
Daddy drinks the dark dram.
314
00:13:22,894 --> 00:13:25,363
Sometimes it's hard to deal
with the thing
315
00:13:26,765 --> 00:13:28,600
in terms of the thing itself.
316
00:13:29,768 --> 00:13:30,768
You know?
317
00:13:37,043 --> 00:13:39,845
The thing itself,
an incendiary thing.
318
00:13:41,880 --> 00:13:44,449
Del told a story
throughout his life
319
00:13:44,516 --> 00:13:46,585
"the big story", some thought
of it as
320
00:13:47,153 --> 00:13:49,788
when del was eight, his father
called him over.
321
00:13:49,989 --> 00:13:52,591
He asked his son to bring him
a glass of water he left
322
00:13:52,657 --> 00:13:53,658
on the counter.
323
00:13:55,094 --> 00:13:56,795
Eager to please,
del does as he's told.
324
00:13:56,862 --> 00:14:00,265
And watches as his father
drains the entire glass.
325
00:14:00,465 --> 00:14:01,833
First come the convulsions,
326
00:14:03,502 --> 00:14:05,670
then the glass smashes
as del's father goes limp.
327
00:14:07,539 --> 00:14:09,875
As it turned out, the glass
didn't contain water at all.
328
00:14:10,575 --> 00:14:13,411
It was battery acid
del learned later.
329
00:14:27,994 --> 00:14:30,295
There's at the
heart of that a betrayal.
330
00:14:30,796 --> 00:14:32,430
A father's betrayal of the son.
331
00:14:32,831 --> 00:14:33,966
Okay...
332
00:14:34,033 --> 00:14:35,801
Commiting suicide,
I'm not judging that,
333
00:14:37,203 --> 00:14:39,771
but to do it, in that manner,
in front of your son,
334
00:14:40,206 --> 00:14:43,675
that's a betrayal, that's...
By my likes.
335
00:14:47,479 --> 00:14:50,515
He started swallowing fire
336
00:14:50,582 --> 00:14:51,750
at a very early age.
337
00:14:53,618 --> 00:14:55,496
To me, if you were going to
psychoanalyze a person whose
338
00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:56,922
father commited suicide,
339
00:14:58,590 --> 00:15:01,726
you might wonder why they're
swallowing fire.
340
00:15:04,596 --> 00:15:05,697
Just asking.
341
00:15:24,716 --> 00:15:26,319
After traveling with Dr. Dracula
342
00:15:26,384 --> 00:15:30,755
del was hired as a
"human torch" in Bermuda.
343
00:15:32,891 --> 00:15:36,561
And then del got another call,
not long after that,
344
00:15:36,628 --> 00:15:38,164
from his friend, severn darden
345
00:15:38,231 --> 00:15:40,474
"and he said," hey, there's this
theater action happening
346
00:15:40,498 --> 00:15:42,068
in St. Louis.
347
00:15:42,134 --> 00:15:44,134
"You really should come out,
and give this a shot."
348
00:15:44,270 --> 00:15:46,705
As del says, "well, I'd only
dove three times.
349
00:15:46,771 --> 00:15:48,040
The wind kept shifting.
350
00:15:48,107 --> 00:15:50,009
So this sounded like
a pretty good alternative."
351
00:15:51,910 --> 00:15:53,712
So del headed out
to join the newly formed,
352
00:15:53,778 --> 00:15:54,846
compass players.
353
00:15:56,349 --> 00:15:57,358
Not knowing that he was walking
into the one thing
354
00:15:57,382 --> 00:15:59,651
more dangerous than fire:
355
00:16:01,419 --> 00:16:03,339
The world's first fully
improvised comedy troupe.
356
00:16:04,623 --> 00:16:06,068
What I did over the last
couple of days was like
357
00:16:06,092 --> 00:16:08,627
put myself back into that
period of time
358
00:16:08,693 --> 00:16:09,794
and I was just amazed.
359
00:16:11,264 --> 00:16:12,640
It was definitely
a creative experience.
360
00:16:12,664 --> 00:16:14,399
It was like unmatched
perhaps on the planet.
361
00:16:15,700 --> 00:16:19,537
The compass theater was
the first group of people
362
00:16:19,604 --> 00:16:23,842
dedicated to making theatre
out of improvised work.
363
00:16:24,310 --> 00:16:27,980
Geniuses, and dropouts,
beatniks, weirdos.
364
00:16:28,914 --> 00:16:31,683
Highly evolved, very intelligent
365
00:16:32,318 --> 00:16:35,620
the task we were taking on
which nobody had ever done
366
00:16:35,687 --> 00:16:38,590
was to, somehow or another,
train ourselves to improvise
367
00:16:38,790 --> 00:16:40,425
whatever that was.
368
00:16:40,625 --> 00:16:42,128
There was no script.
369
00:16:42,194 --> 00:16:43,714
And we would do a new show
every night.
370
00:16:45,097 --> 00:16:46,574
We would open usually
with some kind of like
371
00:16:46,598 --> 00:16:49,368
some mad opening
that I would start
372
00:16:49,434 --> 00:16:50,236
like sometimes, I remember,
we would sometimes come in
373
00:16:50,303 --> 00:16:51,583
wearing helmets with flashlights
374
00:16:52,470 --> 00:16:53,105
examining the audience members
as though they were
375
00:16:53,172 --> 00:16:54,172
complex fungi.
376
00:16:56,242 --> 00:16:57,776
And then we would take
suggestions.
377
00:16:57,842 --> 00:16:59,402
We would do a scene
on every suggestion.
378
00:17:00,545 --> 00:17:02,714
I just remember the horror
that everybody felt
379
00:17:02,781 --> 00:17:04,221
before somebody spoke
the first word.
380
00:17:11,456 --> 00:17:13,296
We would just go out
and do literally anything.
381
00:17:14,193 --> 00:17:14,826
Sometimes the audience
was fucking bored.
382
00:17:14,893 --> 00:17:15,893
Right.
383
00:17:18,397 --> 00:17:19,957
But sometimes
we would be doing a scene,
384
00:17:19,999 --> 00:17:22,199
and we would just blurt
these amazing, wonderful things.
385
00:17:31,743 --> 00:17:33,045
We just didn't know why
386
00:17:33,112 --> 00:17:34,447
our successful work
was successful
387
00:17:34,512 --> 00:17:36,015
and why our failures
were failures,
388
00:17:38,351 --> 00:17:40,618
so we can chuckle now, but
this was quite serious
389
00:17:40,685 --> 00:17:41,685
right.
390
00:17:44,756 --> 00:17:46,556
In improvisation,
each performance was a risk.
391
00:17:48,394 --> 00:17:49,870
But del sensed that a little
danger could be just the thing
392
00:17:49,894 --> 00:17:52,530
for a genre that had become...
393
00:17:52,897 --> 00:17:53,933
How do I say this?
394
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:55,567
Ah, good evening,
ladies and gentlemen
395
00:17:56,534 --> 00:17:57,534
shitty.
396
00:17:58,437 --> 00:18:00,572
A lot of the comedy on TV,
397
00:18:00,638 --> 00:18:01,906
the kind of Bob hope stuff
398
00:18:01,974 --> 00:18:03,976
made me feel kind of gross.
399
00:18:04,043 --> 00:18:06,778
And I want to be sure, at all
times, to do the right thing.
400
00:18:09,714 --> 00:18:10,714
That's the right thing.
401
00:18:12,118 --> 00:18:12,952
So that older
generation of comedy
402
00:18:13,019 --> 00:18:14,987
was a palliative.
403
00:18:15,054 --> 00:18:16,088
You know, it was meant to
404
00:18:17,189 --> 00:18:18,400
make life okay,
and you can laugh,
405
00:18:18,424 --> 00:18:19,700
and we'll laugh,
and we'll all be nice people.
406
00:18:19,724 --> 00:18:22,727
Let's not do any jokes
we didn't plan on, huh?
407
00:18:24,662 --> 00:18:26,241
As it turned out,
there were plenty of people
408
00:18:26,265 --> 00:18:28,733
who were tired of Bob hope's
dick jokes.
409
00:18:30,802 --> 00:18:32,162
So the compass was
packing them in.
410
00:18:33,638 --> 00:18:36,541
To fill the need, they brought
in two new cast members.
411
00:18:36,841 --> 00:18:38,877
Mike Nichols, and Elaine may
412
00:18:41,913 --> 00:18:45,550
yep, that Nichols and may,
but we'll get to that
413
00:18:47,552 --> 00:18:49,131
but like Mike was there
in order to work with Elaine
414
00:18:49,155 --> 00:18:50,588
uh huh.
415
00:18:50,655 --> 00:18:52,191
Elaine was there, to,
you know, work
416
00:18:52,258 --> 00:18:54,893
in improvisational theatre
right, right.
417
00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:56,238
And so Mike's reasons for
being there were
418
00:18:56,262 --> 00:18:57,063
- a little shaky.
- Right.
419
00:18:57,129 --> 00:18:58,630
And she was able to adapt to it?
420
00:18:58,696 --> 00:19:00,732
Yep, she was able to adapt
to real improvisation.
421
00:19:02,168 --> 00:19:03,445
Elaine was absolutely
fucking amazing.
422
00:19:03,469 --> 00:19:04,937
And fearless.
423
00:19:05,004 --> 00:19:09,641
I have been going with the same
man for the last fourteen years.
424
00:19:10,875 --> 00:19:13,845
Last week, I got the shock
of my life.
425
00:19:14,046 --> 00:19:16,215
There, sitting at
a sidewalk cafe
426
00:19:16,282 --> 00:19:18,783
was my intended
with another woman.
427
00:19:19,051 --> 00:19:21,920
I asked him,
"what is the meaning of this?"
428
00:19:22,121 --> 00:19:24,156
In reply, they both stood up,
429
00:19:24,223 --> 00:19:26,858
and gave me such
a merciless beating.
430
00:19:28,693 --> 00:19:31,964
Del and Elaine may
shared the same kind of
431
00:19:32,031 --> 00:19:36,102
dogged persistence to figure out
what could you do to make
432
00:19:36,168 --> 00:19:38,003
improvisation consistent.
433
00:19:39,637 --> 00:19:40,848
And this was Elaine may's line,
434
00:19:40,872 --> 00:19:42,740
I love this - tell me
what I need to know
435
00:19:43,476 --> 00:19:45,710
to get off stage without dying.
436
00:19:46,312 --> 00:19:48,013
And they came up
with the kitchen rules.
437
00:19:49,482 --> 00:19:50,983
He and Elaine apparently
constructed
438
00:19:51,050 --> 00:19:53,685
a whole set of rules.
I think they called it,
439
00:19:53,751 --> 00:19:56,956
"the Winchester kitchen table
rules of improvisation".
440
00:20:00,226 --> 00:20:02,694
Like, don't deny, respect
the other person's reality.
441
00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:04,230
Right.
442
00:20:04,296 --> 00:20:04,930
Remember where the objects were
443
00:20:04,997 --> 00:20:05,931
right.
444
00:20:05,998 --> 00:20:06,764
Uh, don't do mime.
445
00:20:06,831 --> 00:20:09,401
That's right.
446
00:20:09,468 --> 00:20:10,845
Always play
to popular intelligence.
447
00:20:10,869 --> 00:20:13,606
- And think the unlikely choice.
- Right.
448
00:20:13,671 --> 00:20:14,306
We're not locked into
this thing like an actor
449
00:20:14,373 --> 00:20:15,373
with a script.
450
00:20:16,275 --> 00:20:17,576
He met his match,
451
00:20:17,642 --> 00:20:20,912
and I think they had
a romantic engagement as well.
452
00:20:22,581 --> 00:20:24,383
Elaine, I was thinking
about this,
453
00:20:24,450 --> 00:20:26,885
I mean, of course, she was
frightening and intimidating,
454
00:20:26,952 --> 00:20:27,819
I mean, the goddess is more
evident in her
455
00:20:27,886 --> 00:20:29,188
than in most people.
456
00:20:29,255 --> 00:20:31,656
And you know, right
457
00:20:31,723 --> 00:20:33,225
in all of her phases right
458
00:20:33,292 --> 00:20:33,925
the wrathful one,
and the beautiful one.
459
00:20:33,993 --> 00:20:34,792
Right.
460
00:20:34,859 --> 00:20:37,463
It's, uh,
461
00:20:37,530 --> 00:20:39,074
it's like she was
a supernatural figure.
462
00:20:39,098 --> 00:20:40,542
I kept having all these,
what am I doing here?
463
00:20:40,566 --> 00:20:42,901
Why am I in the midst
of all this here?
464
00:20:42,968 --> 00:20:43,835
I was fairly
mentally unstable in those days
465
00:20:43,902 --> 00:20:44,903
cause I was still...
466
00:20:44,970 --> 00:20:47,072
In my father's killing zone.
467
00:20:48,706 --> 00:20:52,011
Everybody says you were
madly in love with Elaine.
468
00:20:52,077 --> 00:20:54,280
- I have her at...
- And vice versa.
469
00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:58,783
Actually, we never
officially broke up.
470
00:20:58,984 --> 00:21:00,286
And I still love her.
471
00:21:01,886 --> 00:21:04,023
Del had met
the two loves of his life.
472
00:21:04,256 --> 00:21:06,791
Improvisation and Elaine.
473
00:21:06,858 --> 00:21:07,960
He was in paradise.
474
00:21:09,228 --> 00:21:10,628
But there was
a snake in the garden.
475
00:21:11,597 --> 00:21:13,074
Mike Nichols used to say
"Elaine can work with anybody.
476
00:21:13,098 --> 00:21:14,832
I could only work with Elaine."
477
00:21:18,237 --> 00:21:19,538
Moving out of the Bob hope era,
478
00:21:19,605 --> 00:21:21,806
Mike Nichols checked
all the boxes
479
00:21:21,873 --> 00:21:23,042
of the modern comedic genius.
480
00:21:23,242 --> 00:21:24,543
Highly educated and refined,
481
00:21:24,610 --> 00:21:27,046
he was an auteur who
was interested
482
00:21:27,112 --> 00:21:28,880
in the Polish of social satire.
483
00:21:29,081 --> 00:21:30,815
Not the sloppiness of improv.
484
00:21:32,518 --> 00:21:33,861
And that had a good deal
to do with our inability
485
00:21:33,885 --> 00:21:34,885
to get along.
486
00:21:36,155 --> 00:21:37,698
Still somehow or other,
a plot was hatched
487
00:21:37,722 --> 00:21:41,726
to go to New York and audition
as a four-person night club act
488
00:21:41,994 --> 00:21:44,029
to become, maybe, okay, famous.
489
00:21:44,263 --> 00:21:47,166
We did not have plane fare
for the four of us
490
00:21:47,233 --> 00:21:50,802
so we all kicked in money
for Mike and Elaine to go.
491
00:21:51,003 --> 00:21:56,175
So the crucial period comes
when we leave St. Louis
492
00:21:56,242 --> 00:21:57,875
to go to New York.
493
00:21:57,943 --> 00:21:59,354
And I thought it was like,
a guaranteed thing.
494
00:21:59,378 --> 00:22:01,813
When we got to New York,
there was Mike
495
00:22:01,879 --> 00:22:03,282
with a contract
from Jack rollins
496
00:22:04,383 --> 00:22:05,383
for two.
497
00:22:05,951 --> 00:22:07,019
Not four.
498
00:22:07,987 --> 00:22:09,355
So I was left out in the cold.
499
00:22:10,855 --> 00:22:11,789
And at that point,
Mike and Elaine
500
00:22:11,856 --> 00:22:12,856
began working together.
501
00:22:31,310 --> 00:22:34,246
I was absolutely
completely cast adrift
502
00:22:37,216 --> 00:22:39,318
and I went temporarily nuts.
503
00:22:52,197 --> 00:22:54,199
Can you analyze this patient?
504
00:22:55,934 --> 00:22:57,970
He is an adult, white male.
505
00:22:58,037 --> 00:22:59,972
The only child
of well-to-do parents.
506
00:23:01,307 --> 00:23:02,941
Since the recent death
of his father,
507
00:23:04,610 --> 00:23:06,930
the patient has suffered from
severe attacks of depression,
508
00:23:07,212 --> 00:23:08,580
withdrawal,
509
00:23:08,647 --> 00:23:11,083
Apia, catatonic apathy,
and often toys
510
00:23:11,150 --> 00:23:12,384
with the notion of suicide.
511
00:23:28,267 --> 00:23:29,277
Clean family show,
ladies and gentlemen.
512
00:23:29,301 --> 00:23:31,903
No geeks, no freaks, no romedy.
513
00:23:34,306 --> 00:23:36,546
Now, I would like to provide
a selection of danse macabre
514
00:23:36,975 --> 00:23:37,975
on my head.
515
00:23:40,679 --> 00:23:42,880
After the breakdown,
del got back on his feet.
516
00:23:43,382 --> 00:23:45,117
But he wasn't quite the same.
517
00:23:46,884 --> 00:23:47,720
So he drifted to the place
where every dirty hippie
518
00:23:47,786 --> 00:23:49,054
lands eventually.
519
00:23:55,494 --> 00:23:56,494
♪ Ow! ♪
520
00:23:57,763 --> 00:23:59,164
There's a story in "wasteland"
521
00:23:59,231 --> 00:24:02,067
where del and his former
writing partner
522
00:24:02,134 --> 00:24:03,778
were sitting around writing,
getting stoned,
523
00:24:03,802 --> 00:24:05,562
trying to figure out
how to be funny onstage.
524
00:24:06,138 --> 00:24:07,406
And their idea was: Okay,
525
00:24:08,173 --> 00:24:10,209
you take some Cole slaw,
526
00:24:10,275 --> 00:24:12,411
and you stick it
down your shorts.
527
00:24:15,114 --> 00:24:18,283
Then as you interact with it,
you're doing interesting things
528
00:24:18,350 --> 00:24:20,885
even though you're too stoned
to really be reacting.
529
00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:24,889
And he said first it worked
just as they figured it would.
530
00:24:25,090 --> 00:24:28,260
It was irritating him,
and was giving his performance
531
00:24:28,794 --> 00:24:29,794
and interesting level.
532
00:24:30,562 --> 00:24:32,498
He said, "Howard,
I've discovered the"
533
00:24:33,232 --> 00:24:35,000
the problems with it.
534
00:24:35,067 --> 00:24:37,369
If you're wasted, you tend
to forget what you've done.
535
00:24:41,006 --> 00:24:42,584
So he said, after the show,
he was in the bar,
536
00:24:42,608 --> 00:24:43,409
and he picked up
this sweet young thing,
537
00:24:43,475 --> 00:24:46,311
and took her back to his place,
538
00:24:47,112 --> 00:24:48,514
and he got undressed,
539
00:24:48,580 --> 00:24:50,249
and out poured about
a half pound
540
00:24:50,315 --> 00:24:52,117
of warm rancid cabbage.
541
00:24:56,255 --> 00:24:57,689
Cole slaw.
542
00:24:57,756 --> 00:24:59,992
That was the kind of experiment
one came to expect
543
00:25:00,058 --> 00:25:01,126
of the committee.
544
00:25:02,761 --> 00:25:04,681
Where del had managed
to get hired as a director.
545
00:25:06,298 --> 00:25:08,333
Wow! The committee!
546
00:25:08,534 --> 00:25:11,003
It was basically sketch comedy
547
00:25:11,069 --> 00:25:15,340
that was hilarious,
and had a voice that was both
548
00:25:15,541 --> 00:25:20,212
political, and socially,
interpersonally relevant.
549
00:25:20,479 --> 00:25:26,285
♪ Oh, say can you see,
by the dawn's early light ♪
550
00:25:26,351 --> 00:25:32,491
♪ what so proudly we hailed at
the twilight's last gleaming ♪♪
551
00:25:32,558 --> 00:25:36,061
♪ who put stripes
and bright stars ♪
552
00:25:36,128 --> 00:25:38,530
♪ through the perilous night ♪
553
00:25:38,597 --> 00:25:42,100
♪ for the ramparts we watched ♪
554
00:25:42,167 --> 00:25:45,137
♪ were so gallantly streaming♪♪
555
00:25:45,204 --> 00:25:48,140
♪ and the rocket's red glare ♪
556
00:25:48,207 --> 00:25:51,109
♪ the bombs bursting in air ♪
557
00:25:51,176 --> 00:25:55,180
♪ gave proof through the night ♪
558
00:25:58,383 --> 00:25:59,551
Summer of love.
559
00:26:00,919 --> 00:26:02,621
Everybody
was sharing everything.
560
00:26:02,688 --> 00:26:04,648
Everything that was done
was done in large groups.
561
00:26:05,924 --> 00:26:08,126
Now, sex, theatre, politics,
the whole thing.
562
00:26:08,193 --> 00:26:09,194
Big bunch of people.
563
00:26:11,897 --> 00:26:13,365
The drug culture
at the committee
564
00:26:13,432 --> 00:26:17,236
was pot, alcohol,
and psychedelics.
565
00:26:17,603 --> 00:26:20,339
But del said, let's push this
a little bit further.
566
00:26:20,405 --> 00:26:23,308
Anything that was ingestable
del would ingest.
567
00:26:23,609 --> 00:26:25,344
I came in once with eight or ten
568
00:26:25,410 --> 00:26:26,545
different pills.
569
00:26:26,612 --> 00:26:29,114
I had no idea what
any of them even were,
570
00:26:30,148 --> 00:26:33,252
and went to del, saying,
"do you have any idea
571
00:26:33,318 --> 00:26:35,153
what these are,
and what they might do?"
572
00:26:35,220 --> 00:26:36,522
And he said, "let's see!"
573
00:26:38,924 --> 00:26:40,592
He was fueled by the drug
574
00:26:40,659 --> 00:26:43,462
to go further than he might
have gone otherwise
575
00:26:43,529 --> 00:26:46,131
in his work and his curiosity
576
00:26:46,331 --> 00:26:49,134
about life and human experience.
577
00:26:50,669 --> 00:26:53,238
Quaaludes, Cole slaw comedy.
578
00:26:53,438 --> 00:26:55,073
Hey, an experiment
is an experiment
579
00:26:55,140 --> 00:26:58,043
when you're spirtually dead
in the year 1967.
580
00:26:58,243 --> 00:27:01,380
So the committee turned their
addled brains to improv.
581
00:27:01,446 --> 00:27:02,992
If you could take
a drawer full of drugs,
582
00:27:03,016 --> 00:27:06,151
and still stand for your bows,
could, you say...
583
00:27:06,351 --> 00:27:07,586
Improvise a whole play?
584
00:27:12,190 --> 00:27:15,193
So we're doing these
long-form improvisation
585
00:27:15,260 --> 00:27:16,260
experiments.
586
00:27:18,630 --> 00:27:22,301
And I remember, one night,
the longest one we ever did,
587
00:27:22,367 --> 00:27:26,538
it was like maybe twenty people
on this stage for just like
588
00:27:26,605 --> 00:27:28,674
two hours, I remember.
589
00:27:32,244 --> 00:27:36,081
Were those good?
A two hour, twenty people...
590
00:27:36,481 --> 00:27:39,184
Well, I mean it was, um
591
00:27:43,789 --> 00:27:46,658
so we improvised through
the whole workshop,
592
00:27:47,626 --> 00:27:49,227
and then, at the end
of the piece,
593
00:27:49,294 --> 00:27:53,498
everybody fell on the ground,
exhausted from the experience.
594
00:27:54,666 --> 00:27:56,101
It was like...
595
00:27:57,003 --> 00:27:58,003
Okay...
596
00:27:58,770 --> 00:28:00,940
Can we do some more
funny stuff now?
597
00:28:05,577 --> 00:28:08,280
But del was just, you know,
598
00:28:08,347 --> 00:28:09,481
bouncing off the walls,
599
00:28:11,050 --> 00:28:13,218
saying, "we've created
a new form of theatre!"
600
00:28:18,357 --> 00:28:20,325
And everybody was saying,
"right, del.
601
00:28:20,392 --> 00:28:21,593
"Take it easy." You know?
602
00:28:23,195 --> 00:28:23,963
Yeah, well, it's a new form
of theatre.
603
00:28:24,030 --> 00:28:25,764
We need a name for it,
604
00:28:25,831 --> 00:28:27,871
and somebody to, kind of,
undercut del's enthusiasm.
605
00:28:29,434 --> 00:28:31,536
A kind of satiric comment on it.
606
00:28:31,737 --> 00:28:34,539
Said, "well, Harold's
a nice name."
607
00:28:38,744 --> 00:28:42,147
And it became del's holy grail.
608
00:28:43,582 --> 00:28:45,350
Del had found his purpose,
609
00:28:45,417 --> 00:28:47,185
and its name was Harold.
610
00:28:47,386 --> 00:28:48,620
But what was it, exactly?
611
00:28:50,322 --> 00:28:52,290
Well, what del had glimpsed
was just an idea.
612
00:28:53,825 --> 00:28:55,594
The idea that people
could improvise
613
00:28:55,661 --> 00:28:57,781
for long enough to achieve
some greater comic meaning.
614
00:28:59,098 --> 00:29:00,541
And if betting it all
on a half-baked idea
615
00:29:00,565 --> 00:29:01,565
sounds scary
616
00:29:03,802 --> 00:29:05,303
so much the better.
617
00:29:14,813 --> 00:29:16,314
Del was forever wanting
618
00:29:17,816 --> 00:29:19,176
to follow what he wanted
to follow.
619
00:29:19,685 --> 00:29:21,845
He had this imagination,
you know, he had this outlook.
620
00:29:23,022 --> 00:29:24,582
In the summer of love,
in San Francisco,
621
00:29:24,623 --> 00:29:26,725
his new idea wound up
being called "the Harold."
622
00:29:28,094 --> 00:29:30,174
That's what he called it,
at the time, then it stuck.
623
00:29:30,362 --> 00:29:32,464
And del really believed in it.
624
00:29:32,864 --> 00:29:35,634
But somedays, it was hard
to follow del
625
00:29:35,701 --> 00:29:38,203
out to those reaches,
that he went to.
626
00:29:38,603 --> 00:29:39,771
I have a bad feeling.
627
00:29:39,838 --> 00:29:41,807
I think we should cut
this coo-coo-bird story.
628
00:29:42,507 --> 00:29:43,642
No, no, let's not.
629
00:29:44,810 --> 00:29:46,187
Let's criticize
the obviously stupid.
630
00:29:46,211 --> 00:29:50,049
I'm just not sure a story
titled "retroactive abortion"
631
00:29:50,116 --> 00:29:53,218
is going to sit well with the
people who publish Superman
632
00:29:53,485 --> 00:29:54,485
and aquaman.
633
00:29:54,519 --> 00:29:55,287
Relax!
634
00:29:55,353 --> 00:29:56,922
This is art!
635
00:29:56,989 --> 00:29:58,523
A function of art
is not to assuage.
636
00:29:58,590 --> 00:30:00,292
For crying out loud!
637
00:30:00,358 --> 00:30:02,661
This is one
of my first jobs with DC!
638
00:30:03,361 --> 00:30:04,529
I can't spoil it!
639
00:30:05,664 --> 00:30:06,664
Oh god, I've spoiled it.
640
00:30:06,898 --> 00:30:08,366
- Oh no.
- Right.
641
00:30:08,433 --> 00:30:09,433
Oh...
642
00:30:10,235 --> 00:30:11,235
Oh man.
643
00:30:11,703 --> 00:30:13,438
Are gonna blow
her little brains over...
644
00:30:13,505 --> 00:30:14,539
No, who ya callin'?
645
00:30:14,606 --> 00:30:16,675
No, don't...
646
00:30:20,612 --> 00:30:21,313
Lynn?
647
00:30:21,379 --> 00:30:22,714
I have these edits here.
648
00:30:22,781 --> 00:30:23,891
Will you get them to the author?
649
00:30:23,915 --> 00:30:25,218
- Oh.
- Thank you.
650
00:30:25,283 --> 00:30:27,719
Arabella, sorry, I just
can't get rid of this guy.
651
00:30:27,786 --> 00:30:29,521
He keeps talking about
how he writes
652
00:30:29,588 --> 00:30:30,698
something called "wasteland"?
653
00:30:30,722 --> 00:30:33,092
He says we need to stop
making him slice
654
00:30:33,159 --> 00:30:34,659
the comedy sausage?
655
00:30:34,726 --> 00:30:35,737
There's a thin line between
656
00:30:35,761 --> 00:30:37,041
genius and nutbag
in this company
657
00:30:38,830 --> 00:30:40,532
go for Arabella.
658
00:30:40,599 --> 00:30:41,910
Well alright,
DC's got commercial success.
659
00:30:41,934 --> 00:30:44,269
Fine, great, there it is.
660
00:30:44,336 --> 00:30:45,780
However, I'll tell you a couple
of cautionary tales.
661
00:30:45,804 --> 00:30:48,740
One time, I was in Los Angeles,
I was at all these restaurants,
662
00:30:48,807 --> 00:30:49,908
the kind where they...
663
00:30:49,976 --> 00:30:51,019
- Has this been happening for.
- Yeah.
664
00:30:51,043 --> 00:30:51,743
- This whole time?
- The whole time.
665
00:30:51,810 --> 00:30:54,513
Okay.
666
00:30:54,579 --> 00:30:56,024
More often, some sort
of mystical journey
667
00:30:56,048 --> 00:30:57,415
inside the washing Mac...
668
00:30:57,482 --> 00:30:59,818
Hey, have you seen that
new movie "fatal attraction"?
669
00:30:59,885 --> 00:31:00,719
- I saw it.
- Was it good?
670
00:31:00,786 --> 00:31:01,986
Oh no, I think you'll hate it.
671
00:31:02,021 --> 00:31:03,822
Unless you hate women,
then you'll love it.
672
00:31:03,889 --> 00:31:04,689
You know?
673
00:31:04,756 --> 00:31:06,358
Oh, well, I love women, so...
674
00:31:06,424 --> 00:31:07,659
- You won't love it.
- Right.
675
00:31:07,726 --> 00:31:09,427
Forming a secret society
676
00:31:09,494 --> 00:31:10,930
which using secret names.
677
00:31:10,997 --> 00:31:12,430
Now I'd like to tell you
about my...
678
00:31:12,497 --> 00:31:13,166
Okay.
I don't want to go to this.
679
00:31:13,232 --> 00:31:15,333
I think you should.
680
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:16,611
- Feather on the invite?
- You're right.
681
00:31:16,635 --> 00:31:17,678
What kind of classy event
is that going to be?
682
00:31:17,702 --> 00:31:20,239
I'm old now, you know?
683
00:31:20,305 --> 00:31:21,865
Chicks don't hold my hand
when I'm sad..
684
00:31:23,276 --> 00:31:23,943
Hey, what happened
on your date last night?
685
00:31:24,010 --> 00:31:25,544
Oh, um,
686
00:31:25,610 --> 00:31:26,645
didn't go great.
687
00:31:26,711 --> 00:31:27,813
What?
688
00:31:27,879 --> 00:31:29,057
- How is that possible?
- I don't know!
689
00:31:29,081 --> 00:31:31,383
He doesn't want a woman
with attitude?
690
00:31:31,449 --> 00:31:32,727
Yeah, well, that's...
What I would have said.
691
00:31:32,751 --> 00:31:33,685
What did you say?
692
00:31:33,752 --> 00:31:35,320
I just said thank you.
693
00:31:35,754 --> 00:31:37,290
Okay.
694
00:31:37,355 --> 00:31:38,824
The praying mantis
can't get it up
695
00:31:38,890 --> 00:31:41,027
until his head has been
gnawed off...
696
00:31:41,093 --> 00:31:42,128
Okay! hello dear.
697
00:31:42,195 --> 00:31:43,296
Yes? here's the deal.
698
00:31:43,361 --> 00:31:44,297
I'm not paying a lot of
attention to your
699
00:31:44,362 --> 00:31:46,731
"waste-lords" right now.
700
00:31:46,798 --> 00:31:48,267
- Oh, "wasteland".
- "Wasteland".
701
00:31:48,333 --> 00:31:49,202
Yeah, and that's a benefit
702
00:31:49,268 --> 00:31:50,444
for both of us, I think, right?
703
00:31:50,468 --> 00:31:52,871
I don't have to read
your gross stories.
704
00:31:52,939 --> 00:31:53,738
Mike gold sent me the outline...
705
00:31:53,805 --> 00:31:54,816
For "retroactive abortion".
706
00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:57,210
It was disgusting, to be frank.
707
00:31:57,276 --> 00:31:58,319
And then you don't have to
deal with me breathing down
708
00:31:58,343 --> 00:31:59,778
your neck. Does that make sense?
709
00:31:59,845 --> 00:32:01,080
- Yes, but...
- Great.
710
00:32:01,147 --> 00:32:02,991
So why don't we instate a policy
of benign neglect?
711
00:32:03,015 --> 00:32:04,783
Leave us alone.
712
00:32:04,850 --> 00:32:05,650
And don't make us
take you anymore seriously
713
00:32:05,717 --> 00:32:06,418
than we want to,
714
00:32:06,484 --> 00:32:08,854
and we'll get alone fine.
715
00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:09,921
Okay, if I can play de...
716
00:32:09,989 --> 00:32:11,690
You know what?
I will go to that.
717
00:32:11,756 --> 00:32:12,557
That's what I thought
718
00:32:12,624 --> 00:32:13,624
okay?
719
00:32:17,129 --> 00:32:18,173
Oh, del loved to push
the boundaries
720
00:32:18,197 --> 00:32:19,598
in a corporate environment.
721
00:32:20,866 --> 00:32:22,510
"Wasteland" is, there's
a sort of, special thing
722
00:32:22,534 --> 00:32:25,804
that's like, yes!
We've invaded...
723
00:32:27,539 --> 00:32:28,440
DC was the majors.
724
00:32:28,506 --> 00:32:30,876
It was one of the two biggies.
725
00:32:30,943 --> 00:32:31,944
DC and marvel.
726
00:32:33,012 --> 00:32:34,512
Del loved the idea of that.
727
00:32:35,948 --> 00:32:37,428
He wanted his influence
to spread out.
728
00:32:37,816 --> 00:32:39,517
He wanted the recognition
729
00:32:39,584 --> 00:32:40,886
that he knows his stuff.
730
00:32:42,355 --> 00:32:44,456
I think there's something
that continues
731
00:32:46,292 --> 00:32:48,493
when he went to second city.
732
00:32:53,065 --> 00:32:55,767
This is one of
Chicago's cultural institutions:
733
00:32:55,834 --> 00:32:57,602
The second city theatre.
734
00:32:57,937 --> 00:33:01,473
The inside of this place
is familiar to a lot of people
735
00:33:01,539 --> 00:33:03,441
who enjoy an evening of comedy.
736
00:33:03,808 --> 00:33:05,978
This bare stage
with its familiar chairs
737
00:33:06,045 --> 00:33:07,545
is a landmark
of American theatre.
738
00:33:09,081 --> 00:33:11,126
And through the years, it has
served as a training ground
739
00:33:11,150 --> 00:33:13,485
for many young, talented
performers
740
00:33:13,551 --> 00:33:14,551
on their way up.
741
00:33:16,956 --> 00:33:19,758
In 1973, second city
was the country's most
742
00:33:19,824 --> 00:33:21,394
famous comedy theater.
743
00:33:21,459 --> 00:33:24,763
And any fanboy can breathlessly
list the legendary comics
744
00:33:24,829 --> 00:33:25,630
that filled that stage.
745
00:33:25,697 --> 00:33:27,266
Ah! That's derry the honky!
746
00:33:27,333 --> 00:33:28,700
Harry the donkey?
747
00:33:30,269 --> 00:33:31,203
But a lesser known fact
748
00:33:31,270 --> 00:33:33,872
was that their director,
749
00:33:33,940 --> 00:33:35,050
like the goddamn
zelig of comedy,
750
00:33:35,074 --> 00:33:36,275
was del close.
751
00:33:36,342 --> 00:33:37,176
Where are we gonna take it...
752
00:33:37,243 --> 00:33:38,710
Yes, we're at the top, right?
753
00:33:38,777 --> 00:33:40,246
Lured by the possibility
754
00:33:40,313 --> 00:33:43,615
of finding a stage for his newly
discovered art form, Harold.
755
00:33:43,682 --> 00:33:46,551
Del agreed to direct the
theatre's scripted sketch shows
756
00:33:46,751 --> 00:33:48,553
but by night, he'd use
the theatre
757
00:33:48,620 --> 00:33:49,821
as his personal laboratory,
758
00:33:49,888 --> 00:33:52,857
developing the Harold
in underground workshops.
759
00:33:57,762 --> 00:33:58,863
Remember, we got style.
760
00:34:03,035 --> 00:34:04,569
Del spends his evenings
761
00:34:04,636 --> 00:34:06,604
at the Wells street
second city theater.
762
00:34:08,174 --> 00:34:09,614
He's doing what some call
impossible.
763
00:34:09,641 --> 00:34:11,609
Close runs a workshop
in improvisation.
764
00:34:23,189 --> 00:34:24,723
Del was the one voice
765
00:34:24,789 --> 00:34:26,029
in the wilderness which is like
766
00:34:26,058 --> 00:34:29,095
improv is a performance medium
in its own right.
767
00:34:29,161 --> 00:34:32,131
People will come just to see
comedy improvisation
768
00:34:32,198 --> 00:34:33,765
and it works by itself.
769
00:34:33,832 --> 00:34:36,701
It's not a means to anything
other than the thing.
770
00:34:37,003 --> 00:34:37,902
Although improvisation
771
00:34:37,970 --> 00:34:40,039
has been established as comedy
772
00:34:40,106 --> 00:34:42,540
close has a greater vision
for it.
773
00:34:55,054 --> 00:34:56,697
That was always
the problem with improvisation.
774
00:34:56,721 --> 00:34:57,990
You can't depend on it.
775
00:34:58,057 --> 00:35:00,592
You don't know if it's
going to be entertainment.
776
00:35:00,658 --> 00:35:01,793
It might just be
777
00:35:01,860 --> 00:35:05,064
oh, look at these people
shitting themselves.
778
00:35:05,131 --> 00:35:08,934
That's always
a distinct possibility.
779
00:35:09,201 --> 00:35:12,071
One of del's
fundamental comic exercises
780
00:35:12,138 --> 00:35:14,806
was "what's the worst thing
that could happen?"
781
00:35:15,007 --> 00:35:16,242
Now let's play with it.
782
00:35:16,308 --> 00:35:19,778
What's the impossibility?
Let's make it possible.
783
00:35:20,079 --> 00:35:22,680
And that's what del used to do
in his workshops.
784
00:35:39,999 --> 00:35:42,134
As an actor the Harold workshop
785
00:35:42,201 --> 00:35:43,735
was really
786
00:35:43,802 --> 00:35:45,938
this liberating force.
787
00:35:46,005 --> 00:35:48,840
And you never know
if it's going to tank
788
00:35:48,907 --> 00:35:50,742
or if it's going to work.
789
00:35:50,943 --> 00:35:52,777
That's what makes it so exciting.
790
00:36:00,119 --> 00:36:01,653
I used to sort of
get by on winking
791
00:36:01,719 --> 00:36:04,423
at the audience kind of
in my behavior,
792
00:36:04,490 --> 00:36:05,890
making like smart jokes.
793
00:36:07,493 --> 00:36:08,836
And del pulled me aside one day
after a show, and said,
794
00:36:08,860 --> 00:36:10,072
"some day you're going to
look in the mirror and say,
795
00:36:10,096 --> 00:36:12,897
'I'm so cute,
and I'm only 45 years old.'"
796
00:36:13,232 --> 00:36:15,733
and it sort of sobered me up,
you know?
797
00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:17,279
It taught me that, you know,
that there was more
798
00:36:17,303 --> 00:36:18,670
to just scoring
with the audience.
799
00:36:18,736 --> 00:36:20,973
It wasn't about
just getting a laugh.
800
00:36:28,514 --> 00:36:29,524
It was putting human nature
801
00:36:29,548 --> 00:36:30,983
up onstage to study it.
802
00:36:31,050 --> 00:36:32,690
To see why people do the shit
that they do
803
00:36:34,019 --> 00:36:35,297
to each other, to people
that you love,
804
00:36:35,321 --> 00:36:36,455
to people that you hate.
805
00:36:36,522 --> 00:36:38,190
Like why do we behave
the way that we do
806
00:36:38,257 --> 00:36:39,257
and exploring that.
807
00:36:53,172 --> 00:36:56,708
He came up with the line
"you have a light within you"
808
00:36:56,774 --> 00:36:57,775
"burn it out."
809
00:36:59,345 --> 00:37:00,745
To me it means, go for it
810
00:37:00,812 --> 00:37:05,717
until you get to the meat
of your soul,
811
00:37:05,783 --> 00:37:07,186
and the heart of your comedy,
812
00:37:07,253 --> 00:37:09,787
and if you fall off the stage,
813
00:37:11,823 --> 00:37:12,823
too bad!
814
00:37:20,499 --> 00:37:23,502
But, unfortunately,
not everybody was so
815
00:37:23,569 --> 00:37:26,172
excited about doing
long-form improvisation
816
00:37:26,238 --> 00:37:27,872
at second city.
817
00:37:29,542 --> 00:37:32,178
This was the source of dispute
between del and Bernie sahlins
818
00:37:32,244 --> 00:37:34,280
who was the long time producer
at second city.
819
00:37:34,947 --> 00:37:37,183
They want you to meet
the man who gave this place
820
00:37:37,249 --> 00:37:39,884
its start and who has been
the driving force
821
00:37:40,386 --> 00:37:41,786
behind it all the way.
822
00:37:44,889 --> 00:37:46,009
His name is Bernard sahlins,
823
00:37:47,792 --> 00:37:49,912
and he's owner, producer,
and sometimes director here.
824
00:37:51,363 --> 00:37:53,898
He is truly second city's
first citizen.
825
00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:57,069
Bernie sahlins
was not at all interested
826
00:37:57,136 --> 00:37:58,903
in doing
long-form improvisation.
827
00:37:59,104 --> 00:38:00,104
Uh why?
828
00:38:00,838 --> 00:38:02,078
They had a formula that worked.
829
00:38:03,309 --> 00:38:05,311
Bernie's formula was as follows:
830
00:38:05,377 --> 00:38:06,711
Drunken audience suggestions
831
00:38:06,778 --> 00:38:08,223
any fantasies at all,
whatever you would like to do.
832
00:38:08,247 --> 00:38:08,981
A whipped cream party.
833
00:38:09,048 --> 00:38:11,317
A whipped cream party.
834
00:38:12,884 --> 00:38:13,885
Plus backstage planning
835
00:38:13,953 --> 00:38:14,653
three-mile island,
836
00:38:14,719 --> 00:38:17,022
invasion of normandy,
837
00:38:17,089 --> 00:38:18,691
and Catherine the great,
hubba hubba.
838
00:38:18,756 --> 00:38:20,192
Plus
weeks and weeks of rehearsal
839
00:38:20,259 --> 00:38:21,193
rehearsal. Rehearsal.
840
00:38:21,260 --> 00:38:22,661
Rehearsal.
841
00:38:22,727 --> 00:38:24,129
Until all the mistakes
842
00:38:24,196 --> 00:38:26,966
and failed experiments
were buffed away,
843
00:38:27,032 --> 00:38:29,377
revealing a show that even the
boys from marketing could love.
844
00:38:29,401 --> 00:38:33,038
It was money,
we bring in regular audiences.
845
00:38:33,105 --> 00:38:34,273
What they did was very safe.
846
00:38:35,941 --> 00:38:36,575
Improvisation, especially,
in the early days
847
00:38:36,642 --> 00:38:37,642
was not safe.
848
00:38:42,780 --> 00:38:45,084
I had a fundamental
disagreement about the uses
849
00:38:45,150 --> 00:38:46,552
of improvisation.
850
00:38:46,619 --> 00:38:50,089
There are others, led by del,
that feel that the process
851
00:38:50,155 --> 00:38:52,091
itself had some
mysterious beauty.
852
00:38:52,424 --> 00:38:55,361
I think if you're going to see
improvisers,
853
00:38:55,427 --> 00:38:58,097
often enough, you'll see that
half of their audience
854
00:38:58,163 --> 00:39:00,099
are other improvisers.
855
00:39:00,165 --> 00:39:02,368
Sometimes it's brilliant,
and most of the time,
856
00:39:02,434 --> 00:39:05,371
by my lights,
it's not brilliant.
857
00:39:07,006 --> 00:39:08,149
I remember Bernie allowed del
858
00:39:08,173 --> 00:39:09,508
to run his workshops,
859
00:39:10,943 --> 00:39:13,023
but you're not going to
screw with the stage on that.
860
00:39:14,013 --> 00:39:16,093
The notion of improvisation
as a performance art form
861
00:39:17,016 --> 00:39:18,016
that's preposterous.
862
00:39:19,184 --> 00:39:20,918
The big no.
863
00:39:20,986 --> 00:39:23,989
Ten years later, during
the writing of "wasteland",
864
00:39:24,056 --> 00:39:25,056
it still stung.
865
00:39:26,392 --> 00:39:27,402
So del took his anger
toward all the bosses
866
00:39:27,426 --> 00:39:28,860
who had ever shut him down
867
00:39:28,926 --> 00:39:31,530
turned them into one,
vaguely anti-semitic.
868
00:39:31,597 --> 00:39:34,366
Bernie look-a-like,
and named him lash larue
869
00:39:34,433 --> 00:39:36,935
after a cowboy he worked for
in his teens.
870
00:39:39,371 --> 00:39:41,873
But like all del's creations,
871
00:39:41,940 --> 00:39:43,208
once brought into existence,
872
00:39:45,210 --> 00:39:47,112
they tend not to stay put.
873
00:39:47,513 --> 00:39:50,015
Well, howdy, shithead.
874
00:39:50,349 --> 00:39:51,626
Hear you're having trouble
with your boss.
875
00:39:51,650 --> 00:39:54,320
Lemme guess, he's a moron,
and you're a genius.
876
00:39:57,156 --> 00:39:58,657
He's not a bad guy.
877
00:39:58,724 --> 00:39:59,725
I like him.
878
00:39:59,792 --> 00:40:01,960
He's just, you know,
879
00:40:02,027 --> 00:40:04,196
greedy, and intrusive, and...
880
00:40:04,263 --> 00:40:05,731
It's his candy store.
881
00:40:05,798 --> 00:40:06,999
Lemme ask you something.
882
00:40:07,066 --> 00:40:09,401
And I know I'm just a big ol'
dumb fake cowboy,
883
00:40:09,468 --> 00:40:11,437
but what is your beef
with Bernie?
884
00:40:11,503 --> 00:40:14,173
I thought you guys just wanted
a couple of yuks.
885
00:40:14,239 --> 00:40:15,974
Well, to the general public
886
00:40:16,041 --> 00:40:17,676
it's a trivial little
disagreement.
887
00:40:17,743 --> 00:40:20,245
But to us, it's a great crisis
of artistic vision!
888
00:40:20,312 --> 00:40:23,315
Bernie's conception
of improvisation? Oh boy!
889
00:40:23,382 --> 00:40:25,951
True improvisation
demands your whole mind.
890
00:40:26,251 --> 00:40:27,986
We're not reproducing
human behavior!
891
00:40:28,053 --> 00:40:29,373
We're transforming it
so that it's
892
00:40:29,755 --> 00:40:31,123
meaning appears.
893
00:40:31,190 --> 00:40:32,691
Well, shit, hell's mouse.
894
00:40:32,758 --> 00:40:35,194
Hey Trisha? Can you
get a babysitter?
895
00:40:35,260 --> 00:40:37,696
Del close is putting on
one of his meaning shows.
896
00:40:37,763 --> 00:40:41,200
Uh, here we're going to see
human behavior transformed
897
00:40:41,266 --> 00:40:43,202
hey do we get a free diaper
with this show
898
00:40:43,268 --> 00:40:45,304
from when we shit our pants
cuz of all the meaning?
899
00:40:45,371 --> 00:40:49,274
Do me a favor? Just
pretend this isn't bullshit
900
00:40:52,010 --> 00:40:53,290
busting your chops,
buddy, rough.
901
00:40:53,579 --> 00:40:54,713
To del close.
902
00:40:55,447 --> 00:40:56,881
Worst employee.
903
00:40:56,949 --> 00:40:59,884
All that fancy talk, still can't
put on a show worth a shit.
904
00:41:01,453 --> 00:41:03,422
Goddammit!
905
00:41:05,923 --> 00:41:07,426
Tastes like
a lollipop's butthole.
906
00:41:12,897 --> 00:41:15,367
Bernie always thought
that del was crazy.
907
00:41:15,434 --> 00:41:18,737
To expect people to see shows
where wholly 100%
908
00:41:18,804 --> 00:41:19,705
improvised.
909
00:41:19,772 --> 00:41:21,206
The actors, on the other end,
910
00:41:21,273 --> 00:41:23,976
you know, most of them
loved improvisation,
911
00:41:24,042 --> 00:41:25,411
and doing it in a long-form.
912
00:41:25,477 --> 00:41:27,246
They can see it all paying off.
913
00:41:27,446 --> 00:41:28,814
Sister,
is this really necessary?
914
00:41:28,881 --> 00:41:31,483
I was told, I could just come in
and get some antibiotics.
915
00:41:31,550 --> 00:41:34,386
Oh really, you were just trying
to get some shots and pills?
916
00:41:34,453 --> 00:41:35,920
Oh really?
Well, who told you that?
917
00:41:37,322 --> 00:41:38,390
Just this guy...
918
00:41:38,457 --> 00:41:39,834
Just this guy?
I wanna know what guy.
919
00:41:39,858 --> 00:41:41,469
- You know, just a guy!
- No, I wanna know what guy
920
00:41:41,493 --> 00:41:42,493
told you that!
921
00:41:44,530 --> 00:41:47,132
This guy! He told me!
922
00:41:47,199 --> 00:41:49,368
It's the greatest
job any young actor can have
923
00:41:49,568 --> 00:41:51,346
cause there's no place like that
where you get to improvise.
924
00:41:51,370 --> 00:41:53,572
There's something about that
technique that makes you
925
00:41:53,639 --> 00:41:55,374
really like a sponge.
926
00:41:55,441 --> 00:41:57,561
You really do... you try to
absorb everything you can.
927
00:41:59,111 --> 00:42:00,622
I'd like you to
take a look at this picture
928
00:42:00,646 --> 00:42:01,646
and tell me...
929
00:42:02,448 --> 00:42:05,083
John belushi is a prime example
930
00:42:05,150 --> 00:42:06,150
of del's work.
931
00:42:07,152 --> 00:42:09,421
There was serious danger
on the stage.
932
00:42:10,856 --> 00:42:11,990
But it was hilarious.
933
00:42:12,057 --> 00:42:14,226
This fish comes from one
of the most polluted
934
00:42:14,293 --> 00:42:16,028
streams in the United States.
935
00:42:16,094 --> 00:42:18,130
That fish was actually
killed by pollution?
936
00:42:18,330 --> 00:42:20,466
Well, not directly, Tommy,
see the fish crawled out
937
00:42:20,532 --> 00:42:22,201
of the water and was hit
by a car.
938
00:42:23,869 --> 00:42:27,172
He's a very good example
of the kind of approach
939
00:42:27,239 --> 00:42:28,607
that del would expect.
940
00:42:28,674 --> 00:42:31,210
That quality of walking
the tightrope.
941
00:42:34,279 --> 00:42:35,547
And just when it seemed
942
00:42:35,614 --> 00:42:38,217
the power balance might be
tipping in del's favor
943
00:42:38,283 --> 00:42:41,453
live from New York,
it's Saturday night!
944
00:42:57,536 --> 00:42:59,137
The director can
945
00:43:00,239 --> 00:43:01,239
set the goals,
946
00:43:02,508 --> 00:43:05,477
work with the actors,
and train them to some extent
947
00:43:05,544 --> 00:43:06,544
okay?
948
00:43:07,379 --> 00:43:10,015
But then, when
push comes to shove.
949
00:43:11,216 --> 00:43:12,416
I'm the one who stayed behind.
950
00:43:14,219 --> 00:43:16,339
And we're ready to go on to
make films and television.
951
00:43:17,656 --> 00:43:20,292
Without his most
prized cast members,
952
00:43:20,359 --> 00:43:22,027
uncertainty took hold.
953
00:43:22,661 --> 00:43:24,196
What if the excitement
of the Harold
954
00:43:24,263 --> 00:43:26,265
had been more about
the brilliant talent
955
00:43:26,331 --> 00:43:27,599
than the form itself?
956
00:43:29,101 --> 00:43:31,603
What if the form itself,
god forbid
957
00:43:35,340 --> 00:43:36,575
fucking sucked?
958
00:43:41,747 --> 00:43:43,382
Satchel
959
00:43:44,483 --> 00:43:45,250
damn!
960
00:43:45,317 --> 00:43:46,986
General.
961
00:43:47,052 --> 00:43:48,492
It was a very
frustrating experience.
962
00:43:50,122 --> 00:43:51,842
Those were really years
of struggle for del.
963
00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:57,596
Well, he'd scream at people
or belittle them.
964
00:44:05,671 --> 00:44:07,306
Del would self-destruct,
965
00:44:07,372 --> 00:44:09,308
or od or disappear...
966
00:44:09,374 --> 00:44:10,374
All the time.
967
00:44:11,343 --> 00:44:13,211
I'm sorry, you know, like, uh...
968
00:44:14,379 --> 00:44:15,619
That's... am I ratting him out?
969
00:44:15,681 --> 00:44:17,115
- No!
- Is everyone...
970
00:44:17,182 --> 00:44:17,716
Everyone's ratting him out yes!
971
00:44:17,783 --> 00:44:18,783
Okay, good.
972
00:44:21,186 --> 00:44:22,430
The wheels were
coming off del's rebel act,
973
00:44:22,454 --> 00:44:24,856
and Bernie's Patience
had worn thin.
974
00:44:24,923 --> 00:44:28,427
He needed del, but he no longer
wanted to see, hear,
975
00:44:28,493 --> 00:44:29,661
or smell him.
976
00:44:33,565 --> 00:44:35,567
So he decided to export him.
977
00:44:36,635 --> 00:44:39,204
Canada, the endless surprise.
978
00:44:39,271 --> 00:44:43,508
♪ Magical, we want to see,
come on up ♪
979
00:44:44,743 --> 00:44:45,410
Come on up.
980
00:44:45,477 --> 00:44:47,512
♪ Come on up! ♪
981
00:44:55,253 --> 00:44:57,556
And so, del found
himself banished
982
00:44:57,623 --> 00:45:00,225
to second city's new Canadian
outpost
983
00:45:00,292 --> 00:45:01,627
to direct a group of unknowns.
984
00:45:01,693 --> 00:45:04,196
Okay, this is
the great white north
985
00:45:04,262 --> 00:45:05,564
okay, on the map.
986
00:45:05,631 --> 00:45:08,667
Now here is a different color
cuz it's like u.S.A.
987
00:45:08,734 --> 00:45:11,370
They got like a
pimple right here
988
00:45:11,436 --> 00:45:13,372
- it's Florida.
- It's Florida.
989
00:45:16,775 --> 00:45:18,310
Martin short was in that cast.
990
00:45:18,377 --> 00:45:22,280
Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin,
Dave Thomas, John candy.
991
00:45:23,515 --> 00:45:25,384
It was interesting...
The Toronto group
992
00:45:25,450 --> 00:45:26,685
versus second city in Chicago
993
00:45:26,752 --> 00:45:29,221
the behavior issues were
quite different, you know?
994
00:45:29,287 --> 00:45:30,567
Our cast started
having families.
995
00:45:30,622 --> 00:45:32,257
They were settled down.
996
00:45:32,324 --> 00:45:35,160
There wasn't outrageous issues
with drinking or drugs.
997
00:45:35,527 --> 00:45:37,763
And del, he was going through
a lot of stuff,
998
00:45:37,829 --> 00:45:39,297
you know, personally.
999
00:45:39,364 --> 00:45:42,467
I mean, he was well-documented
about his addictions.
1000
00:45:42,534 --> 00:45:44,569
So you never knew
which del was going to show up.
1001
00:45:46,405 --> 00:45:47,815
Had you heard
about del before Toronto?
1002
00:45:47,839 --> 00:45:48,839
Oh yeah!
1003
00:45:48,874 --> 00:45:50,085
He was infamous
before we saw him
1004
00:45:50,109 --> 00:45:52,210
they said, you know,
he's out of his mind.
1005
00:45:52,711 --> 00:45:55,014
He was a delicate basket of eggs
1006
00:45:55,081 --> 00:45:57,516
that were ready to break
at any moment.
1007
00:45:59,217 --> 00:46:01,520
He was definitely going through
his crazy period,
1008
00:46:01,586 --> 00:46:02,586
you know what I mean?
1009
00:46:54,873 --> 00:46:56,541
Del, del! Whoa, whoa!
1010
00:46:56,608 --> 00:46:58,577
Hey! Put that thing down, man!
1011
00:47:02,547 --> 00:47:04,449
Get a hold of yourself, dude!
1012
00:47:05,517 --> 00:47:07,619
Where ya going with this
comic book thing?
1013
00:47:07,686 --> 00:47:08,796
I mean, what happened to those
1014
00:47:08,820 --> 00:47:11,456
secrets of comedy
you were writing, huh?
1015
00:47:11,523 --> 00:47:13,759
Did ya drop them while you
were reaching for your bong?
1016
00:47:14,160 --> 00:47:15,160
Well...
1017
00:47:15,694 --> 00:47:17,796
It became decadent right away...
1018
00:47:23,668 --> 00:47:25,904
You gotta channel your follies
and stupidity
1019
00:47:25,972 --> 00:47:27,439
and use it for comedy.
1020
00:47:29,108 --> 00:47:31,610
A short time ago, the manager
was having trouble
1021
00:47:31,676 --> 00:47:32,911
with the same limousine.
1022
00:47:32,979 --> 00:47:34,080
He had a...
1023
00:47:34,147 --> 00:47:36,615
I have a hard time
being a person too.
1024
00:47:37,482 --> 00:47:38,483
No shit, del!
1025
00:47:39,185 --> 00:47:41,620
No shit...
1026
00:47:46,591 --> 00:47:48,161
So one of the early nights,
1027
00:47:48,227 --> 00:47:51,363
when del had come,
we were doing workshops
1028
00:47:51,429 --> 00:47:52,429
he said,
1029
00:47:53,365 --> 00:47:54,866
and he gets up on stage,
takes over.
1030
00:48:01,207 --> 00:48:02,507
Now this was a story del had
1031
00:48:02,574 --> 00:48:06,411
had already told us that this
was how his father died.
1032
00:48:18,557 --> 00:48:19,758
So...
1033
00:48:19,825 --> 00:48:21,536
Okay, we're going
to do a scene now, Dave, where
1034
00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:25,664
you will play the doctor
that comes and tells me
1035
00:48:25,864 --> 00:48:28,900
that my father died
from drinking sulfuric acid.
1036
00:48:29,734 --> 00:48:31,503
I looked at him, and said,
1037
00:48:31,570 --> 00:48:32,838
I'm not doing that.
1038
00:48:34,706 --> 00:48:36,741
That's not a good joke.
1039
00:48:38,244 --> 00:48:40,745
I think del was always
interested in making
1040
00:48:40,812 --> 00:48:42,347
the audience gasp,
1041
00:48:42,414 --> 00:48:44,449
and that would be equivalent
to a laugh.
1042
00:48:44,649 --> 00:48:45,917
Which I never believed.
1043
00:48:46,751 --> 00:48:48,353
They wanted to laugh.
1044
00:48:48,420 --> 00:48:49,597
You have a responsibility
to that audience.
1045
00:48:49,621 --> 00:48:52,624
And without them,
you got nothing, you know?
1046
00:48:52,824 --> 00:48:55,493
You're a... you're a madman
on a street corner,
1047
00:48:55,760 --> 00:48:58,496
you know, raving at passers-by.
1048
00:48:58,763 --> 00:49:01,366
And he was a madman,
there's no denying that.
1049
00:49:12,577 --> 00:49:13,577
It got worse.
1050
00:49:17,016 --> 00:49:19,551
Iconic actor,
John belushi, died today
1051
00:49:19,618 --> 00:49:22,487
at the rented hotel bungalow
in Hollywood Hills.
1052
00:49:22,554 --> 00:49:23,966
Authorities say that
cause of death is believed
1053
00:49:23,990 --> 00:49:25,790
to have been a heart attack.
1054
00:49:25,857 --> 00:49:28,827
Fire department medics say
they were called to the hotel
1055
00:49:29,028 --> 00:49:30,762
where they found belushi
unconscious...
1056
00:49:40,672 --> 00:49:43,708
One evening, we heard
del's booming voice
1057
00:49:43,909 --> 00:49:45,710
and he had a real booming voice,
1058
00:49:45,777 --> 00:49:48,480
screaming,
in the little alleyway
1059
00:49:48,546 --> 00:49:50,283
behind the theater.
1060
00:49:50,349 --> 00:49:51,883
It was probably
ten degrees above zero.
1061
00:49:51,951 --> 00:49:55,553
He walks in his stocking feet,
all the way down Jarvis street.
1062
00:49:55,620 --> 00:49:56,755
And he came backstage
1063
00:49:56,821 --> 00:49:59,457
by this time, we see Andrew
backing up.
1064
00:50:00,326 --> 00:50:02,962
And del moving at him,
trying to punch him.
1065
00:50:03,162 --> 00:50:05,630
And he started
throwing punches at me,
1066
00:50:05,965 --> 00:50:08,433
and then John candy
got inbetween us.
1067
00:50:10,602 --> 00:50:11,404
And he's so big
that del can't reach over him
1068
00:50:11,469 --> 00:50:13,973
punching Andrew,
1069
00:50:14,040 --> 00:50:15,520
and Marty gets up
'cause he hated del,
1070
00:50:15,573 --> 00:50:16,375
and sanctimoniously
closes the door
1071
00:50:16,441 --> 00:50:18,443
like we don't need to see this.
1072
00:50:20,246 --> 00:50:21,957
Del was screaming about how
Andrew had betrayed him.
1073
00:50:21,981 --> 00:50:23,015
"You demon!"
1074
00:50:23,082 --> 00:50:24,649
"You Judas!"
1075
00:50:24,716 --> 00:50:25,994
And then there was
a bit of a pause,
1076
00:50:26,018 --> 00:50:27,018
"you cheeser!"
1077
00:50:27,886 --> 00:50:29,788
He yelled out, "you cheeser!"
1078
00:50:29,854 --> 00:50:31,157
He ran out of ammo
1079
00:50:31,223 --> 00:50:34,060
at sort of the demonic level
of things to describe
1080
00:50:34,126 --> 00:50:35,660
Andrew as, and
1081
00:50:35,860 --> 00:50:37,595
tripled out with "cheeser".
1082
00:50:37,662 --> 00:50:38,998
So that's our show for today.
1083
00:50:39,764 --> 00:50:40,832
So good day.
1084
00:50:42,467 --> 00:50:44,146
To me, it was just like,
he's fucking nuts.
1085
00:50:44,170 --> 00:50:46,638
We gotta get him on a plane
as fast as we can,
1086
00:50:48,140 --> 00:50:49,684
so that he's no longer
our responsibility.
1087
00:50:49,708 --> 00:50:52,544
Bernie and Joyce Sloan
met him at the airport,
1088
00:50:52,610 --> 00:50:53,980
took him straight to
1089
00:50:54,879 --> 00:50:57,582
some psychiatric ward,
and he was
1090
00:50:57,782 --> 00:50:59,584
an inpatient there for awhile.
1091
00:51:26,878 --> 00:51:28,981
He checked himself
into cook county
1092
00:51:29,048 --> 00:51:30,349
a psychiatric wing.
1093
00:51:33,685 --> 00:51:35,563
You know, he was sort of still
being very active,
1094
00:51:35,587 --> 00:51:38,857
as if he was still directing
the show from the psych ward.
1095
00:51:39,091 --> 00:51:41,793
And he would call in,
and he'd throw out ideas.
1096
00:51:41,860 --> 00:51:43,728
With the hope that he was going
to come back
1097
00:51:43,795 --> 00:51:46,132
and finish the show off,
which he didn't.
1098
00:51:48,067 --> 00:51:50,869
Bernie kept del
around for the next few years
1099
00:51:51,070 --> 00:51:53,738
but his addictions and combative
nature eventually
1100
00:51:53,805 --> 00:51:55,540
got him fired for good.
1101
00:51:57,143 --> 00:51:58,810
So without a stage,
or coherent creator,
1102
00:51:58,877 --> 00:52:01,147
the art form called "Harold"
reached a dead end.
1103
00:52:25,104 --> 00:52:26,704
People like to talk
about the beauty
1104
00:52:26,771 --> 00:52:28,340
of the creative process.
1105
00:52:28,407 --> 00:52:30,842
They compare it to
the depths of the ocean,
1106
00:52:31,043 --> 00:52:32,844
or a gently flowing river.
1107
00:52:35,548 --> 00:52:37,049
But if you really
need a metaphor
1108
00:52:37,116 --> 00:52:38,636
here's the one del
kept coming back to:
1109
00:52:41,253 --> 00:52:42,253
It's a sewer.
1110
00:52:46,724 --> 00:52:48,127
The thing about horror stories
1111
00:52:48,194 --> 00:52:51,997
they usually take you into
a dark place,
1112
00:52:52,730 --> 00:52:54,699
and then they would take you
back out again.
1113
00:52:55,000 --> 00:52:56,035
We didn't do that.
1114
00:52:57,303 --> 00:52:59,604
We'd take you to a dark place,
and then say bye,
1115
00:52:59,804 --> 00:53:00,872
and leave you there.
1116
00:53:03,875 --> 00:53:05,195
We wouldn't tell you
how something
1117
00:53:06,678 --> 00:53:08,078
ended somtimes.
We wouldn't tell you
1118
00:53:08,414 --> 00:53:09,414
how to feel about it.
1119
00:53:10,715 --> 00:53:11,850
And so...
1120
00:53:13,352 --> 00:53:15,032
Most of our readership
didn't quite get it.
1121
00:53:17,156 --> 00:53:19,158
Oh, this is the one,
this letter.
1122
00:53:19,858 --> 00:53:20,960
Dear Mr. Close,
1123
00:53:21,026 --> 00:53:22,228
what is the point?
1124
00:53:22,294 --> 00:53:24,230
Am I interested in what
del close puts down
1125
00:53:24,296 --> 00:53:25,663
his underwear?
1126
00:53:25,730 --> 00:53:27,170
To be honest,
I couldn't give a toss.
1127
00:53:27,199 --> 00:53:31,103
You are a boring old hippie,
and I claim my five pounds.
1128
00:53:33,005 --> 00:53:34,249
He didn't say anything about me.
1129
00:53:34,273 --> 00:53:36,808
Exposes a middle-age neurotic
with no ideas.
1130
00:53:38,611 --> 00:53:40,745
Trying to reinvent everything
1131
00:53:40,812 --> 00:53:41,812
every eight pages,
1132
00:53:42,982 --> 00:53:44,542
every twelve issues
gets a little tough.
1133
00:53:45,451 --> 00:53:46,794
At that point,
it was a question of
1134
00:53:46,818 --> 00:53:48,187
do we keep on
writing the stories?
1135
00:53:49,588 --> 00:53:50,722
The question is this...
1136
00:53:50,788 --> 00:53:52,508
How do we achieve the goals
we have in mind?
1137
00:53:53,058 --> 00:53:55,927
Huh? I have to toss a few coins,
1138
00:53:56,195 --> 00:53:58,964
and write a bunch of lines
on a blackboard.
1139
00:53:59,031 --> 00:54:00,065
Okay, I, uh,
1140
00:54:00,132 --> 00:54:01,866
I think I'm going to
excuse myself
1141
00:54:01,934 --> 00:54:03,768
hold that.
1142
00:54:12,677 --> 00:54:14,313
What is it?
1143
00:54:14,380 --> 00:54:15,557
This hexagram
looks like a breakthrough.
1144
00:54:15,581 --> 00:54:17,782
As a swollen river
breaks through its dykes,
1145
00:54:17,849 --> 00:54:20,252
this refers to a time when
inferior people
1146
00:54:20,885 --> 00:54:22,521
will gradually
begin to disappear.
1147
00:54:22,588 --> 00:54:23,422
Oh.
1148
00:54:23,489 --> 00:54:24,649
Your influence is on the way.
1149
00:54:26,091 --> 00:54:29,061
Won't be easy.
1150
00:54:29,128 --> 00:54:30,895
I think we're
on the right track.
1151
00:54:36,402 --> 00:54:37,869
One thing about del was
1152
00:54:37,937 --> 00:54:41,873
he found rock bottom an oldly
inspiring place to be.
1153
00:54:43,042 --> 00:54:44,210
And he wasn't alone.
1154
00:54:45,910 --> 00:54:47,779
They'd been doing
comedy at college,
1155
00:54:49,248 --> 00:54:50,528
on the radio
and some live shows.
1156
00:54:51,250 --> 00:54:52,961
And I thought, maybe,
I can do this for a living.
1157
00:54:52,985 --> 00:54:55,853
The only place I knew where
people were doing it
1158
00:54:55,920 --> 00:54:57,456
was second city, and I thought,
1159
00:54:57,523 --> 00:54:58,934
I would go, just see
what happens there,
1160
00:54:58,958 --> 00:55:01,926
under the guise of doing
a news report
1161
00:55:01,994 --> 00:55:04,029
for my college radio station.
1162
00:55:05,698 --> 00:55:08,000
I called and got an interview
with Joyce Sloane,
1163
00:55:08,067 --> 00:55:10,135
the denmother of second city.
1164
00:55:10,336 --> 00:55:13,339
She told me a lot of, sort of,
magical, legend stories
1165
00:55:13,405 --> 00:55:16,141
about the actors who
had been on the stage there.
1166
00:55:16,408 --> 00:55:19,178
John belushi, he came
to our door and he knocked,
1167
00:55:19,245 --> 00:55:21,313
and he said, "I want to get
on that stage", and we
1168
00:55:21,879 --> 00:55:24,749
looked at him, and said,
"you get up there, mister!"
1169
00:55:25,284 --> 00:55:28,786
I think Joyce wanted to tell me
the legend, you know?
1170
00:55:29,121 --> 00:55:30,922
But I think, what
she didn't realize
1171
00:55:30,990 --> 00:55:32,924
was what I wanted to hear was,
1172
00:55:32,992 --> 00:55:33,993
you know,
1173
00:55:34,059 --> 00:55:35,594
"they sucked
when we first saw them",
1174
00:55:35,661 --> 00:55:38,397
"they were terrible", and then,
"they worked really really hard
1175
00:55:38,464 --> 00:55:39,464
for a long time,
1176
00:55:40,232 --> 00:55:41,392
and they slowly got better...
1177
00:55:43,135 --> 00:55:44,655
You know? That's what I wanted
to hear.
1178
00:55:45,938 --> 00:55:48,040
And I walked out thinking,
I can't do this
1179
00:55:48,107 --> 00:55:50,309
'cause I'm just not that great.
1180
00:55:58,684 --> 00:56:00,462
I walked down the street
to Barbara's bookstore,
1181
00:56:00,486 --> 00:56:02,154
and this guy walks in,
1182
00:56:02,221 --> 00:56:04,856
and he's talking to the girl
at the, um,
1183
00:56:05,057 --> 00:56:07,026
desk, and she's calling him del.
1184
00:56:07,326 --> 00:56:08,836
I didn't know
what del close looked like,
1185
00:56:08,860 --> 00:56:12,864
but I'd seen his name
in the program of second city.
1186
00:56:13,432 --> 00:56:14,600
I walk over, I go,
1187
00:56:14,667 --> 00:56:17,069
"are you del close?",
and he goes, "yeah."
1188
00:56:17,136 --> 00:56:19,804
And I go, "well, I just
interviewed Joyce Sloan,
1189
00:56:20,072 --> 00:56:24,176
I'm here, can I interview you
about second city and stuff?"
1190
00:56:24,443 --> 00:56:26,911
And he said, "that's great!
I'd love to."
1191
00:56:27,313 --> 00:56:29,881
And he explained that he had
just quit second city
1192
00:56:29,948 --> 00:56:31,116
the day before,
1193
00:56:32,884 --> 00:56:33,686
and he had just quit cocaine,
I think, a few weeks before,
1194
00:56:33,752 --> 00:56:37,222
and he's changing his life now,
1195
00:56:37,423 --> 00:56:40,025
and he would love
to talk about that.
1196
00:56:40,459 --> 00:56:42,127
One, two, test, test.
1197
00:56:42,361 --> 00:56:43,861
Okay, um, Bob odenkirk here.
1198
00:56:45,964 --> 00:56:47,666
Got some really
important questions here.
1199
00:56:47,733 --> 00:56:50,369
So we walk over
to his little apartment
1200
00:56:50,436 --> 00:56:51,980
across from second city,
and at the time,
1201
00:56:52,004 --> 00:56:53,972
they had a window
that was busted out.
1202
00:57:02,081 --> 00:57:03,949
And this is February,
in Chicago.
1203
00:57:04,149 --> 00:57:06,952
So, the fucking, freezing
1204
00:57:07,152 --> 00:57:11,123
cold wind blowing
in that little... that window
1205
00:57:11,190 --> 00:57:12,857
the whole time
we're sitting there.
1206
00:57:19,965 --> 00:57:22,000
He had stopped hard drugs.
1207
00:57:22,067 --> 00:57:23,868
He had stopped coke and heroine.
1208
00:57:24,536 --> 00:57:28,340
He went to this coven,
this witch gathering.
1209
00:57:29,174 --> 00:57:30,875
'Cause he was a witch, you know?
1210
00:57:32,778 --> 00:57:35,059
And he did a ceremony to get
rid of his cocaine addiction,
1211
00:57:35,547 --> 00:57:36,881
which he said worked.
1212
00:57:38,550 --> 00:57:40,870
I mean, I don't know that stuff,
I'm a kid from naperville.
1213
00:57:41,520 --> 00:57:44,523
But if he says he quite coke,
and he did it by going to
1214
00:57:44,590 --> 00:57:46,091
a witch ceremony
1215
00:57:46,158 --> 00:57:47,892
then I believe him.
1216
00:57:55,134 --> 00:57:57,102
The crazy thing is that
1217
00:57:57,169 --> 00:57:59,037
I walked out of del's place
1218
00:58:00,038 --> 00:58:04,243
so excited about doing comedy
1219
00:58:04,309 --> 00:58:07,279
and being in show business.
1220
00:58:08,180 --> 00:58:11,083
And it was not through
any overt effort
1221
00:58:11,150 --> 00:58:12,818
though, I promise you.
1222
00:58:12,885 --> 00:58:14,529
He didn't sit around and go,
you should do this!
1223
00:58:14,553 --> 00:58:17,022
I mean, he was just talking
about his life.
1224
00:58:18,791 --> 00:58:20,502
Talking about all these
things he was dealing with
1225
00:58:20,526 --> 00:58:23,295
personally and professionally,
and it made it seem real.
1226
00:58:23,362 --> 00:58:27,065
It made it seem possible,
and it made it seem amazing.
1227
00:58:27,132 --> 00:58:32,004
But also I wouldn't put it
past myself for thinking,
1228
00:58:32,070 --> 00:58:34,339
if he can do all he did
1229
00:58:34,540 --> 00:58:38,076
and still have his brain intact,
1230
00:58:38,610 --> 00:58:42,548
imagine what I could do if I'm
not doing cocaine or heroin.
1231
00:58:43,582 --> 00:58:47,052
You know, I might even
have some money left over
1232
00:58:47,119 --> 00:58:48,320
to fix the window.
1233
00:58:50,322 --> 00:58:51,523
Well, I'll end this for you.
1234
00:58:51,590 --> 00:58:54,126
No, no, no I wanna...
1235
00:58:55,494 --> 00:58:58,297
Window or no window,
del was ready to get back
1236
00:58:58,363 --> 00:58:59,531
to work on the "Harold".
1237
00:59:00,265 --> 00:59:02,301
But where to begin?
1238
00:59:03,235 --> 00:59:04,235
Hello!
1239
00:59:05,404 --> 00:59:06,672
I was an improviser
1240
00:59:06,738 --> 00:59:09,308
that was desperate
to learn more.
1241
00:59:09,541 --> 00:59:12,244
I was bored. I felt like it
was the same old jokes.
1242
00:59:12,311 --> 00:59:13,345
The same old tricks.
1243
00:59:14,813 --> 00:59:17,382
And so I sought out del, because
I wanted to see if there was
1244
00:59:17,449 --> 00:59:18,729
something I could steal
from him.
1245
00:59:21,119 --> 00:59:24,056
My first meeting with del
was a disaster.
1246
00:59:24,456 --> 00:59:27,125
It was Halloween. I saw him
at an art gallery,
1247
00:59:27,192 --> 00:59:29,261
and I went with the plan
that I would talk to him
1248
00:59:29,328 --> 00:59:30,872
and see if I could get
him to teach a class.
1249
00:59:30,896 --> 00:59:32,631
And he was wearing
these witches' robes,
1250
00:59:32,698 --> 00:59:36,235
and he was invoking demons,
and doing this very scary
1251
00:59:36,301 --> 00:59:37,836
invocation of gods.
1252
00:59:39,404 --> 00:59:41,044
And I went up to him
afterwards, and said,
1253
00:59:41,073 --> 00:59:43,475
"you have a lot of nerve
for invoking demons
1254
00:59:43,542 --> 00:59:45,344
with all these people
in the room."
1255
00:59:45,410 --> 00:59:47,422
And he said, "I protected the
building", and I was like,
1256
00:59:47,446 --> 00:59:51,149
and I just walked out in a huff,
and then I was like "oh god."
1257
00:59:51,350 --> 00:59:54,419
There was your meeting with
del close and look what you did
1258
00:59:54,653 --> 00:59:58,590
then a couple weeks later there
was del, sitting in the theater.
1259
00:59:59,358 --> 01:00:00,960
And I thought, well,
I had heard rumors
1260
01:00:01,026 --> 01:00:01,827
that he was always high,
and that he doesn't
1261
01:00:01,894 --> 01:00:03,428
remember people.
1262
01:00:05,030 --> 01:00:06,441
I figured, he's not going to
remember me.
1263
01:00:06,465 --> 01:00:08,176
So I said, "hey, how'd you like
to make two hundred bucks
1264
01:00:08,200 --> 01:00:09,200
in pot?"
1265
01:00:10,369 --> 01:00:12,037
And he was like, "hm,
what do I gotta do?"
1266
01:00:13,338 --> 01:00:15,173
And I said, "just teach one
three hour class",
1267
01:00:15,240 --> 01:00:16,240
and he was like,
1268
01:00:16,842 --> 01:00:18,143
"can I do anything I want?"
1269
01:00:18,210 --> 01:00:21,213
And I said, "yeah," and he said,
"can I invoke demons?"
1270
01:00:22,915 --> 01:00:24,692
So he taught a class,
and he revealed the secrets
1271
01:00:24,716 --> 01:00:26,485
of the universe to us.
1272
01:00:26,552 --> 01:00:28,029
And we talked, and I said,
"I just feel like there's
1273
01:00:28,053 --> 01:00:30,222
something more for
improvisation."
1274
01:00:30,289 --> 01:00:31,289
And he said, "well,
1275
01:00:32,257 --> 01:00:33,668
perhaps you're not a twit
after all."
1276
01:00:33,692 --> 01:00:34,970
And then he told me, he had
been working on this thing
1277
01:00:34,994 --> 01:00:37,162
since the 60s when he was
directing the committee
1278
01:00:37,229 --> 01:00:38,497
called Harold.
1279
01:00:38,564 --> 01:00:39,909
Which was basically unteachable
and unplayable,
1280
01:00:39,933 --> 01:00:42,634
but if I would like to shut down
my little game theater
1281
01:00:42,701 --> 01:00:44,636
perhaps we could find a way
to make it work
1282
01:00:44,836 --> 01:00:47,472
and change the face
of improvisational comedy,
1283
01:00:47,539 --> 01:00:48,907
and I said, "yes please!"
1284
01:00:58,750 --> 01:01:00,152
Here's the funny thing
about del.
1285
01:01:00,218 --> 01:01:04,423
I mean, he was like this legend,
he was definitely brilliant.
1286
01:01:05,691 --> 01:01:08,627
But he could also be a little
bit of a baby sometimes.
1287
01:01:08,694 --> 01:01:11,697
And after the end of his run
at second city,
1288
01:01:11,763 --> 01:01:14,433
there was still a serious
argument going on
1289
01:01:14,499 --> 01:01:17,669
about... is improv
even a performance
1290
01:01:17,736 --> 01:01:18,736
uh, form?
1291
01:01:20,272 --> 01:01:22,112
It wasn't a polished,
regular second city show.
1292
01:01:22,507 --> 01:01:24,309
It was a road to nowhere.
1293
01:01:24,810 --> 01:01:27,512
The only thing you could get
out of improv at that time
1294
01:01:27,579 --> 01:01:30,115
was to get better
at doing improv.
1295
01:01:31,017 --> 01:01:32,517
I think he worried
that he was wrong,
1296
01:01:32,584 --> 01:01:37,222
and maybe a big group of people
onstage just making stuff up
1297
01:01:37,656 --> 01:01:39,725
really is a trainwreck.
1298
01:01:40,659 --> 01:01:44,196
Like, the thing is that
second city worked for awhile.
1299
01:01:44,396 --> 01:01:45,664
Was it an accident, you know?
1300
01:01:46,431 --> 01:01:47,599
Did it just happen?
1301
01:01:49,167 --> 01:01:51,737
It's easy to question
the validity of your art form.
1302
01:01:51,803 --> 01:01:54,573
If it only works when
bill Murray and gilda radner
1303
01:01:54,640 --> 01:01:55,640
do it.
1304
01:01:56,943 --> 01:01:58,586
Charna saw that the real proof
of the Harold would be
1305
01:01:58,610 --> 01:01:59,610
if it was teachable.
1306
01:02:00,612 --> 01:02:02,081
We thought, okay,
1307
01:02:02,147 --> 01:02:03,049
we really have to find a way
to train anyone
1308
01:02:03,116 --> 01:02:04,416
that comes through the doors.
1309
01:02:06,052 --> 01:02:08,292
You know, I said to him,
"I'm asking you to just listen,"
1310
01:02:08,453 --> 01:02:10,489
and collaborate,
and work together,
1311
01:02:10,555 --> 01:02:11,857
and I'm going to take you idea,
1312
01:02:11,923 --> 01:02:13,525
"and I'm gonna
make it brilliant."
1313
01:02:14,493 --> 01:02:15,761
He just trusted me, and
1314
01:02:16,495 --> 01:02:17,729
opened up and let it in.
1315
01:02:22,601 --> 01:02:24,703
Charna really believed in del,
1316
01:02:25,570 --> 01:02:28,173
but she saw that you need a form
1317
01:02:28,540 --> 01:02:32,577
for groups of people to use
as a guide rail onstage,
1318
01:02:32,844 --> 01:02:35,514
so it doesn't turn
into a giant mess.
1319
01:02:37,649 --> 01:02:39,317
And that was when it hooked.
1320
01:02:41,020 --> 01:02:43,388
That was when they cracked
this form called
1321
01:02:43,455 --> 01:02:44,623
"the teaching Harold".
1322
01:02:44,690 --> 01:02:46,101
Yeah, you could probably
use graphics if you need,
1323
01:02:46,125 --> 01:02:46,725
- we are going to...
- You could show... yeah, yeah,
1324
01:02:46,792 --> 01:02:47,792
perfect!
1325
01:02:50,295 --> 01:02:52,597
All of this starts
with a one-word suggestion.
1326
01:02:52,664 --> 01:02:54,633
Okay, we need a theme
1327
01:02:54,700 --> 01:02:56,601
something meaty
we can tear apart.
1328
01:02:58,270 --> 01:02:58,870
We get one
suggestion from the audience
1329
01:02:58,938 --> 01:02:59,504
like
1330
01:02:59,571 --> 01:03:01,707
god or cardboard.
1331
01:03:03,408 --> 01:03:04,920
We're not going to do a full,
long improvisation about
1332
01:03:04,944 --> 01:03:05,777
god or cardboard; We're going
to use this suggestion
1333
01:03:05,844 --> 01:03:08,246
to be inspired by.
1334
01:03:08,313 --> 01:03:09,781
You sort of toss around ideas
1335
01:03:09,848 --> 01:03:13,418
whether it's in monologue, or
word association, or whatever.
1336
01:03:13,485 --> 01:03:16,288
And now those were our blocks
from which we could build.
1337
01:03:16,488 --> 01:03:19,058
That is going to give
information for the first scene
1338
01:03:19,125 --> 01:03:20,292
that you go into.
1339
01:03:20,358 --> 01:03:21,937
Then you'd break off
and do two-person scenes.
1340
01:03:21,961 --> 01:03:22,761
Scene one, scene two,
scene three.
1341
01:03:22,828 --> 01:03:25,297
Then what you do is you
1342
01:03:25,363 --> 01:03:27,265
bring each of these scenes back.
1343
01:03:27,499 --> 01:03:29,068
And the scenes can progress.
1344
01:03:29,135 --> 01:03:31,403
Same characters, different time.
1345
01:03:31,470 --> 01:03:32,904
In the past or in the future.
1346
01:03:32,972 --> 01:03:34,412
And the next step of the
three scenes
1347
01:03:34,473 --> 01:03:36,908
that we invented
first time around.
1348
01:03:36,976 --> 01:03:37,843
And then you have a third beat,
1349
01:03:37,909 --> 01:03:39,411
third set of scenes.
1350
01:03:39,478 --> 01:03:41,913
And it all harkens
back to the original suggestion
1351
01:03:41,981 --> 01:03:43,448
and by this time, the scenes
1352
01:03:43,515 --> 01:03:45,393
are beginning to interrelate,
to be affected by each other,
1353
01:03:45,417 --> 01:03:46,685
to mirror each other, to rhyme
1354
01:03:48,087 --> 01:03:49,263
with each other in some sort
of mad, conceptual way.
1355
01:03:49,287 --> 01:03:51,690
And the goal was not to tie
it up all neatly
1356
01:03:51,757 --> 01:03:54,326
but just to see how
some of these things
1357
01:03:54,392 --> 01:03:56,528
all along had been related.
1358
01:03:56,762 --> 01:03:58,563
You see amazing moments
of discovery,
1359
01:03:58,630 --> 01:04:01,433
moments of connection where
the group brain really does
1360
01:04:01,500 --> 01:04:02,534
start functioning.
1361
01:04:04,203 --> 01:04:05,071
Yeah, you're looking
for discoveries.
1362
01:04:05,138 --> 01:04:06,471
That's the juice of the Harold.
1363
01:04:06,538 --> 01:04:10,475
And that's why our audience
is so much on our side.
1364
01:04:10,542 --> 01:04:11,743
The audience is with you.
1365
01:04:11,810 --> 01:04:13,188
They're seeing that you don't
have a script.
1366
01:04:13,212 --> 01:04:16,381
They're seeing that you're
looking for the discovery,
1367
01:04:16,448 --> 01:04:17,649
so when you find it,
1368
01:04:17,849 --> 01:04:19,618
and it's really good,
they cheer.
1369
01:04:22,387 --> 01:04:23,722
There was a distinction made
1370
01:04:23,789 --> 01:04:25,829
at the very beginning:
We're not looking for laughs.
1371
01:04:27,260 --> 01:04:28,620
We're looking for cheers
and roars.
1372
01:04:29,828 --> 01:04:31,630
With the teaching Harold
suddenly the
1373
01:04:31,696 --> 01:04:34,733
idealistic dream
became a reality.
1374
01:04:36,902 --> 01:04:39,604
And finally, almost twenty years
1375
01:04:39,671 --> 01:04:41,439
after del first glimpsed it,
1376
01:04:41,673 --> 01:04:43,675
Harold actually worked.
1377
01:05:13,306 --> 01:05:15,707
Wowee, Harriet, wowee!
1378
01:05:15,774 --> 01:05:17,876
I'm the happiest
fellow on campus!
1379
01:05:18,610 --> 01:05:20,579
♪ Howie ♪
1380
01:05:20,645 --> 01:05:22,114
I loved him.
He was just the best.
1381
01:05:22,181 --> 01:05:24,349
He was always doing
something cute.
1382
01:05:24,649 --> 01:05:25,717
He was in "the blob".
1383
01:05:25,784 --> 01:05:27,119
When we were
at the movie theater,
1384
01:05:27,186 --> 01:05:28,496
I guess the director had given
him some of the tentacles
1385
01:05:28,520 --> 01:05:30,655
from the movie when it was done
being shooting,
1386
01:05:30,722 --> 01:05:31,722
and he never told me.
1387
01:05:33,059 --> 01:05:34,826
There was this one scene
where she was
1388
01:05:34,893 --> 01:05:35,794
climbing down the man hole,
and the blob reaches down
1389
01:05:35,861 --> 01:05:37,021
and starts touching her head.
1390
01:05:38,430 --> 01:05:39,640
As it's happening,
he slowly starts
1391
01:05:39,664 --> 01:05:41,076
sliding the tentacles
down my face, and I
1392
01:05:41,100 --> 01:05:44,971
scream so loud, you know,
and I'm seeing the tentacles
1393
01:05:45,503 --> 01:05:47,539
um, so, oh he was so romantic.
1394
01:05:48,707 --> 01:05:50,408
♪ And when we dance ♪
1395
01:05:51,810 --> 01:05:53,645
We knew that
we couldn't be lovers
1396
01:05:53,712 --> 01:05:56,481
because he felt that I would be
grossed out
1397
01:05:56,815 --> 01:05:57,916
or he would kill me,
1398
01:05:59,318 --> 01:06:01,620
one or the other, so we decided
just to be family.
1399
01:06:01,686 --> 01:06:03,956
♪ We'll do the sock hop ♪
1400
01:06:04,023 --> 01:06:05,958
And that's when the
art form spread
1401
01:06:06,025 --> 01:06:07,226
like wildfire.
1402
01:06:11,931 --> 01:06:14,633
Charna was his anchor,
was his rock, you know,
1403
01:06:14,699 --> 01:06:16,401
she permitted him to
1404
01:06:17,970 --> 01:06:20,370
to live, and made sure he could
live the life that he wanted.
1405
01:06:21,274 --> 01:06:23,474
She convinced him to go back
to the first rule of improv
1406
01:06:23,608 --> 01:06:24,709
and say yes.
1407
01:06:25,945 --> 01:06:27,705
You know, open your eyes,
and open your mind.
1408
01:06:29,181 --> 01:06:30,491
I think that's what
happened to him.
1409
01:06:30,515 --> 01:06:31,750
Hm?
1410
01:06:38,690 --> 01:06:39,824
What the heck is this?
1411
01:06:39,891 --> 01:06:42,761
- You made me a voodoo priestess?
- Uh...
1412
01:06:42,827 --> 01:06:44,997
How did you not think
I wasn't find out about this?
1413
01:06:45,064 --> 01:06:47,967
I mean, I'm the grand summoner
of your coven, del.
1414
01:06:48,633 --> 01:06:50,669
- I know shit.
- Blessed be.
1415
01:06:50,735 --> 01:06:52,671
You know, not only is this
offensive to me
1416
01:06:52,737 --> 01:06:56,275
as a druid, it's definitely
a little racist.
1417
01:06:56,342 --> 01:06:57,542
Well, it's an archetype.
1418
01:06:57,609 --> 01:06:58,609
It's lazy.
1419
01:07:00,179 --> 01:07:01,113
You know what?
You might be right.
1420
01:07:01,180 --> 01:07:01,846
I won't argue with you.
1421
01:07:01,913 --> 01:07:03,548
My mood has changed.
1422
01:07:04,150 --> 01:07:05,517
Really?
1423
01:07:05,717 --> 01:07:06,717
I learned a great lesson
1424
01:07:07,420 --> 01:07:09,554
which is: Conflict is boring,
1425
01:07:09,754 --> 01:07:11,656
and agreement is less boring.
1426
01:07:12,624 --> 01:07:13,625
We don't need that old
1427
01:07:14,893 --> 01:07:16,661
tacked-on, obligatory conflict,
"yeah, but"
1428
01:07:17,729 --> 01:07:19,932
- what about "yes, and"?
- Hm.
1429
01:07:19,999 --> 01:07:22,867
In these situations, "yes, and"
is a lot better.
1430
01:07:23,635 --> 01:07:25,470
Care, concern,
1431
01:07:26,072 --> 01:07:28,573
- let's take care of each other.
- Yep.
1432
01:07:28,640 --> 01:07:30,480
That doesn't sound like
the guy who wrote this.
1433
01:07:31,576 --> 01:07:33,587
I mean, it sort of looks like
you're dissecting someone here.
1434
01:07:33,611 --> 01:07:34,651
Ooh, hey, you gotta light?
1435
01:07:35,982 --> 01:07:38,683
Well, sometimes, you can develop
a picture of a person
1436
01:07:38,951 --> 01:07:41,954
and that can change
right under your nose.
1437
01:07:42,021 --> 01:07:43,021
Hm.
1438
01:07:45,091 --> 01:07:46,959
I think he was interested in
1439
01:07:47,026 --> 01:07:48,760
exploring transformation.
1440
01:07:49,028 --> 01:07:51,629
Improvisational work itself,
I think,
1441
01:07:51,696 --> 01:07:53,698
worked on his system, you know,
1442
01:07:53,933 --> 01:07:56,634
and made him... Open him up,
1443
01:07:57,403 --> 01:07:59,038
made him eager to open up more.
1444
01:08:00,572 --> 01:08:03,908
And it was really when he began
working with charna halpern
1445
01:08:03,976 --> 01:08:07,046
at the improv Olympics, I think,
which was his stage,
1446
01:08:07,712 --> 01:08:08,913
and his joint,
1447
01:08:10,249 --> 01:08:13,785
and his students, that he really
began to accept himself
1448
01:08:14,220 --> 01:08:16,055
and accept the work.
1449
01:08:17,789 --> 01:08:19,291
With his very own
stage, at long last,
1450
01:08:19,358 --> 01:08:21,726
del could finally put whatever
he wanted on it.
1451
01:08:21,793 --> 01:08:23,996
My name is del,
and charna's partner.
1452
01:08:24,063 --> 01:08:25,730
And what he wanted was
1453
01:08:26,165 --> 01:08:27,165
everyone.
1454
01:08:28,633 --> 01:08:29,402
Before the improv Olympics
I think the general consensus
1455
01:08:29,468 --> 01:08:30,769
was that improvisation
1456
01:08:30,835 --> 01:08:33,671
couldn't be studied,
and it couldn't be understood
1457
01:08:33,738 --> 01:08:34,773
and couldn't be taught.
1458
01:08:36,409 --> 01:08:38,077
And we discovered
that this was not true.
1459
01:08:38,144 --> 01:08:40,578
It does not take an
enormous amount of training
1460
01:08:40,645 --> 01:08:41,689
for somebody of ordinary
abilities
1461
01:08:41,713 --> 01:08:43,049
and no theatrical experience
1462
01:08:43,115 --> 01:08:44,126
to participate in some degree
of credibility
1463
01:08:44,150 --> 01:08:46,785
in a public improvisation.
1464
01:08:49,921 --> 01:08:51,890
We were freaks, basically.
1465
01:08:51,957 --> 01:08:54,126
He took in a bunch of
really smart
1466
01:08:54,193 --> 01:08:57,662
talented freaks
who were ostracized
1467
01:08:57,862 --> 01:09:00,565
by every fringe of society,
1468
01:09:00,832 --> 01:09:02,168
and we finally found each other.
1469
01:09:03,768 --> 01:09:05,204
That becomes the
kind of Incubator
1470
01:09:05,271 --> 01:09:08,907
for a lot of people who don't
belong in a
1471
01:09:08,974 --> 01:09:11,676
trad... they're not like
traditional actors.
1472
01:09:11,743 --> 01:09:13,279
They're not standups.
1473
01:09:13,345 --> 01:09:14,980
It attracts a lot of smart,
nerdy people
1474
01:09:15,047 --> 01:09:18,050
who want to exercise that
in favor of comedy.
1475
01:09:18,117 --> 01:09:20,785
It's always this or that!
1476
01:09:22,921 --> 01:09:24,123
You empower
1477
01:09:24,490 --> 01:09:25,558
creative voices
1478
01:09:25,623 --> 01:09:28,827
to express themselves
in the moment
1479
01:09:29,028 --> 01:09:31,729
as only they want to.
1480
01:09:32,298 --> 01:09:33,731
He gave permission
1481
01:09:34,233 --> 01:09:35,800
for people to say
1482
01:09:35,867 --> 01:09:38,736
I have unusual connections.
I have eccentricities.
1483
01:09:38,803 --> 01:09:39,803
I belong onstage.
1484
01:09:40,905 --> 01:09:42,250
Intellectuals
and anti-intellectuals,
1485
01:09:42,274 --> 01:09:43,908
philosophers, and
1486
01:09:45,544 --> 01:09:47,184
dope-smokers, low status,
and high status,
1487
01:09:48,247 --> 01:09:49,949
most people existed
on that stage because
1488
01:09:50,015 --> 01:09:52,084
del close said
we need people like that.
1489
01:09:52,151 --> 01:09:53,586
I think he got to a point
1490
01:09:53,651 --> 01:09:55,354
where he probably
became more enamoured
1491
01:09:55,421 --> 01:09:59,191
with people who were
taking improv class to become
1492
01:09:59,757 --> 01:10:00,917
you know, better salespeople,
1493
01:10:00,960 --> 01:10:02,394
because they weren't doing it
1494
01:10:02,461 --> 01:10:05,464
for the purpose
of getting on snl
1495
01:10:05,531 --> 01:10:06,966
or getting a sitcom
1496
01:10:07,032 --> 01:10:08,267
or a fucking beer commercial.
1497
01:10:08,334 --> 01:10:10,735
They just wanted to, like,
come out of their shell.
1498
01:10:11,036 --> 01:10:12,871
One of del's
favorite students was a
1499
01:10:12,938 --> 01:10:16,108
deaf prison electrician, um.
1500
01:10:17,042 --> 01:10:20,045
He was this older,
middle-aged guy
1501
01:10:20,112 --> 01:10:22,114
he had actually done
some living,
1502
01:10:22,314 --> 01:10:24,782
and he had interesting
life experiences,
1503
01:10:25,284 --> 01:10:28,120
regretfully, we could
not locate the electrician.
1504
01:10:28,354 --> 01:10:31,656
But we did find a few tapes
with these guys on them.
1505
01:10:38,197 --> 01:10:40,232
Ted Bundy was quite a character.
1506
01:10:40,299 --> 01:10:41,967
Let's edit that out.
That feels wrong.
1507
01:10:42,168 --> 01:10:43,735
My name is Amy poehler,
1508
01:10:43,801 --> 01:10:46,671
and my last name is: P-o-e-h.
1509
01:10:46,871 --> 01:10:48,040
I-e-r.
1510
01:10:49,508 --> 01:10:50,309
And del totally opened my eyes
1511
01:10:50,376 --> 01:10:52,011
to the potential
1512
01:10:52,077 --> 01:10:54,079
that I didn't know I had.
1513
01:10:54,146 --> 01:10:55,747
I didn't know what
I wanted to do,
1514
01:10:55,813 --> 01:10:56,915
and he gave me a vision
1515
01:10:56,982 --> 01:10:59,218
to say yes onstage and in life.
1516
01:10:59,985 --> 01:11:02,988
There's no wrong move.
1517
01:11:03,055 --> 01:11:05,857
You're a poet onstage.
You're an artist.
1518
01:11:05,924 --> 01:11:09,161
Take what you have in your life,
and put it into your art.
1519
01:11:09,361 --> 01:11:10,572
We were all so obsessed with it.
1520
01:11:10,596 --> 01:11:13,798
We would do harolds
in people's living rooms.
1521
01:11:13,865 --> 01:11:15,833
We would rehearse
in dining rooms.
1522
01:11:15,900 --> 01:11:16,901
Anywhere we could.
1523
01:11:18,404 --> 01:11:19,205
When I improvise with someone,
1524
01:11:19,271 --> 01:11:20,282
we can do something a lot better
1525
01:11:20,306 --> 01:11:22,774
than either of us
are capable of.
1526
01:11:22,975 --> 01:11:24,876
A notion of "just pay attention"
1527
01:11:24,944 --> 01:11:26,844
just care about
this other person.
1528
01:11:27,246 --> 01:11:28,647
Rather than get the laugh.
1529
01:11:28,713 --> 01:11:29,582
You also have to remember
1530
01:11:29,648 --> 01:11:31,716
you're in the 1980s.
1531
01:11:33,152 --> 01:11:35,063
There's actually the opposite
message is being told
1532
01:11:35,087 --> 01:11:36,121
in our society.
1533
01:11:37,489 --> 01:11:39,234
We're being told that the
individual is what rules now
1534
01:11:39,258 --> 01:11:41,026
I mean, if you need help,
you're weak.
1535
01:11:42,628 --> 01:11:44,105
If you watch
"Ferris Bueller's day off",
1536
01:11:44,129 --> 01:11:46,632
you know, it's a very
entertaining movie,
1537
01:11:46,699 --> 01:11:48,376
but the message of that movie
is about one guy
1538
01:11:48,400 --> 01:11:50,200
who's in charge. One guy who
games the system.
1539
01:11:51,769 --> 01:11:54,006
Like Arnold Schwarzenegger
is the one guy,
1540
01:11:54,240 --> 01:11:56,976
and meanwhile, del is teaching
the exact opposite,
1541
01:11:57,042 --> 01:11:58,310
and what you discover is
1542
01:11:58,377 --> 01:12:00,878
it's got a tremendous
amount of power.
1543
01:12:04,650 --> 01:12:06,252
And the people who really
commit to it,
1544
01:12:06,318 --> 01:12:09,121
just right away start doing
special, unique work.
1545
01:12:17,029 --> 01:12:18,197
It's a true outsider art.
1546
01:12:18,264 --> 01:12:20,898
It's just filled with people
who are funny
1547
01:12:20,966 --> 01:12:22,534
and that like you,
no matter what.
1548
01:12:22,601 --> 01:12:25,170
You feel like, you're part of
a much bigger thing.
1549
01:12:25,404 --> 01:12:26,884
My friends in
scarbrough, Ontario said
1550
01:12:26,939 --> 01:12:30,976
"so what do you do? Kinda like,
get drunk and crack jokes?"
1551
01:12:31,310 --> 01:12:34,346
And it's kind of, halfway
between that and
1552
01:12:35,414 --> 01:12:39,184
uh, truly getting in touch
with your higher self.
1553
01:12:50,195 --> 01:12:51,363
Are you a comedy fan?
1554
01:12:53,098 --> 01:12:54,609
If so, you have this man
to thank for developing
1555
01:12:54,633 --> 01:12:57,102
countless comedians
and comic actors
1556
01:12:57,169 --> 01:12:57,936
over the years.
1557
01:12:58,003 --> 01:13:00,005
His name is del close.
1558
01:13:01,674 --> 01:13:03,175
In the 80s, more and more people
1559
01:13:03,242 --> 01:13:05,644
were moving to Chicago
to do long-form improv.
1560
01:13:05,711 --> 01:13:08,314
And del was the selling point.
1561
01:13:08,714 --> 01:13:10,282
And now I would like you to meet
1562
01:13:10,349 --> 01:13:12,418
the best partner
a girl could have...
1563
01:13:12,484 --> 01:13:14,119
Mr. Del close!
1564
01:13:16,355 --> 01:13:18,390
I think as he got older,
1565
01:13:18,457 --> 01:13:21,660
he carried himself
in that guru way,
1566
01:13:21,727 --> 01:13:23,662
and I think he enjoyed the role.
1567
01:13:23,729 --> 01:13:25,664
There wasn't a modesty
of like "oh, no, no,
1568
01:13:25,731 --> 01:13:29,034
please, I'm just here
to run a few exercises".
1569
01:13:31,370 --> 01:13:34,139
For charna,
as the businesswoman,
1570
01:13:34,373 --> 01:13:37,076
it's also a smart business
decision of just like,
1571
01:13:37,142 --> 01:13:38,210
this is the guy!
1572
01:13:38,277 --> 01:13:40,312
Everybody has to study
with this guy.
1573
01:13:40,379 --> 01:13:41,913
You've gotta come through here,
1574
01:13:41,980 --> 01:13:44,483
take all the levels
to get to this guy.
1575
01:13:44,550 --> 01:13:45,117
It is a cult.
1576
01:13:45,184 --> 01:13:46,385
Uh, um, yeah.
1577
01:13:47,219 --> 01:13:48,853
Improv olympic is a cult,
1578
01:13:49,121 --> 01:13:50,855
and I got sucked into it, um...
1579
01:13:51,123 --> 01:13:52,424
One night, out of nowhere,
1580
01:13:52,491 --> 01:13:55,060
these like eight guys
came at me,
1581
01:13:55,127 --> 01:13:56,695
and they were just these like,
1582
01:13:56,762 --> 01:13:59,331
doughy looking white guys
in khaki pants,
1583
01:13:59,398 --> 01:14:01,400
and they told me,
I had to go with them,
1584
01:14:01,600 --> 01:14:05,137
and that I couldn't
deny anything they said,
1585
01:14:05,371 --> 01:14:08,073
and that I had to
heighten their initiation.
1586
01:14:08,407 --> 01:14:10,709
And, you know,
the next thing I know,
1587
01:14:10,776 --> 01:14:13,979
I'm writing out checks
to yes, and productions.
1588
01:14:14,380 --> 01:14:16,348
A cult of personality
was forming,
1589
01:14:16,415 --> 01:14:17,983
distracting del
from other things.
1590
01:14:18,250 --> 01:14:19,985
Like say,
1591
01:14:20,052 --> 01:14:21,629
living up to the ideals
of his egaitarian art form
1592
01:14:21,653 --> 01:14:24,223
by putting someone other
than white guys
1593
01:14:24,289 --> 01:14:25,890
from schomberg onstage.
1594
01:14:27,393 --> 01:14:28,713
But alas,
his focus was elsewhere.
1595
01:14:29,795 --> 01:14:31,096
I sometimes sit around
and wonder
1596
01:14:31,163 --> 01:14:33,298
would I like to have millions
and millions of dollars?
1597
01:14:34,266 --> 01:14:36,502
Direct movies?
Direct Broadway plays?
1598
01:14:38,404 --> 01:14:41,073
Raise arabian stallions?
1599
01:14:44,209 --> 01:14:47,146
Or work with charna here at...
1600
01:14:51,450 --> 01:14:54,019
I think there was a big part of
del that wanted to be famous.
1601
01:14:55,053 --> 01:14:57,156
I think it was a conflict
within himself,
1602
01:14:57,356 --> 01:15:01,126
between his artistic aspirations
and wanting popular fame
1603
01:15:01,193 --> 01:15:02,370
like his contemporaries,
you know?
1604
01:15:02,394 --> 01:15:03,994
Like Mike Nichols,
who couldn't have been
1605
01:15:04,196 --> 01:15:05,764
bigger.
1606
01:15:05,831 --> 01:15:07,232
His Broadway directing debut
1607
01:15:07,299 --> 01:15:09,401
with Neil Simon's
"barefoot in the park"
1608
01:15:09,468 --> 01:15:11,236
earned Nichols the first
of six Tony awards
1609
01:15:11,303 --> 01:15:14,006
and the reputation
for having the midas touch.
1610
01:15:14,239 --> 01:15:15,316
If I'd gone
a different direction,
1611
01:15:15,340 --> 01:15:16,620
maybe I'd have arabian stallions
1612
01:15:16,675 --> 01:15:19,445
and be married to Diana Sawyer
like Mike Nichols,
1613
01:15:19,511 --> 01:15:20,511
but here,
1614
01:15:21,346 --> 01:15:22,546
I'm in a basement with charna.
1615
01:15:23,949 --> 01:15:25,484
And he had a sense
of humor about it,
1616
01:15:25,551 --> 01:15:26,561
but it's only natural to
compare yourself to your peers,
1617
01:15:26,585 --> 01:15:29,054
that he had come up with,
1618
01:15:29,121 --> 01:15:30,789
and to see his students
reap awards
1619
01:15:30,856 --> 01:15:32,224
that he never reaped himself.
1620
01:15:33,826 --> 01:15:34,726
You know, it's gotta be
hard sometimes.
1621
01:15:34,793 --> 01:15:37,496
And he's like, "wait a minute!"
1622
01:15:38,163 --> 01:15:40,299
I taught that big guy
with the glasses
1623
01:15:40,365 --> 01:15:41,500
everything he knows,
1624
01:15:42,100 --> 01:15:43,402
and he's using what I'm using,
1625
01:15:43,469 --> 01:15:45,237
and so is that Rachel dratch,
1626
01:15:45,504 --> 01:15:47,239
"and I feel like
they ripped me off!"
1627
01:15:47,506 --> 01:15:48,874
We were like, "well, I thought,
1628
01:15:48,942 --> 01:15:51,276
the idea was that you teach us,
and we could use it."
1629
01:15:51,877 --> 01:15:53,312
But we realized
he was just wounded.
1630
01:15:53,378 --> 01:15:54,546
He felt a little left out.
1631
01:15:55,881 --> 01:15:57,161
It bugged him.
It definitely did.
1632
01:16:00,252 --> 01:16:01,887
Alright,
we're rolling right now.
1633
01:16:01,955 --> 01:16:03,795
As comfortable as you are
talking about this...
1634
01:16:05,824 --> 01:16:06,325
You worked with
Saturday night live for awhile.
1635
01:16:06,391 --> 01:16:07,391
Yeah, yes.
1636
01:16:08,494 --> 01:16:09,795
And what do you think
1637
01:16:09,862 --> 01:16:11,363
when you see
all these improvisers
1638
01:16:11,430 --> 01:16:13,298
from Chicago going out,
and doing things like.
1639
01:16:13,365 --> 01:16:14,700
Saturday night live?
1640
01:16:14,766 --> 01:16:16,846
I mean, you can't work
with all these terrific people
1641
01:16:17,135 --> 01:16:18,135
um,
1642
01:16:19,238 --> 01:16:20,606
you know, without... But then,
1643
01:16:23,509 --> 01:16:25,344
a Harvard medical school study
1644
01:16:25,410 --> 01:16:27,479
has determined that
rectal thermometers
1645
01:16:27,546 --> 01:16:30,015
are still the best ways
to take a baby's temperature.
1646
01:16:30,215 --> 01:16:33,218
Plus it really teaches the baby
who's boss.
1647
01:16:33,285 --> 01:16:34,662
I mean have you ever gone
on vacation,
1648
01:16:34,686 --> 01:16:35,854
and left your child home?
1649
01:16:39,224 --> 01:16:40,559
No.
1650
01:16:40,626 --> 01:16:42,261
- Old testament, Mr. Mayor.
- Yes.
1651
01:16:42,327 --> 01:16:43,862
Real wrath of god type stuff.
1652
01:16:43,929 --> 01:16:46,298
Forty years of darkness,
earthquakes, volcanoes!
1653
01:16:46,365 --> 01:16:47,432
Human sacrifice!
1654
01:16:47,499 --> 01:16:49,468
Dogs and cats, living together!
1655
01:16:49,535 --> 01:16:51,169
I can't believe what
an asshole you are!
1656
01:16:51,236 --> 01:16:52,304
No, maybe, she smiled.
1657
01:16:52,371 --> 01:16:53,748
She's smiling at
what an asshole you are
1658
01:16:53,772 --> 01:16:55,772
no, no, no, no, she was smiling
at how money I was.
1659
01:16:59,811 --> 01:17:01,422
Historically, syphillis
is right up there with Germans.
1660
01:17:01,446 --> 01:17:02,881
Morning, everybody!
1661
01:17:04,049 --> 01:17:05,159
Though you don't want
a fish sandwich?
1662
01:17:05,183 --> 01:17:07,886
Upright citizens bri...
1663
01:17:07,954 --> 01:17:08,954
Behave!
1664
01:17:09,956 --> 01:17:10,956
Hi!
1665
01:17:12,324 --> 01:17:14,159
Correct.
1666
01:17:19,431 --> 01:17:21,133
Was he cool being the teacher,
1667
01:17:21,199 --> 01:17:22,501
the trainer,
1668
01:17:22,568 --> 01:17:24,403
the guy that
you've never heard of?
1669
01:17:25,972 --> 01:17:27,172
Well,
1670
01:17:27,573 --> 01:17:29,174
I don't know, I mean...
1671
01:17:29,374 --> 01:17:30,654
I can't tell you
what he thought.
1672
01:17:32,177 --> 01:17:34,479
But I can tell you that
the last conversation
1673
01:17:34,546 --> 01:17:36,015
that I had with him
1674
01:17:36,081 --> 01:17:38,617
I told him,
I hope I made you proud.
1675
01:17:38,817 --> 01:17:41,286
And he said, "yes."
1676
01:17:41,353 --> 01:17:43,488
That I, like,
never let him down.
1677
01:17:45,390 --> 01:17:47,125
And it was weird because he
1678
01:17:47,326 --> 01:17:48,436
how do you say goodbye
to somebody
1679
01:17:48,460 --> 01:17:49,695
for the last time, you know?
1680
01:17:52,731 --> 01:17:54,199
I saw that he was weaker
1681
01:17:54,266 --> 01:17:55,167
like when we'd walk somewhere
1682
01:17:55,233 --> 01:17:56,535
he'd have to stop and breathe.
1683
01:17:58,270 --> 01:18:00,190
He was now coughing so badly
that he would vomit.
1684
01:18:00,872 --> 01:18:02,708
I was so angry
because he was still smoking
1685
01:18:02,774 --> 01:18:03,875
at the time.
1686
01:18:03,943 --> 01:18:05,353
I was like, "you can't
smoke anymore."
1687
01:18:05,377 --> 01:18:07,446
And I remember
when we went to the doctor,
1688
01:18:07,512 --> 01:18:08,982
they did all these tests,
1689
01:18:09,048 --> 01:18:09,881
and the doctor came out,
and he said,
1690
01:18:09,949 --> 01:18:11,149
"it's emphysema."
1691
01:18:12,117 --> 01:18:13,685
So it's a pretty awful death.
1692
01:18:16,321 --> 01:18:17,565
But we had a great party for him
1693
01:18:17,589 --> 01:18:20,192
like he wanted
to die a special way.
1694
01:18:20,392 --> 01:18:21,672
Me and bill Murray
pulled it off.
1695
01:18:34,840 --> 01:18:37,476
The hospital gave me
this room in the basement,
1696
01:18:37,676 --> 01:18:41,179
and all these people came back,
I mean everyone came back.
1697
01:18:41,780 --> 01:18:43,382
Murrays there, and ramis.
1698
01:18:43,448 --> 01:18:45,183
Charna is obviously hosting, and
1699
01:18:45,250 --> 01:18:48,620
really guiding everybody
through the processes well.
1700
01:18:48,687 --> 01:18:50,389
Well, she's the high priestess.
1701
01:18:51,823 --> 01:18:54,760
It was hard on Bernie.
Much harder than he let on.
1702
01:18:55,694 --> 01:18:57,529
And he wanted to go talk to del.
1703
01:18:59,297 --> 01:19:01,043
Charna already knew that they
were going to have a moment,
1704
01:19:01,067 --> 01:19:03,402
so she kind of cleared out
this place for these two
1705
01:19:03,602 --> 01:19:05,704
giants to have their final chat.
1706
01:19:07,372 --> 01:19:09,508
And you could see at one point,
del kinda nodding,
1707
01:19:09,708 --> 01:19:11,376
nodding, and he was
1708
01:19:11,443 --> 01:19:12,444
kind of leaning, and.
1709
01:19:13,512 --> 01:19:14,080
I thought he was
going to topple forward,
1710
01:19:14,147 --> 01:19:15,347
and for a moment,
1711
01:19:16,648 --> 01:19:17,549
I thought, and a bunch of people
around me thought,
1712
01:19:17,616 --> 01:19:18,183
maybe this... Maybe he's going,
1713
01:19:18,250 --> 01:19:19,518
maybe this is it?
1714
01:19:21,054 --> 01:19:22,797
And then somebody said to me,
in that typical second city
1715
01:19:22,821 --> 01:19:25,424
scene...-
stepping on his air tube!
1716
01:19:26,892 --> 01:19:27,893
And then, Bernie's like,
1717
01:19:27,960 --> 01:19:29,104
"what?" "you're on his oxygen!"
1718
01:19:29,128 --> 01:19:29,828
He goes like this,
and then del's like,
1719
01:19:29,895 --> 01:19:32,264
"whoa! Hey, I'm back!"
1720
01:19:32,497 --> 01:19:34,332
I gave him a hug,
and he said to me,
1721
01:19:34,833 --> 01:19:36,268
"here's an art form!"
1722
01:19:37,669 --> 01:19:40,672
And I said, "del, for tonight,
it's an art form."
1723
01:19:43,176 --> 01:19:44,010
It's worth noting,
that on his last
1724
01:19:44,077 --> 01:19:45,510
full day on earth,
1725
01:19:45,577 --> 01:19:47,512
del didn't tell
the wild stories.
1726
01:19:48,914 --> 01:19:51,416
He didn't talk about the drugs,
the rage, the chaos,
1727
01:19:51,483 --> 01:19:52,784
the stunts, the myths.
1728
01:19:54,553 --> 01:19:56,393
He didn't even tell
his father's suicide story.
1729
01:19:56,521 --> 01:19:57,622
Hm.
1730
01:19:57,823 --> 01:19:59,224
Wonder why.
1731
01:20:00,859 --> 01:20:02,379
I found out
when I was writing my book,
1732
01:20:02,427 --> 01:20:03,462
a few years later,
1733
01:20:05,031 --> 01:20:06,765
it wasn't exactly
the way he told it.
1734
01:20:08,201 --> 01:20:09,634
Del was in New York, you know,
1735
01:20:09,701 --> 01:20:12,437
he was a thousand
more miles away,
1736
01:20:12,504 --> 01:20:14,140
when his father
actually killed himself.
1737
01:20:14,207 --> 01:20:15,108
He said he was ten years old
when it happened.
1738
01:20:15,174 --> 01:20:15,975
Well, he was twenty years old.
1739
01:20:16,042 --> 01:20:18,243
So he kept changing all of this.
1740
01:20:20,012 --> 01:20:21,622
And he would just sit back
and let the legend grow
1741
01:20:21,646 --> 01:20:23,715
because he knew that's
what was happening with it.
1742
01:20:27,719 --> 01:20:30,722
Yeah, yeah,
I've heard that story.
1743
01:20:33,625 --> 01:20:35,660
Is it true? I don't know.
1744
01:20:37,964 --> 01:20:39,865
But that's part
of the complexity
1745
01:20:40,599 --> 01:20:41,800
that made up del.
1746
01:20:44,170 --> 01:20:45,904
Del's telling that story
1747
01:20:45,972 --> 01:20:48,340
about his father, even if
it wasn't factually true,
1748
01:20:48,807 --> 01:20:50,408
that says something about del.
1749
01:20:51,743 --> 01:20:53,879
Stories are a wonderful tool
1750
01:20:53,946 --> 01:20:56,815
for getting at
what we're all about.
1751
01:20:57,816 --> 01:21:00,253
But all stories are lies.
1752
01:21:00,786 --> 01:21:03,421
Lies in service of the truth.
1753
01:21:04,556 --> 01:21:06,391
Or maybe in search of the truth.
1754
01:21:08,161 --> 01:21:10,695
You know, and that's what
"wasteland" was for del.
1755
01:21:11,931 --> 01:21:12,931
Del
1756
01:21:14,267 --> 01:21:16,568
wanted "wasteland"
to be a rulebook
1757
01:21:16,835 --> 01:21:18,703
of the nature of comedy.
1758
01:21:19,638 --> 01:21:21,740
But, at the end of the day,
1759
01:21:21,807 --> 01:21:24,509
it was a way to come to terms
with the world view
1760
01:21:24,576 --> 01:21:25,710
that he taught
1761
01:21:26,711 --> 01:21:28,413
that comedy's about
1762
01:21:28,480 --> 01:21:29,648
everybody.
1763
01:21:29,714 --> 01:21:31,583
It's about the stage.
1764
01:21:31,883 --> 01:21:34,653
It's about the story
and the experience,
1765
01:21:34,719 --> 01:21:36,688
not about any one person.
1766
01:21:47,732 --> 01:21:49,367
He was a young comedian.
1767
01:21:50,635 --> 01:21:52,370
He didn't know
what he was doing.
1768
01:21:52,437 --> 01:21:54,477
He got into show business
for all the wrong reasons.
1769
01:21:55,841 --> 01:21:58,743
He got satisfaction in the fact
that it was too easy.
1770
01:21:59,644 --> 01:22:02,347
Very easy, very easy to impress.
1771
01:22:03,682 --> 01:22:05,550
But then he began to learn.
1772
01:22:06,551 --> 01:22:07,551
You!
1773
01:22:08,720 --> 01:22:10,856
You! You, you asshole!
You began to learn.
1774
01:22:11,958 --> 01:22:13,925
And then you began to realize
1775
01:22:14,593 --> 01:22:16,394
what you've
gotten yourself into.
1776
01:22:18,630 --> 01:22:20,799
I am not what
he expected to become.
1777
01:22:22,901 --> 01:22:24,436
I am the messenger.
1778
01:22:25,537 --> 01:22:26,771
I am the channel.
1779
01:22:28,274 --> 01:22:30,408
I am the door through which
1780
01:22:30,775 --> 01:22:31,978
you will pass,
1781
01:22:33,045 --> 01:22:34,713
but he may not.
1782
01:22:35,547 --> 01:22:36,581
But he understands.
1783
01:22:56,035 --> 01:22:58,403
Some people have a simple story.
1784
01:22:58,803 --> 01:23:00,872
One the world eats up,
1785
01:23:00,940 --> 01:23:03,508
and success comes easily.
1786
01:23:04,076 --> 01:23:05,644
But fuck those people.
1787
01:23:05,710 --> 01:23:07,545
Because there's another group
1788
01:23:07,746 --> 01:23:09,881
who are a little louder,
weirder,
1789
01:23:09,949 --> 01:23:12,617
sloppier, little more honest.
1790
01:23:13,319 --> 01:23:14,619
And for them,
1791
01:23:14,819 --> 01:23:16,956
del kicked open a door.
1792
01:23:18,324 --> 01:23:20,558
You know, as I leave it,
1793
01:23:21,726 --> 01:23:23,996
I began to realize that
we really haven't done
1794
01:23:24,063 --> 01:23:25,063
such a bad job
1795
01:23:25,097 --> 01:23:26,097
for the world,
1796
01:23:26,999 --> 01:23:29,434
and I think that we need
1797
01:23:29,868 --> 01:23:32,904
all my fellow conspiratorians
1798
01:23:33,738 --> 01:23:35,707
to recognize this.
1799
01:23:36,641 --> 01:23:39,844
You know, we're not doing as bad
as they claim we are.
1800
01:23:40,112 --> 01:23:43,082
And so let's hear it
for the fucking human race.
1801
01:24:00,099 --> 01:24:01,666
Haven't I passed
this way before?
1802
01:24:01,733 --> 01:24:03,735
Same sewer, different ending.
1803
01:24:03,936 --> 01:24:05,804
Oh.
1804
01:24:06,638 --> 01:24:08,473
I guess this is the end.
1805
01:24:26,158 --> 01:24:28,560
It's kinda like fireworks,
the most ephemeral
1806
01:24:28,626 --> 01:24:29,661
of art forms.
1807
01:24:29,728 --> 01:24:31,863
You know, once it's gone,
it's gone, baby.
1808
01:24:31,931 --> 01:24:33,898
There's the afterimage
for a few seconds,
1809
01:24:34,100 --> 01:24:36,668
but nobody will ever see
anything like it again.
1810
01:25:33,892 --> 01:25:36,028
Del wanted to bequeath his skull
1811
01:25:36,095 --> 01:25:38,064
to the Goodman theater,
to Robert falls.
1812
01:25:38,130 --> 01:25:39,898
So that he could keep working,
you know.
1813
01:25:39,965 --> 01:25:42,567
He wanted to be yorick, in uh,
1814
01:25:42,834 --> 01:25:43,701
in Hamlet.
1815
01:25:43,768 --> 01:25:46,638
So you accepted the gift of the
1816
01:25:46,871 --> 01:25:49,408
the skull. I think that's great.
1817
01:25:49,475 --> 01:25:50,909
Yeah.
1818
01:25:50,976 --> 01:25:52,644
I guess I'm early though.
1819
01:25:54,113 --> 01:25:55,548
So on his death bed,
he said to me,
1820
01:25:55,613 --> 01:25:57,083
"make it happen,
any way you can."
1821
01:25:57,283 --> 01:25:58,716
Well, it isn't that easy.
1822
01:25:59,751 --> 01:26:01,886
I called so many places,
and so many, um,
1823
01:26:02,488 --> 01:26:05,824
and associations, and said,
"you can have the body to study"
1824
01:26:05,890 --> 01:26:06,890
just...
1825
01:26:07,993 --> 01:26:09,761
"Decapitate him,
and prepare the skull."
1826
01:26:11,464 --> 01:26:13,264
And most people would say,
"oh, no thank you."
1827
01:26:13,665 --> 01:26:15,834
So I went to this place where
they sell skulls, and
1828
01:26:16,068 --> 01:26:19,604
human bones to hospitals,
and stuff like that.
1829
01:26:19,804 --> 01:26:21,840
And my sister and I,
we went shopping
1830
01:26:22,041 --> 01:26:23,641
to go pick out skulls.
1831
01:26:26,412 --> 01:26:28,012
So then I was like,
"this looks like him.
1832
01:26:28,047 --> 01:26:29,057
And this doesn't.
This head's big enough!"
1833
01:26:29,081 --> 01:26:31,450
And so we bought a skull,
1834
01:26:31,517 --> 01:26:32,693
and I'll never forget, because
I went back to my hou...
1835
01:26:32,717 --> 01:26:34,477
Sister's house with her,
and then I realized,
1836
01:26:34,786 --> 01:26:36,188
del didn't have teeth.
1837
01:26:37,822 --> 01:26:39,691
She pulled the teeth for me.
1838
01:26:39,757 --> 01:26:40,658
I was too squeamish.
1839
01:26:40,725 --> 01:26:42,394
And um, I took the skull home,
1840
01:26:42,461 --> 01:26:44,964
and put it in my pantry,
and waited a few months
1841
01:26:45,030 --> 01:26:46,640
'cause I read that beetles have
eated... that there' this whole
1842
01:26:46,664 --> 01:26:49,901
process to preparing a skull,
so I had to pretend
1843
01:26:49,969 --> 01:26:51,170
that I was doing that.
1844
01:26:53,771 --> 01:26:55,941
I got away with it for years,
and years and years,
1845
01:26:56,142 --> 01:26:57,842
'til some jerky reporter
1846
01:26:58,310 --> 01:27:00,879
brought some actor there,
and it turns out there was
1847
01:27:00,946 --> 01:27:02,524
a screw that showed
there was an autopsy,
1848
01:27:02,548 --> 01:27:04,849
and that the screw itself
was sixty years old,
1849
01:27:04,916 --> 01:27:05,916
and I was like,
1850
01:27:06,585 --> 01:27:07,865
aw, man,
why would you ruin that?
1851
01:27:08,720 --> 01:27:10,322
So I did get caught,
in the long run.
1852
01:27:10,389 --> 01:27:12,992
But at least, he got
another story out of it.
1853
01:27:13,259 --> 01:27:15,127
And I figured del would
like that, you know,
1854
01:27:15,194 --> 01:27:16,828
because del taught us
1855
01:27:17,062 --> 01:27:18,964
that we take care
of each other's ideas,
1856
01:27:19,031 --> 01:27:20,132
that we make them happen.
1857
01:27:20,199 --> 01:27:21,866
We don't say no
to each other's ideas.
1858
01:27:21,934 --> 01:27:23,169
We make them happen.
1859
01:27:23,235 --> 01:27:25,035
And that's what he wanted,
and that was my job
1860
01:27:25,070 --> 01:27:26,205
was to make it happen.
1861
01:27:26,838 --> 01:27:27,839
Any way I can.