| Description |
1 online resource (x, 422 pages) : illustrations |
| Physical Medium |
polychrome |
| Description |
text file |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (page 376) and index. |
| Contents |
1 Manhattan, Kansas: Setting the Stage 1 -- 2 Dr. Dracula, Dianetics, and Death 22 -- 3 On the Road with the Barter Theatre 36 -- 4 Learning the Rules with the St. Louis Compass 44 -- 5 Broadway, Beatniks, and The Doors of Perception 62 -- 6 Second City and the Spider King 77 -- 7 Stongehenge and a Skate Through the Sewers 95 -- 8 Merry Pranksters and My Mother the Car 109 -- 9 Paying the Karmic Debt: With the Committee in San Francisco 118 -- 10 Birth of Harold, Spidering, and a Pornographic Western 132 -- 11 Pretty Much a Blur 153 -- 12 Second City Redux: Belushi and the Bean Can 165 -- 13 Valium, Vitriol, and Ancient Egyptian Opium 175 -- 14 Clockwork Orange Treatment 193 -- 15 "Junkies Give the Best Shots" 208 -- 16 Saturday Night Live, Tennessee Williams, and the Cleanup 220 -- 17 ImprovOlympic 239 -- 18 Roaches in the Dental Floss 251 -- 19 Return of the Harold, the Baron's Barracudas, and Charna 267 -- 20 Brain of the Galaxy 285 -- 21 Chris Farley, The Blob, and Farewell to Second City 300 -- 22 Workshops, Reunions, and the Family 316 -- 23 "Close, You've Gone Sane!" 331 -- 24 Party 350 -- 25 Curtain Call 364 -- Appendix Works of Del Close 393. |
| Summary |
Containing recollections from more than 80 of the comedic giant's closest friends and colleagues, this absorbing biography explores Del Close's old haunts, his sensational past, and the reality behind the tales he told so often. From traveling with a carnival and hanging out with a pre-Scientology L. Ron Hubbard to riding with the Merry Pranksters and using a coven of witches to help him kick a lifelong cocaine habit, Close led an incredibly rich life-one whose absurdity proved great fodder for improv theater. Astute and compassionate, Close influenced improvisational theater's greatest comedi. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
Close, Del, 1934-1999.
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Close, Del, 1934-1999. |
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Close, Del, 1934-1999. |
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Actors -- United States -- Biography.
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Actors. |
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United States. |
| Genre/Form |
Biographies.
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Electronic books.
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Biographies.
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| Other Form: |
Print version: Johnson, Kim, 1955- Funniest one in the room. Chicago, Ill. : Chicago Review Press, ©2008 9781556527128 (DLC) 2007044605 (OCoLC)179106988 |
| ISBN |
9781569764350 (electronic book) |
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1569764352 (electronic book) |
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9781556527128 |
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1556527128 |
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