Guru

Jeff Griggs gives the reader the essentials of Close's biography: his childhood in Kansas, early years as an actor, countercultural exploits in the 1960's, years with the Compass Players and then with Second City, experimentation with every drug imaginable, which cost him his health and ultimately his life. "His name was Del Close - a legend of improvisational theater, famous for discovering and cultivating the talents of John Belushi, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, and countless other comedy giants. He was resident director of Chicago's celebrated Second City and "house metaphysician" for Saturday Night Live, a talent in his own right, and one of the brightest and wackiest theater gurus ever." "Jeff Griggs was a student of Close's at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago when he was asked to help the aging mentor (often in ill health after a lifetime of drug use) by driving him around the city on his weekly errands. The two developed a prickly and volatile friendship that shocked, angered, and amused both of them - and produced this hilarious and ultimately endearing chronicle of Del Close's last years. With all the elements of a picaresque novel, Guru captures Close at his zaniest but also shows why he was such a genius in formulating the method of improvisational theater and directing it." "Between comic episodes, Jeff Griggs gives the reader the essentials of Close's biography: his childhood in Kansas, early years as an actor, counter-cultural exploits in the 1960s (he toured with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranks. "Sometimes called "the most famous person you've never heard of," Del Close embraced improvisation as an art form and discovered and nurtured the talents of John Belushi, Chris Farley, and Bill Murray. When this book begins, Close is in his sixties and suffering from emphysema and a life of dissipation. Griggs, one of Close's students late in his career, was hired to ferry him around on his weekly errands and reports directly from that experience. What emerges is a sort of twisted Tuesdays with Morrie, where the dying man is an unapologetic curmudgeon prone to suicide. Biographical details emerge: Close started out with Mike Nichols and Elaine May at Chicago's Compass Theater in the 1950s and later hung out with the Grateful Dead and Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. Ultimately, this is a biography of a comedian, director, teacher, writer, actor, junkie, and philosopher that offers insight into the world of improvisational theater."--Library Journal.