Del Close Death Party

Just in case anyone wants the 35Mb iPod compatible version of the Del Close Death Party video file to watch on the go.

So I read this post the other day on Anthony King’s Tumblr and realized that I had the video of Del’s Death Party. However, it’s taken me a few weeks to figure out how to post the huge video file to the site. The video starts with the Upright Citizen’s brigade phone call and features Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Charna Halpern talking to the one and only Del Close.

And I gotta say, this excerpt from the chapter about Del’s “death party” makes me feel very proud to be the Artistic Director of the UCB Theatre:

“His wheelchair was rolled to a telephone in one corner, where he spoke to the Upright Citizens Brigade (who were shooting in New York); the camera rolled as Del issued the final instructions to the UCB via telephone.

“Del told Matt Besser that they did it: they were spreading improvisation and the love of improvisation, creating Theater of the Heart. Del said he wanted everyone to know the tenets of improvisation, how to listen, and how to work with a group. He knew the world would be a better place when people cherished one another, treating others like poets, like geniuses.”


We heart you Del.

This entry was written by Ben Whitehouse, posted on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 3:11 pm, filed under Del Close, Video. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

8 Comments

  1. Mack
    Posted Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 3:25 pm | Permalink

    is there code all over this for everyone else too? cant really watch it………

  2. Ben Whitehouse
    Posted Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 5:04 pm | Permalink

    Looks alright on my browsers… erm… I may have screwed it up — that is definitely a possibility.

    Anybody else having a problem? (fingers crossed)

  3. Darren
    Posted Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 12:43 pm | Permalink

    If that video doesn’t work, Del Close has a facebook page, and that video is on there too: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Del-Close/13868136236i?r

  4. Chicago Gal
    Posted Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 3:39 pm | Permalink

    really interesting. where did you find this video?

  5. Castilllo
    Posted Friday, June 13, 2008 at 12:21 am | Permalink

    Thanks for putting this up, its an amazing video, and inspirational.

  6. Ben Whitehouse
    Posted Friday, June 13, 2008 at 11:35 am | Permalink

    Originally I got it as an iPod video file from a friend in LA.

  7. Greg Aponte
    Posted Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 11:35 am | Permalink

    This is an amazing video. I love the “improv will save the world” sentiment that seemed to emanate from Del Close and his disciples. Very cool.

  8. Damian
    Posted Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 3:27 pm | Permalink

    Wow, thanks for posting this, Ben!

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