Del Close

This eccentric, outspoken actor and writer is best-known within his own profession for being the acting coach and "metaphysician" for such young comics as Gilda Radner, John and James Belushi, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Chris Farley and other "Saturday Night Live" members. After several abortive tries at college, the Kansas-born Close took to the road in the 1950s, working as a carnival barker and fire-eater ("Azrad the Incombustible"). He toured the country with various theatrical companies in the 1950s, including working alongside Nichols and May at the Compass Players in St. Louis in 1957. Later, Close co-founded Chicago's comedy group Second City (1960) and San Francisco's improvisational group The Committee (1963). Close also worked with such 1950s and 60s performers as Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl and Tiny Tim. A Midwestern Timothy Leary, Close experimented with every drug imaginable and enthusiastically procured them for John Belushi, Lenny Bruce and others. (Close gave up drugs in the early 1980s after Belushi's death.)