Mike Myers will play the role of Chicago improv guru Del Close in the upcoming movie Del. Myers, along with many other current comedy greats such as Bill Murray, Tina Fey, and Dan Aykroyd, was trained at Chicago's Second City, where Close worked and taught starting in the 1970's. He continued to teach in Chicago theaters such as Yes, And Productions and Improv Olympic, until his death in 1999.

The movie will be directed by Betty Thomas, who also trained in Chicago under Close. Close, who was notorious for pushing his students too far, takes a young comedian under his wing; while the relationship ends disastrously, both performers are changed by the experience.

There is not yet a firm release date set for Del.

Last Thursday, January 8, long-time improv Olympic teacher and performer Jason Chin passed away from what is suspected to be heart failure. iO founder Charna Halpern announced it on Facebook, and the news broke on media outlets shortly thereafter.

Jason was an improviser and a coach, but more than that, he had a wonderful but realistic vision for improv as an art and a business. He was Training Director for improv Olympic for eight years, and during his tenure revisited things like what skills are important to teach first to new improvisers. Many students and now professionals have come through the iO doors, and his impact will be felt on improv and entertainment for years.

UPDATE: On Monday, January 12, iO Chicago held an Armando Diaz tribute show for Jason. You can watch the entire three-hour event at https://gigity.tv/event/102226. At about 11 minutes in, they begin a tribute slideshow of images and video of Jason. At about 24:30, the show itself begins.

Director, writer, producer and entertainer Mike Nichols passed away suddenly on Wednesday. He was very well known for his cinematic directorial accomplishments, such as The Graduate, Silkwood, Postcards from The Edge, The Birdcage and most recently Closer, as well as some of his theatrical forays such as Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, and Spamalot. 

But what only true fans might know is that he got his start in improv. He got his start with the predecessors to Second City in Chicago, the Compass Players. He also had a collaboration with fellow Compass Player Elaine May as the duo Nichols and May. Unlike many comic duos from the time - who stuck to stereotypical straight-one-funny-one or smart-one-dumb-one routines - Nichols and May really played their act as improvisational scenes. Their comedy style has been cited as influential to comedians such as Steve Martin, Bill Murray and Lily Tomlin.

You will be missed, Mike.