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45-612: Martin Short originated the character on Toronto's Second City stage as an unnamed school parent in a sketch. Originally, his hair was simply very greasy and unkempt, but Peter Aykroyd , another cast member, joked offstage that the height of the hair seemed to increase with each performance. In an interview, Short said that he was inspired by a scene from the John Wayne movie McLintock and started greasing it straight up. Short noticed an incidental baring of his teeth raised laughs; that too became

90-613: A Saturday Night Live parody music video of Drake's Hotline Bling in November 2015 on the season 41 episode hosted by then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump . The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago , with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and New York . Since its debut in 1959, it has become one of

135-575: A cartoon character in Hanna-Barbera 's 1988 animated series The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley , featuring Second City colleagues Joe Flaherty (also reprising his SCTV character, Count Floyd ), Catherine O'Hara and Andrea Martin as series regulars. Short briefly revived the Ed Grimley role in his 1995 series The Show Formerly Known As the Martin Short Show , for a spoof of

180-428: A character trait. Over numerous appearances, the character of Ed Grimley began to take shape. Ed Grimley is an excessively cowlicked , voluble, hyperactive manchild who is obsessed with banal popular culture , particularly Wheel of Fortune and its host, Pat Sajak . He also loves to play the triangle , which for him consists of playing a recorded musical piece, striking the triangle once, and then wildly dancing to

225-520: A collaboration with the Lyric Opera of Chicago that had been initiated by soprano and Lyric creative consultant Renée Fleming , with Best Director: Revue going to Billy Bungeroth. Toronto's Second City mainstage troupe has won ten Canadian Comedy Awards : Best Improv Troupe (2001), Best Sketch Troupe (2001, 2006 and 2009), and Best Comedic Play winners Family Circus Maximus (2002), Psychedelicatessen (2003), Facebook of Revelations , Barack to

270-420: A full-service restaurant and bar. The Second City New York opened to the public on November 16, 2023, marking a significant expansion of the institution into a new geographic region. On June 15, 2023, The Second City announced to teachers through email that it would no longer pursue reopening a Los Angeles location. In recent years, educators at The Second City initiated efforts to unionize in order to create

315-478: A more inclusive, equitable, and fair workplace. The process began with the filing of an application for unionization by the teachers, facilitators, and musical directors at The Second City. The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) announced that the National Labor Relations Board had ratified the election to form a union for educators at the training center of Second City. Following this, a vote

360-753: A starting capital of US$ 300,000 . Following an investor-staged takeover of Take-Two Interactive in 2007, Zelnick became the chairman, chief executive officer, and largest single shareholder of Take-Two. Zelnick was appointed to the board of CBS Corporation in 2018. In 2021, ZMC purchased a controlling interest in The Second City , a Chicago-based comedy troupe. Zelnick is Jewish. He has four sisters: Karen Davis, Beth Kaufman, Marci Zelnick Rodriguez, and Laurie Zelnick. His brother, Carl D. Zelnick, died in 1995. Zelnick married Wendy J. Belzberg (the daughter of Samuel Belzberg ) in January 1990; their engagement

405-527: A video of Ed Grimley's life and commenting that he needs to do more with it before he can come back to Heaven. Grimley would however make a number of appearances in 1999's The Martin Short (Talk) Show . Ed Grimley made a brief onstage appearance, triangle in hand, in the 2006 Broadway show Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me . He appeared again in 2009's Let Freedom Hum: An Evening of Comedy Hosted By Martin Short . Short reprised his role as Ed Grimley in

450-480: Is an American businessman and lawyer. He is the founder, chief executive officer (CEO), and managing partner of private equity firm ZMC, the chairman and CEO of video game company Take-Two Interactive , and the former chairman of media conglomerate CBS Corporation . Harry Strauss Zelnick was born on June 26, 1957, in Boston into a Jewish family. His mother, Susan Strauss Manello, died on October 22, 1967, when Harry

495-459: The musical revue , From the Second City , directed by Sills and earning Tony Award nominations for ensemble members Severn Darden and Barbara Harris. The company moved a few blocks south, to 1616 North Wells, in 1967. Eventually, the theater expanded to include three touring companies and a second resident company, and now fosters a company devoted to outreach and diversity. In 2020, during

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540-428: The protests following the murder of George Floyd , The Second City faced several criticisms regarding racism. The CEO, Andrew Alexander, resigned after accusations of institutional racism from former performers and an alumnus were made. Accusations and allegations were also made on social media, triggering further leadership resignations. A notable criticism came from Second City alumnus Dewayne Perkins, who alleged that

585-737: The Association of International Comedy Educators (AICE). The Second City Detroit was a comedy theater and training center in Novi, Michigan . It was the Second City's third mainstage location in North America following the Second City Chicago and Toronto . Originally established in September 1993 in downtown Detroit , it relocated to a strip mall in Novi in 2005. The original downtown Detroit theater in

630-591: The Comedy Studies program was created, as a collaboration with Chicago's Columbia College , which provides students with an immersion in "all aspects of the study of comedy and improvisation". In 2016, the Training Center expanded to include the Harold Ramis Film School, now called The Second City Film School, dedicated to comedy in filmmaking. In 2021, The Second City's educators voted to unionize as

675-634: The Executive Producer position will be a member of the BIPOC community". Interim executive producer Anthony LeBlanc was appointed to replace him. On November 25, 2020, The Second City announced that former Dad's Garage Theatre Company artistic director Jon Carr had been hired as executive producer. He stepped down in early 2022, and a successor has yet to be named. As of 2014 , the Second City has been awarded thirty-seven Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards , which have recognized them for Best Revue five times,

720-544: The Future (2009), 0% Down, 100% Screwed (2010) and Something Wicked Awesome This Way Comes (2011). Created in 1967 as a way to increase the talent pool, the initial Touring Company, featuring Ramis, Doyle-Murray and Flaherty, was tested on the road for two years before taking the stage as The Next Generation after the mainstage ensemble was sent to perform in New York. The Touring Company continued to perform greatest hit shows on

765-751: The Hockeytown Cafe complex was renamed the City Theater and has since reopened as the Detroit House of Comedy; the Novi location has become the Andiamo Novi Theater. In the early years of the Second City and Game Theater, several parents and Lincoln Park community members—including Carol and Paul Sills and activists Mona and Dennis Cunningham —started a progressive school for their children, based on Viola Spolin 's Theater Games techniques and philosophy with her son Paul Sills ' refinements. Early on it

810-406: The Second City and ran from 1976 to 1984. Broadcaster and surgeon Charles A. "Chuck" Allard formed a partnership in 1981 that acquired the fledgling series. Allard then moved the series from Toronto to Edmonton , where he owned television station CITV-TV . The basic premise of SCTV was based on a television station (later a network) in the fictional city of Melonville. Rather than broadcast

855-580: The Sillses and Cunninghams, Viola Spolin, Joyce and Byrne Piven, John Schultz, Mel Spiegel, Carol Dougal, and Beverly Gold. The highly progressive curriculum included daily theater games, and some students went on to careers in entertainment. Briefly at the Game Theater site at 1935 N. Sedgwick, the school moved to several locations in Lincoln Park before it closed in the mid-1970s. In 1971, The Players Workshop

900-546: The United States. On June 6, 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests, various Second City comedians signed an open letter stating that "erasure, racial discrimination, manipulation, pay inequity, tokenism, monetization of Black culture, and trauma-inducing experiences of Black artists at The Second City will no longer be tolerated". prompting Alexander to apologize and resign, pledging that "The next person to fill

945-452: The comedy film Dave , and appeared again in a 1996 episode of Muppets Tonight , in which Grimley marries Miss Piggy to obtain an $ 85 inheritance from his deceased great-uncle. The character seemingly died later that year on Saturday Night Live , in the skit "Ed Grimley in Heaven", though Grimley is brought back to life by his guardian angel (played by guest star Chevy Chase ) after showing

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990-584: The company was celebrating its 50th year, the Second City was awarded an honorary Jeff for the milestone, as well as three awards for the e.t.c.' s 33rd revue Studs Terkel's Not Working, recognizing director Matt Hovde and actress Amanda Blake Davis and naming it Best Revue. In 2011, the e.t.c.'s 35th revue Sky's the Limit (Weather Permitting) won the Jeff for Best New Work (Musical or Revue), as well Best Revue and Best Actor, for ensemble member Tim Baltz. The following year,

1035-557: The e.t.c.'s 36th revue We're All In This Room Together won for Best Revue and Best Director of a Revue - Ryan Bernier , while ensemble member Edgar Blackman took home the Jeff for Best Actor/Actress in a Revue for his work in Who Do We Think We Are? on the Second City mainstage. In 2013, the Jeff Awards awarded Best Production: Revue to a Second City show not housed at the venue on Wells Street, The Second City Guide to Opera ,

1080-460: The educators in Toronto. In a collective move, arts educators and facilitators from Chicago, Hollywood, and Toronto, affirmed their intent to form a union under the Association of International Comedy Educators (AICE) by filing cards with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Second City Television, or SCTV, was a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from the Toronto troupe of

1125-624: The fictional channel's programming. After the show's end in 1984, Short moved to the more prominent Saturday Night Live , bringing his breakout character with him. With Grimley, his best-known original character, Martin Short's popularity on SNL proved to be the springboard to a long career in film and TV. He appeared as Ed Grimley in his 1985 Showtime special Martin Short: Concert For the North Americas , at Comic Relief 1986 , and in 1989's I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood . Grimley became

1170-797: The first being Paradigm Lost (1997). The revue's director, Mick Napier , is one of several directors recognized by the Jeffs, a list that includes founder Bernard Sahlins (for 1983's Exit, Pursued by a Bear ) and improv guru Del Close (1981's Miro, Miro on the Wall ). Sixteen alumni have received Jeff Awards for their performances in Second City revues, including David Pasquesi ( The Gods Must Be Lazy , 1989), Scott Adsit ( Paradigm Lost , 1997), Jackie Hoffman ( Disgruntled Employee Picnic , 1993), Shelley Long ( Wellsapoppin , 1977), and Nia Vardalos ( Whitewater for Chocolate , 1994), with Rachel Dratch and Keegan-Michael Key each being honored twice. In 2009, as

1215-564: The following year and was promoted to president in 1988, overseeing all managing operations for the company. He quit in 1989 to join 20th Century Fox as president and CEO before leaving that role in 1993 to join Crystal Dynamics . Zelnick is the chief executive officer and managing partner of ZMC, a private equity investment firm based in New York City specializing in leveraged buyouts and growth capital . He founded ZMC in 2001 with

1260-478: The institution initially refused to host a benefit show for Black Lives Matter unless half of the proceeds also went to the Chicago Police Department. In response to these issues, The Second City instituted changes, including the formation of a steering committee comprising representatives from BIPOC, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ communities to foster inclusivity and diversity. In October 2020, The Second City

1305-1077: The most influential and renowned in the English-speaking world. In February 2021, ZMC , a private equity investment firm based in Manhattan , purchased the Second City. The Second City has produced television programs in both Canada and the United States, including SCTV , Second City Presents , and Next Comedy Legend . It has been a starting point for many comedians, award-winning actors, directors, and others in show business , including Del Close , Alan Alda , Alan Arkin , Harold Ramis , Bill Murray , Gilda Radner , John Candy , John Belushi , Dan Aykroyd , Eugene Levy , Catherine O'Hara , Dave Thomas , Chris Farley , Tim Meadows , Colin Mochrie , Ryan Stiles , Mike Myers , Nia Vardalos , Steve Carell , Jordan Peele , Tina Fey , Amy Poehler , Stephen Colbert , Cecily Strong , Mae Martin , and Aidy Bryant . The Second City chose its self-mocking name from

1350-526: The recording. His catchphrases include "I must say", "let's face it", "totally decent", "makes me completely mental," and "give me a break". Short was added to the cast of Second City's television offshoot SCTV in 1982, debuting the Ed Grimley character in the skit "SCTV Movie of the Week: The Nutty Lab Assistant". Grimley became an SCTV fixture, appearing in the various shows, commercials, promos, and "behind-the-scenes" dramas that made up

1395-591: The reins of The Second City Toronto, which had opened in 1972, then formed a partnership with Len Stuart, in 1976, starting The Second City Entertainment Company. Its inaugural television production was SCTV that year. Alexander co-developed and executive produced over 185 half-hour shows for the series. In 1985, Alexander and Stuart acquired Chicago's Second City. He later founded SCTV, thereby expanding The Second City TV & Film Division. He has produced or executive-produced hundreds of Second City revues in Canada and

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1440-1129: The road, and in 1982, with the assistance of producer Joyce Sloane (and without Sahlins's knowledge) they staged an original revue in what would become the theater's second stage, the Second City e.t.c. In December 2009, the theater celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with a weekend of panels and performance which featured many prominent alumni, including an SCTV reunion show starring Joe Flaherty , Eugene Levy , Andrea Martin , Catherine O'Hara , Harold Ramis , Martin Short , and Dave Thomas . Other notable alumni returning to participate included Steve Carell , Stephen Colbert , Jeff Garlin , Jack McBrayer , James Belushi , Dan Castellaneta , Amy Sedaris , Ian Gomez , Richard Kind , Robert Klein , Fred Willard , David Rasche , Betty Thomas , and George Wendt , as well as original cast member Mina Kolb, Compass Player Shelley Berman , and co-founder Bernard Sahlins , along with Playwrights Theater Club co-founder Sheldon Patinkin ; he later served as assistant director to Paul Sills , then succeeded him as artistic director, spending over five decades as an artistic mentor of

1485-411: The theater, in 1959, as a place where scenes and stories were created with improvisation, using techniques that grew out of Spolin's innovative teachings, later known as Theater Games , with Sills as its director. The cabaret theater comedy style of the Second City tended towards satire and commentary on social norms, and political figures and events. In 1961, the theater sent a cast to Broadway with

1530-535: The title of a series of articles about Chicago by A. J. Liebling , published in The New Yorker in 1952, and published in book form as a collection the same year. In summer 1955, at The Compass bar in Hyde Park, University of Chicago students, led by David Shepherd and Paul Sills , calling themselves Compass Players , began a " commedia dell'arte ", based on professional theater games taught by Viola Spolin , who

1575-532: The troupe while chairman of the theater department at Columbia College Chicago for three decades. The Second City Training Center was founded in the mid-1980s to facilitate the growing demand for workshops and instruction from the world-famous Second City theatre. Training Centers are located in Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles. The Training Centers have grown substantially since the Second City Conservatory

1620-719: The usual TV rerun fare, the business, run by the greedy Guy Caballero ( Joe Flaherty ) sitting in a wheelchair only "for respect," operates a bizarre and humorously incompetent range of cheap local programming. The range included soap opera "The Days of the Week"; game shows , such as "Shoot at the Stars", in which celebrities literally are shot at in similar fashion to targets in a shooting gallery; and movie parodies , such as "Play it Again, Bob" in which Woody Allen (as played by Rick Moranis ) attempts to entice Bob Hope (as played by Dave Thomas ) to star in his next film. In-house media melodrama

1665-481: Was Chicago's only official school of Improvisation for over a decade. Although it was never officially a part of The Second City cabaret theater, The Players Workshop was often referred to as Players Workshop Of The Second City, due to the school's close affiliation with the famous sketch comedy stage. 41°54′41″N 87°38′06″W  /  41.91151°N 87.63506°W  / 41.91151; -87.63506 ZMC Harry Strauss Zelnick (born June 26, 1957)

1710-535: Was Sills's mother. They soon began performing occasional shows on the Near North Side . On December 16, 1959, The Second City's first revue show premiered at 1842 North Wells Street, with Sills's former wife and Compass Player Barbara Harris singing "Everybody's in the Know". Admission was $ 1.50 (equivalent to $ 16 in 2023). Sahlins and Sills flipped burgers in the kitchen. Sahlins, Sills, and Howard Alk had founded

1755-439: Was called "Playroom School," after Spolin's "Educational Playroom," a progressive school project during the 1930's on Sheridan Road which Paul Sills had attended. Theater Games were gaining recognition and are now incorporated in drama therapy , play therapy , and are used as an educational tool. Early Second City and Game Theater members, as well as some Old Town and Lincoln Park community members, were closely involved, including

1800-723: Was established in the mid-1980s under the tutelage of longtime Chicago improv instructors and mentors Martin de Maat and Sheldon Patinkin . The Chicago Training Center has over 5,000 students in several disciplines, including improvisation and comedy writing . Former Training Center students include Steve Carell , Tina Fey , Amy Poehler , Mike Myers , Chris Farley , Tim Meadows , Bonnie Hunt , Stephen Colbert , Halle Berry , Sean Hayes , Amy Sedaris , Jon Favreau , Hinton Battle , Jack McBrayer , Dave Foley , and Kevin McDonald . Classes are taught by working professionals, many of whom are existing or former Second City performers. In 2007,

1845-529: Was frequently satirized, including by John Candy , as the vain, bloated variety star character, Johnny La Rue; Thomas's acerbic critic, Bill Needle; Andrea Martin 's flamboyant, leopard-skin clad station manager, Mrs. Edith Prickley; Catherine O'Hara 's alcoholic, narcissistic, former leading-lady, Lola Heatherton; and Flaherty's effusive talk show host, Sammy Maudlin. Martin Short also originated his dorky Ed Grimley character here, which he later brought to Saturday Night Live . In 1974, Andrew Alexander took

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1890-628: Was held, which concluded with a significant majority in favor of unionization, marking a successful end to the union campaign initiated by the IFT in the spring. Furthermore, comedy educators at The Second City in both the U.S. and Canada announced their unionization, with the Canadian contingent joining CWA Canada. The organizers in Canada filed for union certification with the Ontario Labour Relations Board after garnering substantial support from

1935-645: Was put up for sale by Alexander and co-owner D’Arcy Stuart. In January 2021, The Second City and Saturday Night Live paired up to launch a new training scholarship for diverse, upcoming talent. In February 2021, ZMC , a New York City-based private equity investment firm, purchased The Second City. In 2022, The Second City announced its expansion to New York with its new location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The nearly 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m ) entertainment complex at 64 N. 9th Street comprises two cabaret-style live theaters, seven Training Center classrooms, and

1980-542: Was ten years old. He and his siblings were raised by their aunt Elsa (née Strauss) and her husband Allan Zelnick (died in 2013). He grew up in South Orange, New Jersey . Strauss Zelnick graduated in 1975 from Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey and studied psychology and English at Wesleyan University from 1975 until 1979, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors. During his time at Wesleyan, he

2025-639: Was the national public relations director for the Coalition of Independent College and University Students (COPUS). Zelnick simultaneously enrolled at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School in 1979, obtaining a Master of Business Administration degree from the former in 1982 and a Juris Doctor from the latter in 1983. In 1983, he started as vice president for television international sales at Columbia Pictures International Television . In 1986, he joined Vestron Inc. as senior vice president of corporate development. He became executive vice president

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